Running is a good exercise because it promotes good health. We all know it. It is a habit we all want to have in our life. But, we don't practice it. And the reason is, it is a tough exercise. I tried to have this in my life for a long time.
I once planned to run daily when I was in 2nd year of engineering college. It was in 2003, and I was 21 then.
Even one day, I woke up early in the morning, wore my shoes and went running. When I reached the ground, there was nobody around. With excitement, I started running and ended up before completing even one round.
I could not run even 100 meters. I was exhausted and sweating heavily. I could not continue. I hated it.
It seemed like my heart will not be normal again.
I never went to the ground again for running. I chose to live as I was.
And every time, I met someone talking about running and its benefits, I felt horrible. I never believed that anybody would like it.
Why would anyone want to run when It is tough? I completely stopped doing any exercise. I did not like to exhaust myself. It looked stupid to exhaust.
But, It is now 2021 and I am writing this article. I have been running for the last two years. And now I regret that why did I not start it earlier. Now, I can't miss running any day. It has been part of my day. Running has been a habit now for me. I enjoy it and experience its benefits.
Running is not only an aerobic exercise for me
Running makes you fit. It improves your heart. We all know it. But, I have a different thing to say. I don't run only to improve my health. Running has given me more than good health. It has made me disciplined. It is a motivator.
Every morning after running, I feel blessed. I thank myself for the good things I have in my life. Running has made me spiritual.
I had never been consistent in doing anything in my life. And now I think that this is the reason; I have failed many times. Running every day has taught me to experience pain to enjoy the gain.
All the tough things look easy now.
Now, I want to try even the toughest thing in my life. Now, I can relate that why is perseverance important if you want to achieve something.
On many mornings; I don't want to wake up and do it. I want to sleep for some more time. I try to snooze the alarm often, but I fear missing the running. And this fear keeps me on the path.
1. Running has taught me patience;
Patience is a virtue. If you don't have it then you will hardly experience success. Even the most talented people don't succeed if they have no patience.
Running has helped me to experience the joy of being patient. When you start running, you don't feel exhausting immediately.
But, when you have run a couple of rounds, you start feeling it.
You want to stop. But, your milestone is far away.
If you stop, you break the chain and miss your goal.
If you complete, you feel excited and confidant. It is a quality which most people don't have. Good things don't come so easy. You have to wait. You have to work hard for that without any immediate success.
And if you lack it you lose it. You can't say that you tried everything because you did not try patience.
2. Running has killed my shyness;
I am a very shy person. I didn't like someone to see me running. I want to keep this secret with me. I don't know why but I just did not like someone asking me about running or any exercise I do. Many times when I saw someone coming, I just stopped running. But, after running for a long time (26 months to be specific), now I don't carry those feelings. I am open now. I even can run with someone and talk to someone who runs.
I have been more friendly now. I like to show my strength and endurance.
Now, I visit my nearby ground where lots of people come for morning walks. I talk to some of them and ask them about their exercise.
Truly, running has made me a lot better. It has not only improved my health but it has improved me. I am now very confident in talking to someone and discussing things.
3. Running has improved my eating habits;
I have never cared what I have eaten. But, now I do. I know that not everything is healthy. In fact, we often eat unhealthy things.
Now, I have reduced eating fast foods and things with refined sugar. Now, I start my day by drinking 500 ml of water after running, followed by an apple and green sprouts.
I had quit smoking completely for more than 2 years.
Now, I feel more energetic, and healthy. Running has also improved my metabolism. When you eat well, you digest it well. Your body will be thankful every time. You can't live without your body. You can't eat well if you don't control your habits. And when they are in control you're in control.
4. Running has made me calmer;
If you are calm, you're normal. You can make better decisions. You can work on anything and increase your chances of success.
The reason is; calmer people can focus better on anything. I also experience that I now focus more on the positive side of anything.
And now I try different types of things which I never did. Now, I am open to accepting challenges and getting things done.
I sleep well now and feel energetic and healthy after every sleep. Anybody can achieve it because it is so simple and doable.
You don't need to sign up for any app to get a sweet sleep because it is all in your control.
5. I am more confidant and happy now;
How do you feel when you do something you wish to do? I feel good and confidant. Every day, I feel happy and confidant after completing my exercise. I don't find any other way that can boost my motivation than doing small and important things consistently.
Running is tough and you would not like to do it on many days. It is also the same for any other exercise. Exercise exhausts you.
If it is winter season, you don't like to get out of bed. Nobody wants to come out of their comfort zones. But those who do are serious about their goals and want to improve themselves. It motivates me every day.
6. I am more disciplined and productive now
I have always struggled to get up early in the morning. But, I am now waking up before the sunrise.
However, I don't honour my alarm every day but I am getting better day by day.
I am more productive now. I can complete most of my tasks in the morning, and leave trivial tasks for other parts of the day. I don't procrastinate now (or I can say that I often procrastinate procrastination)
Truly when you have a routine, you can focus on your goals and work on them. And when you can focus, you can give most of your efforts.
Believe in me; when you have a routine and follow it with discipline then you will never complain about 24 hours of the day.
You have got more than enough time for any of your important things.
7. I have become a reader
Reading is one the best ways to improve oneself.
You can learn a lot of new things from people you admire after reading about them. You can experience their life after reading their biographies. You learn about their struggles, their important achievements and what did they do to get that.
You can live someone's life in less than 3 hours by reading a book.
As it is already said many times; learn from the mistakes of others. The reason is why do you like to commit the same mistake when someone has already done it. Learn what went wrong and how to get out of that?
Reading can improve you in any field. You can learn a new skill. You can learn a new language.
You can learn how to use your skills to make money and get rid of your job. Elon musk recommends reading books. Elon musk even learnt about the rockets by reading books. He founded the organization SpaceX which is more in news than NASA nowadays for its endeavours related to sending a human to Mars.
Warren Buffet recommends reading books. He analyzes several companies by reading about them before investing money.
And Mr Buffet is one of the most admired stock investors of all time. He is a stock market legend. He is the Oracle of Omaha. He learns by reading.
Bill gates recommends reading books.
All these billionaires and highly successful people can never be wrong. I am thankful that one of my habits has motivated me to start reading.
Conclusion
You can't improve yourself 100% in a day. If you try it, you will fail for sure. But, we want everything so fast that we forget the basic tenet of improving and that is to get better every day slowly.
Even if you try hard and just improve yourself 1% a day, you are 37 times better after a year of starting the journey of improving yourself.
You may not complete reading a book in a day, but if you read only 5 pages a day, you can easily read 1825 pages or 6 books in a year.
You can start as small as you want but keep on working for it. Initially, it all feels boring when we don't see any result but after some time it becomes our habit.
Then one good habit gives birth to another one, then another one, then one more and this sequence continue. If running feels hard to you, you can start with walking daily and even if you're not comfortable with walking daily, you still have many more options.
Why do you not start with writing or reading something? You can start practising meditation for only 5 minutes a day. You can be more grateful to the people around you. You can thank as many people as possible in a day. It is all simple.
So, no matter what you want to achieve, you can start very small and keep on working. It is better to move than be stagnant forever.