As much as I love running and want to do more of it, use it to challenge myself through stretch goals and discipline – there are some things about running I haven’t shared.
Just a quick fun/sarcastic take on the others side of running!
I did a thing! I committed to a running streak!
So ….what is a running streak anyway? Essentially it’s a certain amount of time where a runner commits to running with no days off. Running more than anything is a mind game. It’s not about how fast or how far you can run…it’s always about taking the first stride, then the next and the next. It it’s about constantly reminding yourself about you why and finding the discipline to keep going.
Before I get into some of what I learned, I wanted to share a little about my steak.
Okay so here are the top 5 things I learned:
So thankful I was able to get out for a run on the first day of the year. Running in the colder temps is a new thing I started doing and I never want to look back.
The dreadmill is near and dear to my heart but winter running, snow, bare trees and crisp air has it’s own charm. And 👏🏽 I 👏🏽 am 👏🏽 here 👏🏽 for 👏🏽 it!
I truly feel alignment is the spice of life. Aligning to my goals, hobbies, dreams, passions, career and community – as much as I can EVERYDAY. Of course there are days where what I want do is “align” to comfort (aka binge watch a series on Netflix!!) But by choosing alignment, I make a conscious decisions when it comes to to re-aligning or readjusting my day to handle priorities or new needs.
I recently did the daily habit score cards as outlined in Atomic Habits. What you need to do is write down every thing you do most days. Things like brush your teeth, drop your kids at school, read on the train, scroll IG while making a coffee, take a walk over lunch, meditate before bed are some of the habits that I would need to record. Even the habits you don’t think are important like snooze the alarm or set the alarm for the next day are recorded in this list of habits. Then I used a +, – or = to denote positive/beneficial habits, negative habits and neutral habits.
What this exercise did was help me visually see and recognize habits that weren’t helping me get to where I see myself in the future or on path to attain certain goals. It’s a helpful way to honestly look at and become more aware of your behaviour.
What it got me thinking about was, what my ideal day would consist of (ie: turn my habits into goals). It made me aware of what activities make me feel energized, bring me joy and what things I want to do to improve my everyday. What I saw was those activities were grouped into the following categories:
So here is a snapshot of what I see as my ideal day:
Wake up (without an alarm!), meditate and journal (optimal journalling practice for me would be either a brain dump/artists way writing, combined with gratitude, goal setting and a to do list). Drink a bottle of water and then get dressed in my workout clothes and spend 15 minutes reading before the rest of the house wakes up. If it’s a Wednesday or a Weekend, I’d probably wear a facemark. When the kids wake up, I’d help them get ready for the day and we all head downstairs. The kids would have breakfast and after dropping them off at school I’d do my outdoor workout (tempo run through a forest, HIIT or heavy weight training). Getting back home, I’d drink water and have a healthy breakfast that I prepped the night before. I’d make tea and refill my water bottle and get to work where I contribute to and add value to peoples life with both a tech and human centric approach. I would schedule meetings for the afternoons because my most productive time is between 9am-2:30pm, I’d want to use that time to work, write, photograph, create, ideate, research, work on projects, strategize or consult. I would break for lunch (to eat something I prepped the night before with lots of veggies/fibre, fish or eggs and a complex carb with more water) and definitely take a leisurely stroll to energize and also digest the meal. I’d spend the remainder of my afternoon drinking more water and either in meetings, training or creating. Before picking up the kids, I would love to have a tea break or coffee chat with a colleague or business partner. After, picking the kids up from school, we’d have an afternoon snack and do homework or get to after school extra curricular activities. Dinner would be prepped or at least planned and we’d eat as a family. Before bed we’d hang out (go for a walk, bike ride or play a game or watch the WNBA game). After the kids are in bed, I’d prep for the next day before taking some me time to either study, stretch/foam roll, shower, netflix or blog. I’d end the date with a peppermint tea with a few pieces of dark chocolate or home-made cookies. Definitely would want to be in bed by 10:30 after brushing/flossing my teeth and taking time to spiritually self reflect.
Wow just writing that out was so relaxing. And of course things may come up where I’d have to adjust my attention to handle a priority but the hope is keeping my day as closely aligned to my main goal categories. Every small step would create a ripple effect towards my goals.