About a month or so ago I started running again after about a 10-year hiatus thanks to my June 14th post about Joel Runyon (Impossible HQ) and his Impossible List. My goal was to be able to run the 5KTrinity Turkey Trot Princeton on Thanksgiving Day. I was only running a little over a mile when I left for vacation at Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort inSouth Carolina about a week ago.

On day 2 of vacation, I decided to go for a run. As I left the house, I noticed everything was different. At home, I was familiar with my one-mile loop, but here I didn’t have a planned-out route. So I just started running but instantly my mind kicked in and fought me on everything. It told me all the reasons to stop: (a) I didn’t have a planned route, (b) it was hot and humid, and (c) it was too hard. “Just stop and walk,” my mind told me. I tried to tune it out but I couldn’t do it.

Ultimately, I spent almost the entire run battling my mind. I realized how important it is in life (or running) to always have a target and a plan. In an effort to stop all the thoughts of quitting, I arbitrarily chose the marina as my target turnaround point. That target gave me the goal I needed to focus solely on execution. Do you have a target you are shooting for? Do you have a plan to execute? Without a target and a plan you might find, like I did, the mind becomes your biggest adversary. Today, consider picking a target. You just might be pleasantly surprised! I was.

With Gratitude,
Beth
www.fitzgeraldlifecoaching.com
beth@fitzgeraldlifecoaching.com