Just the other day, our very own Woo Girl reached out to me and said, “I am gonna need a pep talk because I am not feeling this run today.” Now it is hard to find someone who is more pumped up and puts out more encouragement than Coach Sam, so it is good to note that we all have those days where it is hard to get it going! Don’t beat yourself up over those days, they are going to happen, but that brings me to what I wanted to talk about and what I told Sam.
I told Sam that I didn’t have a “PUMP YOU UP” pep talk but that I could tell her what had been going on in my own life, and that is that complacency breeds complacency. Being a trail runner this time of year it is really easy to want to cut a work-out short, move it inside on the treadmill, or push it to a different day. No big races are on the schedule; the weather can suck some days; it’s cold out; the list goes on… I had been letting myself make those little excuses more and more. The thing about that though is that when you start letting yourself become complacent in one area, you teach your mind that is an acceptable response. In other words, complacency breeds complacency!
The great news about this though is that if we flip this around, discipline breeds discipline! Every time you have one of those days that you “just aren’t feeling it” but you go do that workout anyways, you are teaching your mind how strong you really are. It may not be pretty, you may not hit a PR in the gym, but YOU DID IT! Each and every time you do that you are helping to reinforce in your mind that no matter what you can do this, and that will start to manifest itself throughout your life. Keep in mind guys I am not saying if you are injured to “push through no matter what!” We all need rest and healing. I am talking about the days that you’re simply tired and feel like you just don’t got it. These are the days where you can get not only physically, but mentally and spiritually stronger by sowing some discipline in your life.
Making the decision to go get 1% better every day spreads all throughout our lives! Go get yours today!