I had a sort of epiphany yesterday while out on my morning run. Yep, I’m talking about running (again).
My plan was to go out for a nice and easy 8 miles—not an easy task by any means. I usually have to psych myself up before doing any run that’s more than about 3 miles. Yeah, running sucks, I know.
I took off out the front door and planned to go 4 miles out, 4 miles back. It was a nice, clear day and the sun was beating down on me. I could feel that runner’s high starting to kick in after about 20 minutes.
When I reached 4 miles and it was time to turn around and head back home, I didn’t stop. I kept running. I said to myself, “screw it, let’s do 10 miles today.”
About 8 minutes later when I reached 5 miles and it was time to turn around and head back home, I didn’t stop. I just kept running. I said to myself, “you know what? Let’s do 12 miles today.”
Finally, when I reached the 6-mile mark and it was time to turn around and head back home, I actually did. Not because I wanted to stop, but because I needed to get back home for a phone meeting (my lame excuse for finally ending the run). So I turned around and finished my last 6 miles.
When I got home, I felt great. All I could think about was how I ran 50% more than I planned on running. Not because I had some random surge of physical fitness, but because I gave myself permission to do so.
The moral of this dumb story is this: in order to do difficult things, we must give ourselves permission.
It had been a while since I’d done any runs more than 10 miles, usually because I don’t let myself. Double-digit distance training run? That sounds painful. No thanks. Today, as I’m writing this, I feel just fine.
My body is more than capable of running 10+ miles, but my mind rarely gives it permission to do so. This goes for all things in life. Our bodies and our minds are capable of doing SO MUCH, but we don’t give ourselves permission. We let self-doubt overpower our self-confidence. We ask ourselves those detrimental questions.
What will people think?
What if I fail?
What if it doesn’t work out as planned?
What if I lose friends because of it?
We’re afraid to start a business because we fear failure. We’re afraid to talk to people because we fear what they’ll think of us. We’re afraid to stand up for what we believe in because we fear rejection.
All of the fear that we have in our lives comes from one place and one place only: that space between our ears.
The mind is the most powerful tool in the world because it can give us permission to do anything we want.
Whatever it is you’re afraid of or whatever you think you can’t do, I dare you to give yourself permission to do it and watch what happens.
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