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Yesterday, my lovely and awesome husband tricked me into running a long way. 6 miles to be exact. We are training for a half marathon, and he decided that the best way to do this was to suggest a route for the run, instead of a distance. This way – we would just get there instead of counting mileage.
He was ABSOLUTELY correct. We took a nice job down to the Washington Monument, then over to the Lincoln Memorial, then back up through Rock Creek Parkway to our neighborhood. It was lovely. So lovely in fact that I didn’t check the pedometer once. Not ONCE!
For me, this was quite the feat. My knee was hurting at the end, and my sugar was super low. But, for the most part – I made it. I checked the meter at the end of the run, and was astounded at my own ability.
“You mean you couldn’t feel it when we got to 5K?” he asked.
No. No I could not.
What does this have to do with work, or maybe just with life? Maybe nothing. But it was certainly an interesting concept. I had tricked my body. I had tricked it by just allowing it to do its’ thing, and not think about the long term.
Though I was able to do this last night, it was truly miraculous. That is not the type of person that I am. I think about things too much. I plan careers instead of next business moves. I plan meals 5 days ahead of time. I plan vacations months in advance. I am a long-term thinker.
I have recognized in this, a terrible weakness. Every day at my current job is a step not taken in this so-called “long term” direction. Every encounter with my boss is like another dose of “wrong path, wrong decision” pills.
This mentality has overpowered the day-to-day tasks of this job (most of which I find un-fulfilling and ridiculous.) Why is it that we can be so positive in one aspect of our life, and not in another?
Is it possible to just take a deep breath and move on, and IS attitude really everything?
Each and every day I learn more and more the truth that resides in our mentality shaping our destinies – more so than anything around us. This is the lesson that I know, but one that is hard to ascribe to.
Deep breathing is a very difficult skill.
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Comments
10.14.09
I definitely hear what you're saying here. Especially with the "wrong path, wrong decision" thing, which is how I feel about my job right now. However, I've found that the key to getting past those thoughts it to take steps, small as they may be, toward the path you eventually would like to be on. For instance, I'm stuck in my salaried job for a while because I need the money, however, I'm attempting to increase my freelance business, and I'm in school part-time to get my teaching degree. So I know that by pursuing these other paths, eventually I'll get to the point where I can quit my dead-end job and get started in the direction I really want to go. Baby steps eventually turn into a full-on run... but you know that! ;)
It's not all mental. You need the mental to get the energy to change, but at some point you do have to turn the thought into action! Good luck!
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