It's my life
Some of you may be wondering why I have been AWOL for so many days. Well, maybe you don't care that much, but I'll pretend you do. The truth of the matter is, I have been ever so busily evaluating my life.
No, really.
This deep and meaningful-sounding process is actually an assignment for a psych class that I am taking at the moment. We have been sentenced to complete an exercise of "future authoring" - that is: imagining what our ideal future would be like, establishing the goals such a future would require, and creating realistic strategies for attaining those goals. Sound like a brainful? It is.
Surprisingly though, the task, though incredibly lengthy, is not nearly as monotonous as I was sure it would be. In fact, it's pretty darn interesting after all. It's made me actually set down in writing some of the zillions of plans that have been floating around in my brain, which makes them seem a little more real, a little more scary, and a little more possible.
The funny thing that I noticed, though, was a certain difference in specificity. The goals that I have chosen to write about are pretty broad - I want to have a good job, have a family, travel around the world - that kind of thing. So even the "detailed strategies" I established for attaining these goals have a certain vagueness about them, for the most part. Except for one: the one about maintaining good health and physical activity. That one, I've got so nailed, it sticks out of my plan like a sore thumb. More like a thumbs up, really.
The thing is, being a runner, I have so many concrete goals, I have a training plan, I have all kinds of strategies picked up from everywhere. I want to run a half marathon, then a marathon. To get there, I have to increase my weekly mileage, but only by 10% at a time so I don't injure myself. I also have to crosstrain, stretch and strengthen. I have to do easy runs, long runs, tempo runs. I can monitor my distance, pace, overall feeling of fitness, and *gulp* even my weight. I need to balance carbs, protein and fat, eat enough vegetables, get vitamins and minerals. And a billion other little things. It's all so quantitative - and as such, so attainable.
Not that I'm much of a control freak, but all of us feel most comfortable when we are in control of our own lives. Having a running regimen really gives you that power, that mental and physical edge, and it leads to a really great "I can do that!" attitude. You can always push the boundaries, test your own limits, and feel an amazing sense of accomplishment for going there.
I guess when I'm evaluated on this assignment, they'll probably notice the sharp detail of my "health" plan stand out against the background of the rest. Which, really, is great - there isn't much in life that's more important than your health, after all. Yep, I know I obsess over running more than over most things. But that's just part of what makes us all runners - and proud to be so.
No, really.
This deep and meaningful-sounding process is actually an assignment for a psych class that I am taking at the moment. We have been sentenced to complete an exercise of "future authoring" - that is: imagining what our ideal future would be like, establishing the goals such a future would require, and creating realistic strategies for attaining those goals. Sound like a brainful? It is.
Surprisingly though, the task, though incredibly lengthy, is not nearly as monotonous as I was sure it would be. In fact, it's pretty darn interesting after all. It's made me actually set down in writing some of the zillions of plans that have been floating around in my brain, which makes them seem a little more real, a little more scary, and a little more possible.
The funny thing that I noticed, though, was a certain difference in specificity. The goals that I have chosen to write about are pretty broad - I want to have a good job, have a family, travel around the world - that kind of thing. So even the "detailed strategies" I established for attaining these goals have a certain vagueness about them, for the most part. Except for one: the one about maintaining good health and physical activity. That one, I've got so nailed, it sticks out of my plan like a sore thumb. More like a thumbs up, really.
The thing is, being a runner, I have so many concrete goals, I have a training plan, I have all kinds of strategies picked up from everywhere. I want to run a half marathon, then a marathon. To get there, I have to increase my weekly mileage, but only by 10% at a time so I don't injure myself. I also have to crosstrain, stretch and strengthen. I have to do easy runs, long runs, tempo runs. I can monitor my distance, pace, overall feeling of fitness, and *gulp* even my weight. I need to balance carbs, protein and fat, eat enough vegetables, get vitamins and minerals. And a billion other little things. It's all so quantitative - and as such, so attainable.
Not that I'm much of a control freak, but all of us feel most comfortable when we are in control of our own lives. Having a running regimen really gives you that power, that mental and physical edge, and it leads to a really great "I can do that!" attitude. You can always push the boundaries, test your own limits, and feel an amazing sense of accomplishment for going there.
I guess when I'm evaluated on this assignment, they'll probably notice the sharp detail of my "health" plan stand out against the background of the rest. Which, really, is great - there isn't much in life that's more important than your health, after all. Yep, I know I obsess over running more than over most things. But that's just part of what makes us all runners - and proud to be so.
posted by Liv @ 8:31 p.m.
3 Comments:
At 1:10 p.m.,
psbowe said…
Running sure does gives one that extra drive, motivations, and a feeling of "I can do anything." You so have this assignment nailed! Good luck.
At 9:02 p.m.,
onepinkfuzzy said…
Yes, running adds containment to my life - it fulfills a need for focus, direction and structure. I'm learning how to understand that focus, direction and structure, so I can begin to apply it to everything else in my life. I think doing that will give me satisfaction, security and confidence.
At 2:42 p.m.,
Amy said…
Running has given me the opportunity to to relinquish some of the control I try to put on EVERYTHING else in my life, and focusing on controlling one single thing. Actually, I think I'm gonna update my blog about this. Thanks for the motivation!
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