A Run in the Cold--A Paragraph a Day

I went for a run after work today, even though the temperature was only about 37 degrees.  That was fine with me, though--with long sleeves and running pants and a nice warm hat, I practically didn't notice the temperature at all.  That's the way it usually is with a run after work on days like this--I don't feel like going outside because it's cold and my home is nice and warm and cozy, but I force myself to do so anyway.  And once I get out there, I enjoy it a lot.  Some of the best runs of my life have come on days when I would have preferred not to run at all due to weather conditions.  But I've run anyway, and it's been great.  It often makes me wonder what else in my life I might have been avoiding, and that I might have missed because it seemed like it might be unpleasant.  It's so easy for us to slip into comfort mode, to look around ourselves and say, "This is nice right here and right now--there's no need to do anything else."  The thing is, though, that running is the activity that most contributes to my good health, and if I don't do it, I gain weight and I lose fitness.  I'm not a fanatic about fitness, but I do want to stay healthy, and running is an important part of that.  What else could I be enjoying in life because I think it might be a bit unpleasant?  What am I avoiding that I should be searching out and enjoying?  I'm definitely not always the best judge of what's best for me, and it may be worth my while to start paying attention to things that I'm avoiding for some reason.  Who knows?  There's a chance that what I'm avoiding could be just what I need!  The run in the cold today was very enjoyable, even though it seemed that it wouldn't be.  What else is tricking me?

Getting out and Doing Something--A Paragraph a Day

Often when I get home after work, I feel tired and I want to do nothing but sit down and have a glass of wine or something.  I want to relax and recharge, and I don't want to do anything too active because I'm very tired.  Experience tells me, though, that that's exactly when I need to do something.  When I feel that way and I go for a run or a bike ride, or I start working on a project around the house, I feel more rejuvenated than I would have felt sitting down.  Using my body helps my body to kind of shift gears, to move into a different mode that actually feels very good to me, even though some minutes before I felt like any physical activity would have been too much.  It's nice to know this because now I'm able to tell myself, "No, I don't feel like going for a run, but I know from experience that it's going to feel good as soon as I start."  Far too often, we take the easy way out, and for me that would mean pouring the glass of wine and sitting down with a book or a computer.  But my body needs exercise just as much as it needs food, and my mind does much better when it's actively engaged in the world around me, so I'm glad that I'm able to overcome the feelings of tiredness and actually go out and exercise some.  Our bodies and minds can fool us and convince us to do things that aren't necessarily in the body's best interest, so it's good to be aware of their tendency to try to get us to take the easy way out rather than taking the most beneficial route.