Before You Change Jobs (or Proclaim You Hate Running)... Get Curious.

As I love the treadmill and find it to be a time of meditative processing, I'm often approached at the gym while running. People say "I wish I could run, but I hate running..."

However, I am confident many people don't actually hate running - and that believing that they hate running may be sabotaging their relationship with the sport. When people think that they hate running (and/or the treadmill), it is often because their inner voice judges them while running and/or they have coupled running with the need to change themselves in some way (thus they are focusing on what they don't like about themselves or using running as a punishment for not feeling enough). They may be high achievers who expect themselves to be amazing at everything, and it's uncomfortable to start something new and face the possibly of sucking at something, especially before you've given yourself time to improve.

Thus, what we actually often hate is how we feel when we have an inner self-critic in our brain telling us we are no good and should just quit. 

If you want to learn to run (and possibly even enjoy it), I'm happy to help you develop a self-compassionate voice and change your relationship with running. Changing your mindset around running, your body, movement, your work... may completely transform your relationship with the activity. Self-compassion will not interfere with your ability to run faster and farther, but will optimize your ability to train sustainable and likely enhance your performance... and at the very least, your enjoyment of the journey.

I often use running metaphors for life - thus, let's translate this lesson into our personal and professional journeys. Over the past 7 years after leaving oral surgery, I learned much of what I thought I didn't like about dentistry and OMFS was due to the perfectionist inner critic telling me that I was no good and didn't deserve to be there. If I could go back, I would work on my mindset BEFORE leaving and give myself time to suck at something/not know what I hadn't yet learned as I developed new skills without thinking that those deficits were a reflection of my worthiness as a human.

Through a self-compassionate lens, we may gain more clarity on what is actually good for us and what we enjoy. Through the lens of a self-critic, we may hate everything, because it doesn't feel good to sit in the faulty belief that we aren't good enough. 

After working on your mindset, you may still not want to run... you may still want to change your job or career. The difference is that these decisions will be made intentionally as you move towards what you truly want rather than avoiding or moving away from what you fear without facing the core issues that may continue to surface if not confronted.

If you are interested in more personalized support such as 1:1 coaching, I'd be honored to help you reclaim the narrative and improve your relationship with yourself as you create a fulfilling life that is true to you- without all the self-sabotaging self-criticism. 💖