As I've mentioned in previous posts, one of the main reasons that I run is for mental health. I'm extremely thankful that over the past several years of running, I have been able to use it to combat anxiety on a number of different levels. I used to take medication to deal with my anxiety but through the strategic use of running, I was able to move away from having to take medication every day. Although there have been many times running has helped me, it has taken me a while to learn how to best use running in this area of my life. Today was a good example, so I thought I would share it.
There's a friend of mine that I've had a bit of a falling out with. This friend and I sent a couple of emails back and forth sort of calling each other out and the last one sent was by me the day before yesterday, on Thursday evening. I was pretty upset about the last email I had received so the response I sent was quite terse. I spent the rest of the evening feeling more hurt that I had in a long time and just contemplating the whole situation.
Now, I knew that there would likely be a response and I suspected that it would be somewhat confrontational and would come the next morning.
I didn't get around to checking my email the next day (Friday) until well after noon but when I did, sure enough, there was a response.
I didn't read it.
Instead, I left it sitting there.
Rather than reading it and taking a chance on ruining my work day, my evening or my sleep last night, I just let it sit.
Rather than letting it possibly ruin my Saturday morning, I let it sit,.
In fact, I let it sit until just before I went for my Saturday run.
This is my mental strategy now. As much as I am able, I gear stressful circumstances around my running schedule.
And it works. Yes, the email response from my friend was terse and passive aggressively provocative, but as soon as I was finished reading it, I went running.
While running, I had time to think, contemplate, reflect and form a cogent and honest response.
As I ran, my breathing steady and my senses clear, I experienced calm, peace and clarity.
And hopefully the email response that I just sent a couple of hours ago reflected that.
Whatever the case may be, I feel good about what I said and the manner in which I conveyed it and running helped me achieve that.
No comments:
Post a Comment