A lot of people in this world are afraid to really push themselves out of fear of failure. These people are stuck in their comfort zones, fearing, and thus, avoiding the great unknown.
I have a fear of becoming one of those people. Never reaching full potential, simply living comfortably and quietly, terrifies me.
Running has instilled this fear deep in my soul. Long distance running is about constantly pushing yourself, learning your limits, and then surpassing them. It is a 95% mental sport. It may seem crazy to an average person to want to get up early every day to set foot on a trail or road to see how quickly for how great of a distance you can move your body before completely exhausting yourself. But for a runner, it's a lifestyle; and it is all about pushing further and harder and setting new goals every single day.
Setting goals can be a really scary thing. Some goals may seem too unattainable, too out there, or too far fetched to reach for. It is hard to set these high goals knowing that you may never reach them and that you may fall short of your own expectations. But if you are too afraid to try, you'll never know what you were really capable of. Selling yourself short can be just as detrimental to your mental health as feeling as if you have failed. As humans in this society, in this day and age, we have almost infinite opportunities and we are capable of so much, not only socially and mentally but physically as well. That is again where running comes into play. People every day are running marathons and IronMan races and breaking world records for speed. These people are not afraid to put themselves out there and lay everything on the line to reach these seemingly unattainable goals.
Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like right now if I had been afraid to start emailing college cross country coaches asking them to check out my milesplit page. At one point I was afraid of running a half marathon just weeks after spraining my ankle, instead I ran it and placed third in my age group. I know at one point I was afraid that running cross country was right for me after I got shin splints, yet again. Sometimes I also wonder what life would be like if I had been afraid to join a different sorority than my two best friends or if I had been afraid to break up with a guy when I just wasn't feeling the same anymore. But I wasn't afraid, I ran through life and was fearless and I still am, and I believe I am living my best life possible.
I challenge you to do something that scares you a little, or set a goal a little higher than you normally would. Life is just more exhilarating that way.
