Patience…isn’t there an app for that? When you live in a world where everything from grocery shopping to dating can happen in a matter of clicks on a smartphone, it’s not surprising that our patience muscles have fallen out of shape.
Is your patience running thin? You should start running! Here are five ways in which running teaches patience, each of which is bound to apply to your daily life:
Impatience Has Real Consequences
Ask any runners who have ignored their training plans and upped their mileage or intensity too quickly how their resulting injuries felt, and you will see just how soul-crushing impatience can be. It’s hard to trust a training plan when you want to go farther and faster, but building a proper foundation is imperative. Running teaches you how to work through impatience and prevent those speed bumps.
A Better Work Ethic
Running leads to a better work ethic because it makes you a humbler listener — someone who is more receptive to critiques. Running also helps you stay committed when the going gets tough. It takes hard work, time, and an open attitude to improve; and those traits are bound to bleed into your daily life. From personal relationships to your work life, you’ll likely find yourself becoming a more patient and confident listener, and you’ll be more open to change in circumstances where things aren’t working.
Mindful and Grateful
There are moments in every runner’s life where he/she is able to accomplish certain goals that had once seemed impossible. And when those moments come along, the sense of accomplishment you experience after weeks or months of hard work makes you a more mindful and grateful human being. Success isn’t something to be taken for granted. Running teaches you that it’s not about how badly you want something; it’s about how hard you’re willing to work for it.
Hard Work > Shortcuts
There’s no greater feeling in the world than crossing a finish line (whether it be physical or metaphorical) knowing what had to happen to make that moment possible. With running, there are no quick fixes or shortcuts. The satisfaction of achieving your goals only comes after you put in the work to make them attainable.
Say Goodbye to Excuses and Hello to Accountability
Excuses? We all have them, but running helps you know when to give in and when to kick an excuse to the curb. Sometimes you really are too busy or too tired to run or work out! That’s when you learn just how important it is to plan ahead and make running a part of your daily routine. In order to achieve your goals, you have to kick self-doubt and excuses to the curb by holding yourself accountable.
Patience isn’t just a virtue; it’s an invaluable skill that takes time to develop. But it’s like the old saying goes; good things really do come to those who wait.
