
For Pete’s Peppers, Go For A Run!
No, seriously …
So, I have recently become a runner. I played football in high school, and had trained my body to exert short bursts of energy. Endurance activities were never my strong suit.
I recently signed up to run a half marathon to support wells being built in Africa. You will hear more about this soon, but I decided to run this half marathon with my wife this October. The furthest I had run prior to my training was 4 miles. Needless to say, tackling 13 miles was a daunting task, and one that would pose a lot of challenges.
I started training back in March, and I can confidently say that running is one of my favorite activities now. It makes me feel great during and after, and I have lost a lot of weight and feel generally better physically and mentally since I started.
I few months ago I noticed that while running I had the best thoughts of my day. Not only would I think about things that would better myself, things like new article and business ideas, but I would think about ways that I could help other people.
The more I trained the more clearly I noticed the trend that when I ran I would think about ways that I could help and love other people in my life. I eventually came to the conclusion that this was not happening by accident. There must be something that happens to my brain while running that elicits good feelings.
These thoughts lead me to doing a bit of research. I happened on an article published in the NY Times that discussed some research done by Dr. Boecker.
His data showed that endorphins are produced during running and other endurance exercises. These endorphins attach themselves to the part of the brain that is associated with emotion. The same area of the brain that is involved in romantic love affairs.
My hypothesis was confirmed. Running makes us feel good, and even aids in us loving others. The world needs more love, and we all could use a little bit more of those “good feelings” in our life.
Not everyone is a runner or enjoys running, much like I wasn’t and didn’t, but with a regular practice of an endurance activity I would propose that you can tap into these feelings as well. I don’t have any research to back this, but I would go so far as to say that we were created to participate in these sorts of activities and our body responds positively to them.
I hope that you are able to find an activity that aids you in feeling this way. Maybe it is running, biking, or swimming. Whatever it is, I would encourage you to push past the initial trials that you will face when delving into them and see it through until it becomes a pleasurable thing for you. Who knows, maybe you will think of an idea that will change the world or someones life.
Cheers
Jarod Dickson


