LIFE LESSONS
Why Running Makes Me HIGH
The benefit of pushing through challenges
I finally experienced the “runner’s high” this morning!
I have been running for 30 minutes every morning for the last 3 weeks. This morning, halfway into my running routine, I got tired and wanted to rest. I thought I couldn’t last any longer. At that moment, it suddenly dawned on me that I should use this as an opportunity to create my “peak” experience for the day.
“Peak experiences as rare, exciting, oceanic, deeply moving, exhilarating, elevating experiences that generate an advanced form of perceiving reality, and are even mystic and magical in their effect upon the experimenter.” — Abraham Maslow
I have been learning about peak states from my life coach Dr. Ben Hardy who says that peak experiences don’t have to be rare. Instead, they should be something you do on a daily basis.
So back to my running routine this morning…. I wanted to see what would happen if I tried harder and completed my 30 minutes running routine with intention. I pushed forward, and completed my 30 minutes run. What happened in that process was invaluable.
I experienced the peak state!
The longer I ran with intention and gratitude (for the freedom to choose this action), the better I felt in terms of confidence and achievement.
While the physical challenge of feeling tired was always there, the mental challenge to “get better” and the firm decision to “push through” with intention kept me in the game. More that than, I experienced excitement, achievement, confidence and power. I was experiencing the peak state!
This emotion was so powerful that I was able to visualize my entire day and then plan, act with clarity and power.
It seems that it is exactly, in difficult times, when the window for experiencing something profound opens up. We just need to make a decision to push through and experience it.
The reason why I am running 30 minutes every morning is to be able to take Muay Thai (kickboxing) classes.
When I tried Muay Thai last month, I just couldn’t do it. One class lasts for 1.5 hours. 5 minutes of intense training, then I would need 5 minutes rest. So I first decided to build up my stamina before I took up Muay Thai again.
My intention behind running was never to creating peak states. While my goal is still the same — to be ready for a 1.5 hours long Muay Thai course, I have learned an important lesson though running: pushing myself to achieve more gives me peak experiences.
I have made a commitment to myself that by the end of next month, I will run for 1 hour with intention, gratitude, and experience peak state on a daily basis.
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Upen Singh writes about people and progress. He is interested in making lives better.
Having traveled over 25 countries he is always seeking new adventures to learn from and share. He has an M.A. in Developmental Economics from West Virginia University.
He lives in Thailand, Nepal, and the United States, constantly traveling. He is currently involved in a rural development project in far-west Nepal.
