Don’t let it define you

I believed running was the ultimate freedom. No fancy equipment, just my body moving through nature. I loved the feeling, especially running trails hopping over rocks and dodging trees. I would run whilst on tour as a musician, to see the sights, and get some solo time before its time to load up and travel to the next destination. 

Some health issues arose and I could no longer run. It just didn’t serve me like it used to. It made my health feel worse. The harder I pushed, the more my health declined. All I wanted to do was run again, for it to “work” and get the same feeling I used to. I felt like I had lost my freedom.

I felt like a caged prisoner and the only way to be free again was to be able to run like I once did.

But who’s prison was this? who built the cage? I did.

I was trapped in the self belief that I am what I do, I am what I achieve, I had to measure up to my perception of the way I believed others see me.

When I finally realised I didn’t need to run in order to feel free, approve of myself, or be who I thought I was, I found a deeper freedom than that which existed when I ran.

You could say that I stopped running from myself.

Love your run (insert activity here), just don’t let it define you.