Think for a moment about a time when you had a workout scheduled that you just didn’t want to do. You felt tired. Your mind was pushing you around so much so that you thought of just giving in to it, laying on the couch and watching some Netflix. But… you didn’t, you went out for the workout and executed it perfectly, you were focused and engaged. The noise in your headed quieted down a bit and sometimes it was non-existent. This is a great example of acceptance and commitment in action. You committed to doing action in spite the stuff coming up for you and pushing you around.

Like many people I work with, running has been a sanctuary for me, a way to process, a way to quite my mind, and for someone who craves movement in their life a way to direct energy. So of course, running twelve miles ‘sounded’ awesome while I was in the depths of these swirling emotions. Yet, while running and exercise can be a sanctuary, it is still a stress - a load on our bodies and minds. When we’re experiencing a high load of stress in the case of trauma or loss, it’s important to be mindful of that load and adjust accordingly as it’s easier to overtrain and increase the risk of injury due to fatigue and muscle tension.

What’s a story you tell yourself over and over that’s just not true?

The first one I can think of is that “I’m not an athlete.” Then I look through my life and see, football, baseball, wrestling, rock-climbing, mountaineering, alpine skiing, telemark skiing, ski-touring, track, marathon, ultramarathons, road races, oh, and almost forgot the years of Karate and Judo.