Yesterday started like many other Tuesdays:

The alarm went off at 6am. Jolted out of my peaceful slumber, I was annoyed. Tired from the late night rendez-vous with my latest library book (why didn’t I just put the book down at 10pm like I said I was going to?), the last thing I wanted to do at that moment was to get up.

So I lay my head back down on the pillow until my faithful alarm rang again at 6:05am.

I gave an audible, “Ugh!” and swung one leg out of bed. The other one followed begrudgingly. My feet now planted firmly on the floor, I asked myself, “Why did I commit to running so early?”

Already knowing the answer (the early bird gets the worm, duh), I stumbled into the bathroom, went through my regular morning routine, grabbed my workout gear, filled up my water bottle, laced up my runners, and headed for the car.

The haze of my sleepiness started to lift, though the creases of the pillow were still outlined on my face. I couldn’t help but notice the sky in all its serenity and beauty. Hardly anyone was up. The sun was rising in the east, shining brightly in my eyes.

Visor down. Vision restored.

Check.

30 minutes later, I pulled up to Temescal Canyon. Within moments, I was joined by my faithful running partners, Ginny, Megan, and Dale.

I knew what was coming. 4 years of running the same mountain once – sometimes twice – a week will do that to you: A 4 mile loop with a 1000 foot elevation gain. Starting with a slow build, after 5 minutes you are greeted by a steep hill that never quits until you reach the top. It’s like a slap in the face. Every time.

The anticipation is enough to make me march my butt right back to my car and just go home. That would be easier.

But I don’t. I stay. And I run.

10 minutes into the run, I had Ginny in my sight in front of me, unknowingly daring me to try to catch her with every step she took, providing me with just enough motivation to force my legs forward, fighting to keep her in my sight. I had Megan at my heels, so close I could hear the pitter patter of her feet and the deep inhales and exhales of her breath, threatening to pass me with every step. More motivation. My legs burned. They screamed at me to stop, and my lungs followed suit.

But I dug down deep, and vowed to keep going.

Feet don’t fail me now!

And as I struggled up the mountain, as I seem to do every time I run it, I realized that running Temescal is akin to facing obstacles in my life. Each run – each obstacle – is a different chapter of my story. It has a beginning, a middle, and an inevitable end. The ending usually involves relief, a big smile, and a sense of accomplishment for a job well done, or at the very least, for having shown up in the first place.

And so it is with life. It’s a culmination of life experiences all perfectly arranged into chapters, some long, some short, but never boring. No one knows how many chapters they will write before the inevitable last one, but they can be sure that until the end, just as the sun will rise tomorrow, there will be another chapter.

What’s more is that we are the authors of our own life stories. Yes, there will be things that happen that we have no control over, but the beauty of it all is that we get to choose our reactions to everything, which restores our leadership as the authors of our own lives.

For me, Temescal is a representation of the triumphs and tribulations in life. It has taught me a lot about how to handle myself in many situations, specifically on pushing forward when all I really want to do is quit.

Here are 19 ways to push forward in the face of potential self defeat:

Don’t psych yourself out before you even begin, or when you encounter the first steep hill. I know Temescal. I am intimately familiar with her grooves, foliage, crevices, rocks, and hills. I can anticipate each and every steep pass, and that anticipation can sometimes psych me out. I’m happy to say that 98% of the time, I don’t let it. I’m working on the other 2%. Bottom line? Do not underestimate the power of your mind. Control it or it will control you.

Be proud of yourself for even showing up and doing it in the first place. Staying in bed is easy, but it leaves no room for glory. Facing your challenges creates the possibility for reward. So focus on that when you’re struggling to start, when you’re struggling up the hill and when all you want to do is give up.

Get familiar with the path you will have to take, and break it up into bite sized chunks. I know the 3 parts of Temescal that absolutely, positively suck, for lack of a better word. I know my legs will burn. I know I will gasp for air. I know I may even stumble as I struggle to lift my feet up over the rocks. So when I hit the first one, I just tell myself, “You can do this. Just keep going, one foot in front of the other. Only 2 more to go.” Once I get past the third dreadful part, I am home free. The rest is cake. Or at least, that’s what I tell myself.

Be thankful that you even have the option to take on this challenge. When it comes to running, I have the use of my legs, my feet, my arms. I have the lung capacity. I am healthy. So in life, identify the basic advantages and gifts you were born with. Don’t take them for granted. Some people never had them, and you may not have yours forever. So use them while you can.

Be thankful that you even have the opportunity to take on this challenge. So, you have the option to take on a challenge, but what about the opportunity? Think about your geographical location, your financial situation that allows you to put a roof over your head, to feed yourself, to pay your bills, to do what you want to do when you feel like it. The mentor who believes in you. The investor who took a chance on your business. The manager who gave you a promotion. Not everyone has these opportunities.  Identify yours and remember that some (or many) of them might be disguised as challenges. Either way, consider yourself lucky to have them. Be grateful for them, use them wisely, and never take them for granted.

Keep your eye on the prize. Know what you are fighting for. Focus on that when the times gets tough. Imagine yourself at the end. Remember why you want it. And keep going.

Imagine how you will feel when you get to the top. When I’m struggling up Temescal, I often try to think about the sense of accomplishment I will feel when I get there. I imagine myself at the top, high fiving my friends who are waiting there for me. Thinking about this acts as a great motivator, and reminds me that I can do this – I’ve done it before – and I know it will feel great when I get there!

Take it one step at a time. Sometimes all I can handle is one step at a time. If I think about how much further I have to go, or I look up ahead of me and see nothing but more path to run, I get overwhelmed and I feel like quitting. At times like those, I look down, and I tell myself to just take one step at a time. One foot in front of the other.

Stay in the game and keep moving forward. Even if you really want to stop. You feel like you couldn’t possibly take another step forward. You’re exhausted. You don’t have anything left. DO NOT STOP. It’s ok if you need to stop running. Walk instead. But keep moving forward. One foot. Then the other. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Until you get to the top. Then you can rest. It’s all about momentum, not just physically, but mentally too. On the days when I stop running, I always struggle to get going again. I’m faced with an onslaught of mind chatter that says, “It’s too hard, it’s too steep, I’m too tired.” It’s nearly impossible to push through those voices, for they have more control over my legs than my muscles do in those moments. So keep going. It may not seem like it, but you will get there. I promise.

Don’t fight it: let the road rise to meet you. The more you fight the hill, the harder it will be. So don’t fight it. Know that there lives a carefully constructed rhythm somewhere in that pain you’re feeling. It may not feel very pleasant, but trust that it’s there. If you fight it, you won’t find it. So calm down. Breathe. Relax into the hill. Find the inevitable beauty that is there. It will rise to meet you if only you let it.

Believe in yourself. You can do it. In fact, you can, and you will. Tell yourself that as much as you need to as you’re running up that hill. When you get to the top, you will have proven yourself right. Victory is yours for the taking.

Don’t compare yourself to others. Instead, be inspired by them. My husband, Ted, and my friends, Steve, Ginny, Dale, Megan, Finn and many others are all faster than me. Admittedly sometimes it gets frustrating, but really, they inspire me to push forward, to try harder, to push through the limitations of my mind, to move faster, to get better. So compare yourself, but only if you use it as fuel for your improvement.

When it gets really tough and you think you might give up, think about something else. Sometimes I will repeat a mantra over and over again in my head. Or I will mentally run through my latest life goals. Anything to get my mind off the pain and onto something else. It’s just a distraction, and it works. And when all else fails and I want to do is cry, throw up, or punch something, I simply count. I count to 10 over and over again, all the way up to the top. It works every time.

Repeat positive affirmations as you run. Sometimes I just need to keep repeating something like, “I feel great! I am strong! I am fierce!” over and over again in my head. It really helps! What’s more, I sometimes imagine myself as a superhero who needs to get to the top so I can help the people who need me. Yes, I am Wonder Woman. You can be too. Or Superman. Or Batman. Whatever floats your boat.

When you’re on your way up the hill, imagine there is someone there pushing you, giving you a little help. It sounds silly, but sometimes I Imagine the little birds from Cinderella lifting up my shirt and gliding me to the top. I also sometimes imagine there are springs on the bottom of my feet, and little wings on them to give them extra flight like Hermes, the Greek messenger God. Silly? Yes. Does it work? Yes. Don’t knock it until you try it!

Accept help from people if you need it. When I’m really really tired, my husband Ted will run next to me up the last part of the hill, his hand on the middle of my back, pushing me forward. It takes some of the weight off, and makes me a bit lighter on my feet, helping me to the top with a little less effort. Sometimes we just need a little help from our friends, and if it gets us to our goal, great! There is no shame is asking for and accepting help.

Remember that this is only one chapter in your life. It will end, and a new one will begin. Unless it’s life threatening, don’t close it in the middle! Get to the top first and write your perfect ending!

Don’t make excuses. There are a million reasons I could find to stay in bed instead of running. Some of them may even be legit. But none of them will make me better, and none of them will create any possibilities for my life. So rise above your excuses. They are not real. Don’t give them the power to be.

Sometimes you will stumble and fall, but you can get right back up again. I’ve fallen many times at Temescal. We all have. I have torn pants and memories of blood and broken skin to prove it. But every time, I get back up, I keep going, and I come back again.

I’m sure Temescal has many other life lessons to teach me. And I will gladly take them, for they serve to make me the best version of myself, in this journey, this story of my life of which I am the best selling author.

What will your story be today?

Sincerely,

Lauren
xxx