200 days ago I set out to run at least a mile every single day for 100 days straight.

I started that challenge because, like many people, I was in a rut with COVID and I wasn’t consistently exercising.

And it’s not the exercising that was the problem per say; I knew exercise helped me to feel my best but I wasn’t doing it. That’s the part that irked me.

So I set out to make a change.

If we’re being honest, I don’t particularly enjoy running in and of itself. It’s always been hard for me.

I usually make the joke that I run like a linebacker, but even those 220+ pound hunks of pure muscle look like gazelles compared to the trudging along I’ve been doing most of my life.

But, as I’ve learned through the last 200 days, the important thing is showing up.

And that’s what I did. For 100 days. And when I got there I thought “I wonder what would happen if I just kept showing up?” And so here we are, at day 200.

I’ve learned a lot in the last 200 days, but these 5 lessons stand out as the most impactful to me. And the best part: these lessons transcend running and apply to LIFE.

LESSON 1: SHOWING UP FOR YOURSELF IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU WILL EVER DO.

I started running every day because, for me, it was a small way that I knew I could show up for myself every single day. Here’s why that’s important to me: if I cannot be committed to myself, what is most important, and to the things that make me feel my best, I know it’s going to be damn near impossible to do that for others. And that’s important to me too. SO… I had to start at the source: myself. Showing up for myself in running has shown me what is possible and has highlighted other areas I could do better in showing up for myself first as well.

LESSON 2: THE BEST INTENTIONS NEVER BEAT CONCRETE PLANS

I talk a lot about intentions. Intentions really are the first step to action. I stand by that. But what I found over the last 200 days is that intention alone will not guarantee success. Or, said differently, if all you do is set the intention you will have to rely WAY more on willpower to get things done when push comes to shove and that’s not the most sustainable practice over the long term. So what is? Setting the intention: I will run every day. But then, also laying the concrete plans so you know exactly when and how you will execute. “I will run every day” is good, but knowing “I will run the neighborhood route today on my lunch hour and my running clothes and gear are all set for me to change into right in my office” is BEST.

LESSON 3: MOTIVATION IS JUST A FEELING & IT USUALLY FOLLOWS ACTION

Y’all… I used to think motivation was the absolutely golden ticket to unlocking high performance. Excuse me, but LOL. When I was growing up we used to separate our ‘needs’ into ‘nice to haves’ and ‘must haves’. Motivation is nice to have, but it’s not a must have. It helps, but it shouldn’t let the dream die because motivation is a feeling… and it sure is nice when it decides to stop in. But what I’ve also learned is that you’re much more likely to see motivation if you just get moving. Just get started. Just GO. Motivation follows action.

LESSON 4: PRECONCEIVED EXPECTATIONS USUALLY RUIN REAL LIFE EXPERIENCES

I cannot tell you the number of runs I stepped out of my house thinking “I feel awful today, this is going to be tough” only to go outside and have one of my BEST runs of the week. And the opposite is true as well… sometimes I’d step outside feeling rejuvenated and well-rested and think “No doubt I’m going to PR today” only to get started and realize my legs suddenly decided to feel like cinder blocks. The bottom line: when you have expectations going into something, it often dampens the real experience, good or bad.

LESSON 5: STARTING IS THE HARDEST PART. AFTER THAT- MOMENTUM TAKES OVER.

I say this one to my clients all the time… and I get it. But I feel like this run streak challenge really made me GET IT, ya know? The part that I love about this lesson is that it’s true across just about every context, on the big scale and on the small scale. Don’t feel like cleaning? Just start. Next thing you know you cleaned the whole house. Is running the last thing you want to do? Run for 2 minutes. I bet you’ll want to keep going. Getting the ball rolling always takes the most effort. But once it’s going… momentum really helps.