After 20 months of Covid quarantine and countless excuses of why I can’t, couldn’t or shouldn’t I decided to get back in shape. After getting a few weeks of moderate fitness under my belt I decided to go for a run. The route I run is about 4 miles long and 2.5 miles of that run is uphill.

Week one was painful beyond belief. Week two was a little better and so on. No matter though, this trail hurts even when you’re in shape. Each week I reached different parts of the journey and a new hill seemed to whisper in my ear. “you should walk….why are you doing this?….this sucks!” From there my attitude began to sour and I would fight the urge to quit. I would tell myself to just keep moving no matter how slow I went. Just don’t stop!

One week while running a new thought came into my head while stumbling up the trail. Instead of agonizing over the hill, love it!. That’s right I said “love it”. What I mean is embrace it, relish it, and think of how it is helping you reach your goal. We’ve all heard it said that attitude is a choice. It’s an orientation toward something or someone. By saying “love the hill” to myself while my legs and lungs were on fire, it gave me a glimpse of relief for some reason.

You see, the struggles and the obstacles are where the work is done; it’s where we grow. It’s when reality smacks in the face and tells you where you really are. You can choose to quit or re-orient your mind and understand where you are going vs. your present discomfort.

So, the next time something is hard, unbearable, painful ….when there is a hill in your journey “love it” and keep moving forward.