Okay, I have to admit that I don’t particularly enjoy running. I mean, it’s a fantastic way to burn calories… and more importantly, it gets your lungs working, your heart rate up, and makes you sweat. It’s a generally great way to improve your overall health & boost your metabolism.
Another great benefit I experience when I run is an amazing emotional boost. Running is just something that is not natural to me - it is a challenge for me, and so when I accomplish my goal, I feel POWERFUL. I feel like I can take the world on and make things happen!
And of course there are all those natural endorphins that go pumping through my brain and body after a nice cardio session.
But that doesn’t change the fact… that I HATE running. It’s good for me… I love the benefits… but I don’t enjoy it.
So how do I make myself run, twice a week, on Tuesdays & Fridays, without fail? What makes me do it?
The first thing is that I have a plan, and I have a system. On Mondays, I work my biceps, triceps, and shoulders. On Tuesdays I run & work my abs. On Wednesdays I work my legs. On Thursdays I work my back, shoulders, triceps & biceps again. On Fridays, I run & work my abs again. On Sundays, I do an all over body circuit & stretch routine.
Each day has a purpose, and each day is part of a system. So if I skip one day… I “mess up” the system. I don’t give my arms the workout they need, or my back, or my heart and lungs, if I skip the run day. More importantly, if I skip one day, it’s sooo much easier to skip the next day… and the next… and the next… and before I know it, I’d be not exercising at all, wallowing in depression.
See, exercise for me is key to maintaining my emotional equilibrium. Exercise recenters my emotions and my mind. When I take my body through a healthy, balanced routine, I set the stage for my mind to follow.
But the real honest reason that I get up and run, even though I don’t like running, is that I have built a ritual out of it. Tomorrow morning, my alarm will go off, and I will jump out of bed. I’ll brush my teeth, put my hair up, put on deoderant, put on workout clothes - they will be easily accessible, of course. Then I’ll drink a bottle of water and get in my car to go to the gym. And once I’m there, well, I’m gonna work out, right? Right!
That’s the beginning of my morning ritual. I’m almost on autopilot. Get up, get dressed, get gone. And then I’m at the gym.
More on how to make the actual run enjoyable later… there are ways! At least to make it tolerable, anyway. 
Bethany