I go for a run one or twice a week, on the hill behind our home. There are three decent uphill sections to get the heart pumping and corresponding downhills for contemplation of the mountains and all kinds of thinking.
We think of doing our best as if it’s a singular act. But it isn’t about the heroic effort at the end. A minute’s sprint in a half-hour run will hardly affect your time at all. It’s about getting up before dawn instead of staying in bed. It’s about setting a solid pace right from the start, when running seems strange and everything hurts just a bit. It’s about sucking it up when it gets hard – and it does get hard. It’s about not stopping, even when your legs and lungs and heart want you to. Your body is strong. But your mind is stronger.
And it’s about doing it again and again, because – and this is incredible, when you think about it – your body responds to hard work by getting better at it. Whatever you habitually do, your body will optimise for.
Those soft imbeciles shuffling from their car to the mall to buy more stuff? They’re optimised too. Optimised for sitting in front of a screen being told what to consume.
You are what you do.
"— I was about to shut this blog down and then this pops up… Golden. You are what you do.
(via makenosound)
