Running From and Running Toward

Running toward something is powerful.

Running away from something is powerful.

Neither one is enough on its own.

Both are necessary for facilitating consistent effort.

The list for either category will be informed by one’s own personal experience(s).

Running From

1. A past version of yourself that you no longer want to be.

2. A negative visualization of what life would look like if you let things get out of hand.

Running Toward

1. A desired lifestyle.

2. A version of yourself that you’d like to meet.

When I say “running from”, I don’t mean in an act of avoidance or ignoring a problem that needs resolving.

It’s useful to remind myself what will happen if I get lazy. Fortunately and unfortunately, I have plenty of examples to pull from memory that serves as warning signs for how certain areas of my life can erode when I fail to tend to the proverbial garden.

I have daily non-negotiables that keep my floor at a high enough level so that no matter what happens, I don’t fall below “average” on any given day. It’s okay to have an average day, but I’d fret if I was living an average life.

Daily non-negotiables include meditating, a reflection journal, and working out. I’ve found, through trial and error, that without these 3 things, I can get lost. With these three things, everything else falls into place.

What are your non-negotiables? Are they actually non-negotiable?

I’m “running from” being someone who doesn’t take time to check in with their mental and physical well-being. I know that person can be a bit ugly.

Having something you’re “running toward” doesn’t mean you’re always unsatisfied with your current situation.

Running towards something is a great way to build confidence by pushing yourself to limits that were once untouched.

As you evolve, your floor and your ceiling will rise. So it’s important to update both lists.

I once had a boss who called this “healthy paranoia”. It sounds like an oxymoron, as we tend to view any level of paranoia as unhealthy, but the concept resonates.

Having a healthy level of paranoia serves as a reminder that there is always something to improve on, even in the absence of an immediate problem that needs solving.

At the end of the day, what you are running from might inform what you are running toward. In the example I used, I am running from being someone who doesn’t check in with themselves mentally and physically, which propels what I am running toward - being someone who does.

So when you set a goal for yourself, attach 2 reasons. How does this goal serve to combat the version of yourself that you don’t want to become, while also serving to ensure you progress toward a version of yourself that you’d like to meet?

If you want to join the 1,000+ subscribers receiving this weekly newsletter, subscribe here.