Running is a great thing, in so many ways. I'm convinced people are made for running, because from the moment our species developed legs and before we invented the wheel and tamed horses so we could overcome greater distances running has been our natural way of moving through the world.
This natural human need for movement is becoming more and more evident in the increasing number of joggers, marathonists, people who can't imagine their life without running at least a few kilometres per week. It can't be explained, it's a need that comes from within.
I've also had the same need for many years now. It's not just the need to overcome a certain distance at a speed, a bit faster than the speed of my steps going to work or strolling through the evening streets of our capital. Always there is also a need present to do better than you've done in previous years, to be a bit faster, to overcome a bit longer distance, to feel a bit more proud of yourself when you reach the goal after a few kilometres of fighting with your need to stop and rather walk (this is, as I've noticed, very often just your comfort zone pulling you back into its warm embrace).
Quite similar to that I believe that human species has the need to create, to compete, to do something new, better, something that improves our way of life.
It's the reason human species survived and created all the amazing things we did. It's the reason that separates us from animals, achieving new and new goals and adding meaning to our lives. It's the urge to be better, smarter, faster and more innovative that kept us alive and kicking through the millennia.
I'm not among the most disciplined runners, but there are a few persistent, very disciplined and motivated runners, who I admire a great deal. Their running in mild rain, in a bit colder weather, even in snow and summer heat, also moving the benchmark of time or distance every time a bit higher makes me think about the way I'm doing things, about how much effort do I really put into achieving my goals and it motivates me to do a bit better in everything I do. However there are also people who think that running only a few kilometres is an incredibly difficult thing or that consider trekking onto a nearest hill a science fiction movie.
You can always choose the easier way. You can always be in the group of people who on the sunniest and prettiest days possible look up onto the hills and ask why on earth struggle all the way up just to be up there when you can enjoy peacefully in the valley.
You can always be the one who walks slowly and laughs to those who pass you in a faster pace, saying you'll get there anyway, why such a hurry. You can always be happy just going to work from day to day and just doing your job, finishing as early as possible, and doing tasks as easy as possible, so you'll be able to quickly go home and do whatever daily chores you have to do around the house. Never having to leave your comfort zone's warm embrace.
But you can also choose to work a bit longer hours, do a bit more difficult tasks, put a bit more effort in making your job a job of your dreams. You can also run through the park, just for fun, to see how well you can do and to see how strong your heart beats when you've reached a certain goal. And you can always run to the top of a mountain, just because you can't wait to see the beautiful view that spreads all the way to the horizon. It's all up to you.
Author
Majda Dodevska (XVII.)
Editor at Delo, d.d.
