Living the Moment

We should all plan for the future, put away some for a rainy day and generally keep all our activities scheduled so everything runs smoothly. But to be the happiest athlete you can be you must at times live in the moment.

When you are doing your running, walking or a combination, clear your mind of everything but the here and now. Yeah sometimes it's cool to make some decisions or plan a project or even solve a work problem while your in motion. But sometimes you need to clear out everything else and just experience the moment. Focus in on the view, the smells and the good feeling of the day's heat or chill on our skin. Pay attention to how your body is feeling, feel the joy of the motion and how good and free it feels.

If you are a gadget freak leave everything at home, don't even wear a watch. Just go, have a place or a loop in mind but feel free to change it at will. If you see something interesting on a side path, take that path and check it out. Basically free yourself from the structured way you normally live. For just a little while be a little wild and just go.

There was a time that I would go for a run on a beautiful day, with perfect temperature and wonderful serene views and then at the end look at my watch and see that I wasn't as fast as I thought and feel bad. Like the old saying I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I was ruining a perfect moment by asking more of it than there was but missing the real beauty of the day.

Sometime soon take a walk or run and just turn your mind off so you can experience the moments as they come. The break from having to have everything structured might just do you good. Let your body pick the pace that feels the most comfortable and just enjoy the ride.

Thanks for reading.

Happy Panda