How to Be a Runner. For the run of it: Vol 4. Don't live to run.

Run to live. Don't live to run. My life is better with running in it, but running is not my life.

A word of advice about how to be a runner and stay motivated? Don't let running become your everything. Don't let it become the thing you obsess over or the thing that defines you. I've been there. It's destructive, defeating, and disappointing. And you'll drive your friends crazy.

Let running bring freedom, challenge, discipline, and fun to your life. But don't look to it to bring fulfillment.

I really need to keep different areas of my life in check, in a healthy balance. So, I often ask myself, "What if _______ was taken away from me? Would I just be sad, or would I be devastated? Would I be upset, or would I be beside myself with self-pity? Would life eventually go on, or would I isolate myself, buried in self-destructive thoughts?"

I love running so much that I have to ask myself that question about running from time to time. "What if running was taken away from me?" At any moment, really, I could get really busy at work, break my ankle, or develop a life-threatening illness. I'd be disappointed for sure, but I wouldn't be in despair.

Have you ever been there - looking for fulfillment in all the wrong places?
How do you keep from letting something become your everything?