Life Lessons from the Treadmill
There are many life lessons to be learned as you’re walking on a stationary machine, staring at yourself in a mirror for an extended period of time. And, because it’s my natural tendency to analyze human behavior and why we do the things we do, here are a few of my observations.
Stay in your own lane
If I’m looking at the treadmill next to me as a gauge for how hard I will push myself, it’s usually because I’m looking for an out when feeling uncomfortable. If I’m jogging at six mph and Sally next to me is at five mph, nine times out of ten, I will lower my speed to match hers when six mph gets challenging.
I then end up asking myself, where else am I doing this in my life? Where am I comparing myself to others in an attempt to lower the standards of my own behavior? Where else am I looking for an out to give up when things get tough?
Life lesson: Stay in your own lane and compete only with the person staring back at you in the mirror. Comparing yourself to others is just a distraction, and oftentimes, only provides you with an excuse to do less.
Everything is relative
Two people are simultaneously power walking on a treadmill. One starts out at a three-degree incline and slowly increases by one degree every minute until they hit the max of 15.
The other starts out at a 15-degree incline and slowly decreases by one degree every minute until they are at a three.
Ask both of those people at the midway point of nine degrees their opinion of how difficult nine degrees is. Chances are, you will get two very different answers, because everything is relative. One believes it is difficult, and the other believes it is easy—and they are both right. Their answers are based on their points of reference. And whatever you believe becomes your truth.
We’ve all been in a rebound relationship that wasn’t that great, but we stayed because at least it was better than the last one.
Ask the woman who just got out of a verbally abusive relationship how much she cares that her new love spends hours playing video games. My guess is, not too much. Then ask the woman whose last boyfriend was emotionally distant the same question. Chances are, you won’t be able to—because she’s gone. She ran for the hills at the first inkling of the same behavior!
Life lesson: When you are looking to make changes in your life and start to feel the inevitable fear that comes along with leaving your comfort zone, tune out the opinions of others. Each person is operating off their own agreement with a reality previously shaped by their own personal experience.
Just like that nine-degree incline, it is all subjective. If someone tells you your dream is too big to accomplish, it’s only because they believe that it is.
Mental state affects physical performance
My performance is affected by the thoughts I choose. They can either speed me up or slow me down. It’s true when on the treadmill, and it’s especially true for life in general. When my thoughts are positive and uplifting, I’m focused and motivated. When they are negative, I’m distracted and sluggish.
Here’s a pretty cool experiment that I tried on myself to prove this theory. I wear a heart rate monitor while exercising, and I notice that when I focus my thoughts on anything stressful, my heart rate increases—a lot.
The mental stress had a measurable impact on my physical health, even when the activity remained the same. The only differentiating factor was my negative thoughts; my heart actually had to work harder to keep up with them.
Life lesson: It is so important to pivot your thoughts from positive to negative and train your mind to focus on the good. Your mindset will impact every area of your life, your physical health included.
Struggling to master the treadmill of life? A professional life coach can help you find your footing and put these important life lessons into practice.
