A Menacing Dog

Running.

I hate it.

Yet, for some reason I got this crazy idea to go for a jog.
In South Carolina.
In the heat and humidity.

You know those times where you feel restless and you know you need to do something or your mind might go a little crazy? Like you just need to get up off the couch or get out of the house and just do or be but you aren't quite sure what to do or who to be. It was that feeling that lead me to go for a run. (Did I mention in the heat and humidity?)

I laced up my tennis shoes, plugged my ears with Taylor Swift and hit the road running. To be honest, the first 15 minutes or so was not so bad. I found a tolerable stride and the change of scenery felt energizing.  I felt so good that I even considered how I might have given jogging a bad rap. As I rounded the corner to come back up the street, I realized why jogging felt so nice. I was running down hill the entire time. Suddenly, as I struggled to run up the darn hill, running reverted back to this hate relationship in my mind. I was not a fan. I pushed forward for a few more minutes, but I quickly ran out of stamina and slowed to a walk. Just as I caught my breath, I looked over my shoulder to find a dog running towards me. This was not a nice, fluffy looking dog. Nope, it was a mean, "I'm going to tackle you" looking dog. And yes, there I was running again.

In the midst of running from this menacing dog, it came to mind that just a few seconds earlier I thought I could not run anymore and so I gave up. I simply stopped. Yet, there I was. Running. I was doing exactly what I thought I couldn't do. It's not like the running magically got easier. Running was still hard, but it wasn't unbearable. It took effort and focus, but I was capable.

I just needed a little reminder: keep going. You are stronger. Don't give up. You can do it.

And I could. And I did.

As I sat down on the front steps of the porch, feeling accomplished, I wondered how many times in my life I quit when I could of kept on going. And then I wondered how many times I kept on going when I should have quit. But isn't that life; all the "what ifs" and instead of getting a little crazy over them, I simply remember the moment where a menacing dog chased after me and I remember:

Keep going. You are stronger. Don't give up. You can do it.