Probably the most common statement that I get when people find out that I am a running coach is some variation of “I know it’s good for you (wait for it), but running is so boring,” or “I want to run, but I lose interest so quickly.” I would be lying if I said that wasn't my exact sentiment before I took up the sport. I get it running requires us to spend time doing the same thing for whatever length of time the training plan or workout prescribes. And to get better at the sport you need to do that same thing all-the-time, given that to really improve we need miles on our legs. On its face this doesn't sound fun, diverting, or engaging. But this seeming banality is an illusion that is compounded by hedonic inertia, the lack of goal oriented training, and experiential ignorance. I know what just happened, you read hedonic inertia and promptly checked out of this blog. Stick with me and I will explain what it is, how it works, and what ‘turning inward’ has to do with it.

Hedonic inertia is a term that refers to the conscious, unconscious, and emotional energy it takes to learn to enjoy a new or sustained activity. The principle is simple. It is hard to build up the focus, drive, and desire to try new things that we know will require time and effort to master. Think of it like moving a heavy piece of furniture that is not beautifully placed. You really need to talk yourself into building the desire to do the difficult task, and moving a piece of furniture is not usually time consuming nor do we usually schedule to repeat the task. This talking yourself into it bit is the ‘turning inward’ piece that this blog entry is titled after. 

When there is something that we want to do that requires a lot of hedonic inertia to initiate, much less complete, we tend to turn-inwards to do some value conflict analysis, aka values bargaining. That is trying to figure out which value we most desire, fitness and health, or freetime and leisure in the case of running. And remember that our unsubstantiated beliefs about running as “BORING” have already biased us against making this decision. Unfortunately this isn't a skill that most of us have been trained to do well through high school and college education. On the other hand, it is a skill that philosophers and endurance athletes worthy of the title have honed to a razor's edge. 

Why? Because philosophers are forced by the very nature of the discipline to take stock of their values and provide solid justification for why one value is to be preferred over another. Even more so when it comes to plausible explanations. And endurance athletes, particularly runners, engage in values bargaining on every single run. The repeated pressure of these practices produce a grit and analytic capacity that will improve most if not all areas of a person’s life.

Now I am not telling you to go back to university and study philosophy, while it is a way to achieve euphoria it is not the only path. Moreover, running is likely to be more affordable, and less time consuming anyhow, so start doing that, instead. As it turns out running, when done with purpose, is a rich form of mindfulness meditation. Each time you bargain with yourself and decide to keep pace or just move forward even though it's hard and you may want to stop, you are turning inward. This is what Epictetus and Aurelius both claim is the value of knowing the true nature of things and turning inward to the Ruler Within. They say that it is akin to what most people think retirement will be like. A break from the monotony of performing our role. 

We can “retire” regularly with the help of running and it has no drawbacks. The tradeoffs are 30-minutes to a few hours a few times a week, while the reward is training yourself to know thyself and honing your skill at choosing the values that best serve you. Ironically these inward negotiations can be as action packed as a procedural drama, or a blockbuster super-hero film. And the result of engaging in them is usually a healthy body, better sleep, emotional stability and relief, and an engaged sharp mind. And once the boulder starts rolling down the hill toward happiness it is a whole lot easier to keep it going. I have said many times and in many ways that I do not believe in the “runners high.” I continue that here by pointing out that highs lose their utility when the substance wears off. Running is a form of meditation that leaves  you better off even when the run doesn’t feel great. The modality should not be relegated to a temporary good time, it is a method to cultivate the good-life.

A trained running coach can help you develop the skills and gain the experiences I have referred to in this article. If you are ready to start your training journey with Eu:PhORIC Services, I would be honored to be your coach. Book a session today.