Why Do You Run?

I went on a run today, and I did my usual routine of listening to music from my Endorphins playlist in my iPod. Unfortunately, in the process of  trying to speed up to a sprint, I accidentally pulled my earphones and lost one of their removable rubber plugs along the Acad Oval. Aside from the annoying idea of losing something in my typical(ly clumsy) way, I was confronted with the thought that I had only my thoughts to occupy me during another round at the oval.

At first, I attempted to map out my analysis for my thesis while running, but quickly realized that thinking about something so taxing while doing a physically demanding task would lead nowhere. I'd probably stop dead in my tracks, or be unable to stitch any proper thoughts about this totally unrelated domain. Thankfully, it was the latter, so I managed to finish my two-oval goal for the day. I gave up on that attempt to get my thesis going while I was on the go, and just let my thoughts drift. Somewhere between the UP Theater and the College of Music, when I was starting to get tired, it went towards thinking about my present task of running. So I asked myself, "Why do you run?" (Yes, the question was really in second person, if you're wondering.) And as my muscles and joints began to ache, and my breath became more labored, I tried to come up with an answer to that question. Soon enough I found two: I run because I like knowing that I can reach my difficult goal (of course, that difficulty is relative to my own abilities). I run because I like the feeling myself get stronger.

In coming up with these answers, I eventually began to think about extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. In the former, we engage in certain activities because we're out to get external rewards. This was initially the case for me and my fitness activities this past month. I ran/did futsal/yoga/Nike Training Club because I wanted to fit into my sisters' clothes and get my siblings to stop making fun of me for being the only one with more than 10% body fat among them. But a month into pursuing these goals, even if these activities caused me so much pain and discomfort, I found myself enjoying them and deriving pleasure from witnessing my own progress. In short, my motivations became intrinsic. I do the activities for their own sake, even if they certainly do not make my life easier in the short-term.

Taken from http://determineduncensored.com/tag/truths/

Thinking about that, I came to realize that we humans are quite a strange bunch. We willingly subject ourselves to activities that may sometimes bring excruciating pain (e.g., exercise and graduate studies), while our intuitions tell us that we are being ridiculous and masochistic, and the easy way is usually the best way. True, we are more likely to succumb to these shortcuts and settle for the minimum requirement, but we are also capable of pushing ourselves to our very limits just because we crave that challenge. When people do decide to take on the more arduous route, we usually find the best of what humanity has to offer.

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P.S. I am not claiming to be an avid nor a regular runner. I'm still in the earlier part of the process of really, truly falling in love with sports and exercise.