I have a love-hate relationship with running.
I hate it because it’s hard for me.
I love it because it challenges me and makes me feel accomplished.
But the best part of running? For me, it’s purely emotional.
I often find myself deep in thought during a run. For some reason running seems to bring clarity to my thoughts and helps me work through issues in a way that nothing else can.
Today, on the final mile of my five mile run, the song Firework by Katy Perry popped up on my iPod.
You don’t have to feel like a waste of space
You’re original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow
Maybe your reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it’s time, you’ll know
You just gotta ignite the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July
Maybe I’m totally off my rocker for looking so deeply into a pop song, but the lyrics really resonated with me this morning.
I’ve found myself letting certain negative things in my life eat away at me lately. Negative things that have made me question my normally positive outlook on the world and people in general.
And then it hit me.
I want to see and be the good in the world.
I cannot change the actions of others. As much as I long to understand where such negativity, cruelty and hate comes from in people, I’m beginning to realize I may never understand.
As a logical person, I typically face issues in my life head on and think about how I can fix them, talk with people involved and move on. I’m beginning to realize not every issue can be fixed.
All I can do as a person is try to live my life in a way that is motivated by good. I honestly believe that this world is a good place filled with good people.
I want to continually strive to see and be the good in the world.
Breakfast
After quite an introspective workout (it’s amazing where the mind goes at 5:45 a.m., huh?), it was time for breakfast!
I made healthified Egg McMuffins for me and Ryan featuring two fried eggs, muenster cheese and Canadian bacon.
And an overly ripe banana on the side.
Time to work! I have a freelance project that needs some attention.
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Thank you so much for posting this, Julie. You have managed to capture my thoughts and struggle exactly. I’m a social science student in college, and I remember reading these articles about hate and anger and I got so confused and upset that I ended up changing majors so I could study law and human rights. If I can’t understand it, I might as well work to change it, right?
You blog is a bit of sunshine in my day, so I’d say you are already doing plenty of good!
great post!!! and you are so right!!!
a few months ago i got in a funk and it was hard to shake. but like you, i knew that i had to choose the good over the bad. thanks for reminding me and inspiring me to keep on keeping on!!!
happy thursday!!!
p.s. here’s the link to my post that day:
http://www.thegiftofmondays.com/2011/06/ive-been-in-funk.html
I so know what you mean about the running (I actually feel the same way about Bikram yoga) and have a love-hate relationship with the both of them. I don’t know if it’s the amount of sweating I do when I really push myself during both those types of exercise, or whether it’s the adrenaline running or something but when I’m keeping something in it comes out HARD during my runs/yoga practice. I have (embarrassingly) found myself get so overwhelmed with whatever is pent up that I’ve actually all but bawled both on the mat and the treadmill in the past, that or I get so upset I start huffing and puffing and could just kill something. I’ve actually found that when those negative thoughts get into my mind, I run FASTER or push harder, and work through it with my body and then find my mind clears rather than let myself get caught up in all the negative thoughts. It works great, though it can always be a pretty weird experience!
Firework is one of my all time favorite body pump tracks too! I definitely get it minus the whole feeling like a plastic bag thing, i dont know that ive ever felt that way 🙂
I’ve felt the same way lately about letting negative thoughts and emotions eat away at me. Last night Cory looked at me and said “You’re in a real funk, aren’t you?” Yeah. I am. Thanks for posting this – it makes me feel normal!
i’ve been “in a funk” all week. i feel ya, colleen. :/
Great post! I love when that song comes on my iPod during a workout. You’re right, you can’t control the things that other people do and say, but you can decide how you choose to react to the world and see things.
Reminds of the end of that Charles Swindoll quote: “I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.”
Keep on truckin’ with your postiive attitude 🙂
That song is actually one of my favourite running songs! I started listening to it when I was training for my first 5k last fall and there was something about those lyrics and the build of the music that pushed my butt harder when I wanted to stop!
I came across an article today mentioning JTT (I know from previous posts he was your favorite back in the day) and i LOVE him too 🙂 he will be featured in an entertainment weekly reunion special and there are some pictures online 🙂 google it if interested.
Oh- and the article also reminded me today is JTT’s birthday 🙂 he is 30!!! Now i feel old. Eeeek!!
PS- i think i got emoticon happy. sorry about that.
I always look forward to reading your blog and enjoy your upbeat and fun personality! I totally get what you’re saying in this post and where you are going with it. But it does pose the question “How do we know what good is?” Everyone will have different answers for this and that’s why it’s so important that we look to God, our creator, for the standard that He set in His Word. We are not able to live up to His perfect standards or goodness and that is why we need a Savior. Knowing Jesus personally allows Him to work through us to bring His good to this world. Will we be perfect, no, but we will have a God living in us who is and is able to mold us more into His image day by day. “Good” really does have to be measured against one standard or it’s going to be different for everyone, which causes problems. This isn’t meant to be negative at all (just a thought from the information in this post)…knowing Him brings unexplainable joy!
Hi Julie! I’m glad to see that you are trying to live with an optimistic attitude~I think it’s definitely important to see the good in everything, b/c God listens to our cries and is in control! He is the master of making ugly things into beautiful things 😀 Have a blessed day and take care!
I ALWAYS listen to that song when I’m feeling in need of inspiration! Have you seen the music video?? you really should watch it! Also, I’m definitely going to put two eggs on my bagelwiches in the morning, I tried it yesterday and I was hungry a couple hours later! I think the second egg will help…
I love this Julie and needed to read this. Lately I’ve let negativity effect my positive outlook in life…for instance times when I like to be nice and smile/acknowledge people at my gym or work and they don’t give me the time of day…I’ve let it get me down. I just don’t understand why some people are so rude or negative? I will never understand and I can’t let them bring me down…what good will that do? Thank you for reminding me that I can’t fix these people or change their actions…I can only do and be good in this world and remember that no matter what, my hubby and family will always be there for me 🙂
I also love running because it’s a means to evacuate all the stress, to think, to feel energy. It’s so addictive! And as you said, you feel like you’ve accomplished something, each time.
Your blog always brightens my day. Whether it’s your delicious food or your adorable Sadie pictures, after reading your posts, I’m always smiling.
I don’t understand why people feel the need to be mean. It’s so much wasted energy. Be happy! You’ll live longer! 🙂
What a GREAT post! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I’ve been feeling a lot of negatively affect me lately too and its contributed to me feeling down on myself. I need to let it go and move on. Thank you for the reminder.
That song is amazing. I love it too! And it has a great beat to run to.
I’ve had a lot of these thoughts lately. I think I’ve actually commented about this on your blog before, but I’ve started to pay more attention to how other peoples’ negativity is affecting me, so I can take steps to NOT letting it affect me (if that makes sense).
There are a LOT of people at my job who are negative: either they are bitchy and rude or they are just venting. Either way, I’ve gotten really good this year at taking a step back, not taking their comments to heart, and just moving on with my day. I let it bounce off of me, and that way, I can remain as positive as possible.
Bottom line: you can’t change everyone else, but you do have control over how YOU feel.
You have described one of the biggest reasons why I run and love to, even though I’m not very good at it — the thinking time and moments of clarity that come to me when I run are worth every ounce of struggle that it takes me to run.
And I always relate to life through music and movie quotes, so you are not alone at finding meaning in a pop song! I find meaning almost everywhere on my runs, but absolutely in my music.
It’s amazing where and when we find inspiration, but what a beautiful thing when you do!
I totally get what you are saying. I am a super empathetic person and I always feel for someone else. Either if it’s pity, sadness, happiness; their emotions project on me. It is definitely to a fault because I worry or overanalyze too much if it’s going to “bug” someone if I say something. I’m trying to overcome worrying about angering somebody because in the end, I want to be myself and not have to filter any part of me.
katy perry dedicated the song to the bullied gay youth. so glad more pop stars are promoting equality. it’s sad that many politicians aren’t cognizant of the fact that everyone deserves equal treatment.
I love this post. I read every single comment and I can totally relate to feeling negative or feeling hurt be the words and actions of others…Then I really try to remember that the only person I can control is me. I choose the way I react. I don’t want to become jaded or let the outside world affect who I am. I read this quote a while back that really stuck with me:
“extend to each person, no matter how trivial the contact, all of the care, kindness and understanding you can muster. your life will never be the same.”
…Now I make the extra effort to compliment the person who takes my coffee order or do something random, like pay the toll for the person behind me. It really does change the way you see the world 🙂