Getting started running is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
The benefits of regular running are nearly endless.
Not only will you be doing some great work for your body and your physical health, but you will also be building up a level of discipline and mental toughness that will help you out in every area of your life.
However, starting running isn't always the easiest thing in the world to do, so it's important that you approach this challenge with the right mindset and the right plan.
One of the best ways to turn yourself into an avid runner is to approach it as building up a habit.
The best thing about habits is the fact that they are automatic.
When you have a deeply ingrained habit, then it becomes something that you practically do unconsciously.
It's very hard to break habits, so once you have made running a habit it's highly unlikely that you will miss even one day of exercise.
While the fact that habits are very difficult to break and unconsciously performed is a bad thing when we are talking about unhealthy habits, running is one of the healthiest habits you can develop.
So what does it mean to treat starting to run as building up a habit? It's simple.
Instead of approaching your running as a haphazard thing that you do a few times a week whenever you have the time and space to do it, you really systematize your practice.
You set specific days when you are going to run, and then you always run on those days.
You set a specific time when you are going to run on those days, and then you always run at that time.
You select a specific distance you are going to run and a specific route that you are going to run, and then you only run that distance and that route.
You figure out exactly what you are going to do before you run, and you figure out exactly what you are going to do after you run, and then you enact those rituals each and every time.
In many ways, building a habit is all about eliminating guesswork.
One of the main things about habits is the fact that we don't think about them, so you are going to want to structure your running so that you don't have to think about it.
The fewer decisions you have to make to get out of the house and on your feet, the greater the chance that you are actually going to follow through with it.
The best way to build this habit is to not only figure out all of the above things, but also to go out running every single day.
In a lot of ways it's easier to go running every day in the same way at the same time than it is to go running only a few days a week, even when all the other factors are systematized.
Remember- take as much day-to-day thinking as possible out of the process and you will massively increase your chances of successfully building the running habit for life.