I am in the heart of marathon training at the current moment. Thankfully, the humidity and outright heat has largely passed in Boston to better support the longer runs that are needed to prepare.

Yesterday, I geared my mind up for the longest run yet this season, somewhere between 10-12 miles. So, I planned a route that would support such distance and picked an area by the ocean.

Sometimes the mental lift of knowing that distance, time requirements and overall physical demands on the body could absolutely psych you out. I find this to often be the hardest part.

Starting, and knowing the challenge ahead for any big goal, can be paralyzing at the beginning. Paralyzing to the point that maybe you do not even start.

In the example of my run, the whole time I ran, I kept having to keep my mind on the goal, even when I thought it was hard. (Spoiler alert: it is ALWAYS hard for me ). I wanted to stop after 1 mile but if I did, I would then need to make up the distance today or tomorrow. I would then start down a spiral of discouragement, and disbelief in whether or not I could make the half marathon in 3 weeks.

It becomes a cycle. I am using running as an example here but apply it to any large goal.

You are often capable of more than you think. However, to hit that upper limit, sometimes referred to as a ‘ceiling’, of what is possible for your goals, you must depend on several different internal characteristics.

Some of these include:

• A willingness to try,
• Determination,
• Discomfort in the work,
• An ability to let the naysayers say what they might say to you or around you, and keep going anyway,
• A desire to see what your ceiling may be at that time,
• and so many others that do not photograph well for social media platforms 🙂 .

As I was running around the Marina yesterday, at a point where there was not a single human around me, I looked up and noticed this boat.

The boat’s name is ‘Dare to Dream’. I stopped, took a picture and then kept going.

Daring to dream includes the ability to think beyond your current moment and envision the future, no matter how big or small the goal may be. However, it also includes moving forward, both physically and mentally forward.

Sometimes, to begin to bring those dreams into fruition, it is literally taking one step in front of the other, embracing the uncomfortable stretch of the ind and body for whatever it may be…. Dare to Dream

Enjoy your Sunday,

~ Dr. Kelley