Rudyard Kipling famously asked “If…”
“If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs…”
“If you can dream – and not make dreams your master”
“If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds’ worth of distance run”
We all know the health benefits of exercise, both physically and mentally, but now I’m asking myself “what if…”
What if exercise becomes the only thing you think you can control in your day, while you feel powerless to affect any other aspect of your life?
What if you agree to every run, every ride, every swim just because you need to have something, anything to give you a reason to get up each day?
What if you take on challenges that are not only physically but also logistically and financially impossible because you just need to feel a part of something, you need that race day buzz of being surrounded by people after days of being home alone?
What if the planning and execution of exercise becomes all consuming and distracting, because the alternative is to devote time to unpleasant tasks such as dealing with job rejections and applying for roles you know you will hate?
What if the calories you burn by exercising mask the bags of chocolate and other ‘comfort food’ you consume seeking a moment of happiness in the day which soon becomes an hour of regret and self-loathing?
What if ‘talking’ about exercise on social media is the only conversation you have that day?
What if Rudyard, what if?
WHAT JAMES DID 
I’ll give you a big fat hug when I see you in Luton!
Are you me? Because that sounds frighteningly like my life.
Sounds a bit morbid mate! Get a job (any) and then you can live your dreams……think about the Stroud meet I suggested
That’s cool, we all have out ‘comfort blankets’, I know I have mine. Some things are worth the risk of climbing out from the blanket, and some things aren’t! That’s what makes us human:-) I believe that if the stress caused by something outweighs the feeling of success then it’s probably not worth it!