How I Use Running To Step Outside My Comfort Zone On A Regular Basis
By: Kevin Owasu Itoe
Tags: Cant Hurt Me, Running, Mental Toughness, David Goggins, Confort Zone

I started my 5 am morning running routine as a way of stepping outside of my comfort zone on a regular basis

This was to purposefully get out there, put myself in a different environment and embrace the challenge each day

No two days have been the same so far

At the start it was all about mental toughness, preparing myself mentally for this uncertain world we live in

Excitement was flowing through me, I had just finished the book ‘Can’t hurt me’ by David Goggins

His message, along the lines of; stop the addiction to comfort, create a challenge that would help you triple down on your weaknesses and become a more unbreakable human being

I was buzzing as to what I could achieve going out there each morning and pushing myself just like he did

I have to try something new, I have to give it my all now! I told myself

I am married to a gorgeous wife and we have two handsome boys, this was the time to take us to where we have only previously dreamt about

That comfortable home we could call ours, security through not being in debt and always just scraping by, the ability to take our boys on holidays and to other attractions so they could enjoy their youth and experience other places giving them a broader perspective in life

We all have these checklists, and much more, it was time I put things in place which could lead to us ticking some of these off our list

At 48 it was now or never, I told myself….

Why Take Myself Out With My Comfort Zone And What I Aim To Achieve

I have already stated why I take myself out with my comfort zone in the first instance

It was to work on my mental toughness, build up that emotional resilience which will come in handy once those dark days do come calling as they always do to us all

As you push yourself to step out of your comfort zone you expand your limits, you test yourself mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically depending on the challenge

You are increasing the things your body, mind, and soul can handle and as such you propel your development in all these areas of the human wheel

I needed to step out of my comfort zone to see things from a different perspective, in a whole different light

I was stuck with where I was in my life, there was a need for me to try new ways of bringing into focus what was important and clarity to the different ways that would take me towards my goals

And the experience has indeed been a physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual enlightenment

I have been recording this experience every time I am out running

I capture thoughts that pop into my mind and find ways I could best apply them to enhance our lives and share my story each day to inspire others to seek and welcome challenges and change into their own lives

How I Continue To Step Out Of My Comfort Zone And How You Could Too

Firstly, my aim was to make running a new habit and eventually make it part of my lifestyle

I was far too comfortable in where we were in life, the change was now or never, and running was going to be that catalyst of change for me

Reading David Goggins’ book had brought me to this point

A new realisation that we are only operating at best within 40% of our capability and the mind, body, and soul has much more in reserve to explore and expand on

Here was my chance to find out

Find out what inspires you too, use this to change the way you see and do things

Go for it with all you have got keeping in mind happiness, success and health start from within you and radiates outward

Secondly, was my approach to first of all get myself out there running small distances, see how my body and mind handled it, and build on that

I started with running around the area we live in, Leith, Edinburgh, and the distance was to be two blocks round our flat which worked out as 0.69 miles

I quickly came up with the need to find my first baseline

I settled into a baseline of five laps and was to build on this incrementally as each week went past

You will find all the details on my daily or every other day running once my log is up and running here

Start with small steps, building and pushing yourself from your own baseline

Thirdly, I looked forward to my every day or after every other day of running as a new challenge with excitement and a new opportunity to grow and improve myself not only physically but in all life’s self aspects

This could only be good for me and my family

Find what excites you, commit to the experience, bring that much-needed change into your life so you can grow personally first, and then impact all areas of your family life positively

Fourthly, I plan to build up from my new found running challenge into other areas of physical fitness because I have realised how important it is to keep oneself physically fit

The benefits of physical fitness are many, for me the most important was the seeking of mental toughness

However, I have come to experience a whole new world on how to look after myself physically and the many other benefits that go with it

One surprise benefit for me has been how running has helped ease off my lower back pain — google ‘running with lower back pain’ and once up and running this site should have information on my progress

You too can take up something challenging, seek that new experience and thrill from doing something new, and pushing yourself beyond your current limits

And finally, being out at 5 am in the morning you are challenged with a number of questions as to why?

Why are you out here when everyone is nicely tucked up in bed? Why at 5am in the morning? Why running?

I believe from reading this far you will know what my why is;

The fear of having not lived a physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually wonderful full life

I step out of my comfort zone at 5 am each morning to help me overcome this fear

Running helps me put things into perspective, worry less, stress less

When I am out there running at 5 am in the morning or any other times, I get reminded time and time again to always work on what I can control:

My behaviours and habits and this will, in turn, take care of my short and long term goals

And as I said already, I am gaining a lot more than mental toughness which was my original goal