The Power of Encouragement

“Louise! Run YOUR race! I believe in you!” Sarah, my friend, shouted over the crowd from the sidelines.

Ugh!

 Here I am. Running this race, and I have now reached the 12th mile marker! It’s happening…again! I am at the place in this 25K—a 15.5-mile endurance event–where I have to engage that annoying battlefield inside my head. It’s hard. When I heard Sarah, I looked toward the sound of her voice while still in full stride. She looked straight at me and knew this was where my struggle really began, even though only 3.5 miles of the race remained. Her arm was raised in a powerful forward gesture. In that moment, with thousands of runners around us, it seemed only she and I existed. We locked eyes in understanding, and it helped. With the intensity of her look, she declared what I was struggling to claim: I can do this! Suddenly, I did not feel like my body wanted to bonk from fatigue any longer. Her gaze drove me to consider what was true: I trained well. My body had done well today. I had lost time off the clock, but the race was NOT over — NOT YET! My thoughts centered on these true statements, and I began to run faster. Why?

Encouragement. Powerful.  Runners taught me this. Runners encourage! Runners are encouragers because running is HARD! So, they call out the gold they see in each other. On a training run. In a race. It does not matter. And the encouragement can change everything!  Statements like: “You got this!” or “Good run!” or “Run like you stole it!” shift perspective from what seems impossible to what becomes within reach.

This has happened to me many times. One Saturday stands out in particular. My training cycle was entering the final weeks before my race. I was running the last mile of a 17-mile long run. But that mile began with a steep hill. I paused my run, considering the strenuous effort ahead. Just then, a man half my age, and considerably taller than I, came running up behind me! He yelled, “Come on! It’s easy. We’ll do it together!” I was surprised and startled by where he had come from. Nevertheless, he came alongside me and matched my stride. We ran together. Guess what? Although incredibly exhausted, his light-hearted words and  commitment to run it with me changed everything. I made it up the hill just fine!

Life is the same. Running may be hard, but life is HARDER! So, it seems to me then that the encouragement we speak matters more. Our words have power. We can lift hearts by what we say. It is an everyday crayon we hold to potentially color our world. Our encouragement impacts others. But it impacts us too! Science supports the fact that we are hard-wired to care. It is by design that we ourselves feel blessed and reduce our own stress when we take time to affirm those around us. Whether we know it or not, our words can make that hill that another is facing look more manageable…and consequently our challenges do not look as scary either.

 

But..why do runners lean into encouragement as they do? Why do they effortlessly speak it out? I have not met any group of people who practice this as faithfully. It doesn’t matter whether I run in Michigan, Texas, South Carolina, or Ohio! Runners treat each other the same way! Why? It is the reason behind why running is so hard. Athletes and coaches have told me this: running is about 20% physical and 80% mental!” The mental game to be engaged is the most difficult aspect of their sport–typically! And so…to run well means to think well.  Thoughts impact emotions, driving attitudes, potentially affecting what a body can do.

Elite runner Ryan Hall has held the titles of fastest US half-marathoner and US marathoner. He states the following about managing thoughts, “Whatever we fix our minds on grows, which is why it’s so important to monitor our thoughts…” (Hall 2019)

Mental health matters for everyone. It is a health care priority! The way we think in life, impacts how we feel and begins to set our attitudes. Our attitudes can indeed begin to affect what we do in life. 

The activities of our minds–our thoughts–lead us every day. The best place I know to obtain guidance for the activity of my mind is to focus on what God says is best for our thoughts. The quote above from Ryan Hall finishes this way, speaking to this very point: “God’s words are only positive, hopeful, and truthful, so setting my mind and heart on them caused positivity and strength to flow through my running and my life.” (Hall 2019)

May is National Mental Health Awareness month. Let’s take time to take care for each other by calling out the gold we see in those around us. Let’s take time to take care for ourselves too: Breathe. Take a walk. Sleep. Pray. Eat good things. Rest. Laugh. Cry. Do something that reminds you that this life is a gift to be enjoyed.

With Love,

Louise Ann

1 Thessalonians 5:11…Encourage one another and build each other up…

Philippians 4:8…Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.

Hall, Ryan. 2019. Run the Mile You’re In: Finding God in Every Step. 1st ed. Zondervan, 48.