What to Think About When You Run, According to Kevin Hart
As runners, we are often hard on ourselves. “I’m so slow ,” you might think looking at your watch. Or: do my legs hurt, am I starting to form a blister? Or a perennial favorite: God, I’m only halfway there . But a new set of sane treadmills from Headspace featuring comedian Kevin Hart got me thinking about my inner monologue a little differently, so I talked to him on the phone about what he thinks about when he works.
Check with your body
Mindfulness often involves observing our feelings and the world around us, but as we run, we may be reluctant to test ourselves with our physical body. For example, we may fear being distracted by our pains.
But Hart notes that sometimes checking our bodies can give us a more accurate estimate of what’s really going on. On the one hand, your body can tell you that you may need to slow down or take a break. But on the other hand: “Your body can go, oh, it’s not so bad,” he says. And over time, you will be able to teach your body how to run and, in turn, learn how capable you are.
Think but don’t think
It’s okay to let your thoughts wander on the run. I was almost expecting advice on how to direct your thoughts back to your body and environment when you notice them wandering, but Hart takes a different approach: “Sometimes it’s good to be alone and think for yourself,” he says. “To find clarity.”
It is also worth noting what thoughts you have when you run or when you think about running at home. According to Hart, we can think too much about the little things, “and when we overestimate them, they get big.” He told me about the time when he was preparing for the marathon and presented all the possible options that could go wrong: for example, a cramp on the track. In the end, none of his pessimistic “what if” scenarios happened, but he says, “I almost gave these things out of life,” worrying about them.
It’s okay if running doesn’t feel natural.
On the mindfulness trails, Hart talks about how to learn to love running and how we need to practice being kind to ourselves. Earlier in Lifehacker, we talked about the physical side of getting used to running – things like slowing down your pace and training your body so that you don’t have to do your best all the time . But there is also a learning curve.
“The best advice I could give to anyone is take your time,” says Hart. If you want to enjoy running, you might want to work on it. Challenge yourself with something small and feel the sense of accomplishment when you get it. “It can be helpful because you are against yourself. And you can only get better in this. “