Why I Help Running for Resilience
Because it aligns with my mission
Apologies for the double post this week. But yesterday’s was written with a sudden burst of energy as I still think a lot about Vick’s death, and what we can learn from it so it never happens again. Read it here.
I believe suicide is the result of chronically low energy levels.
And while that sounds oversimplified, it’s not because what drains our energy is complex and varies from person to person.
Feeling drained could be from work stress, unresolved trauma, or just poor habits.
But either way, I think so much of our mental state comes down to whether we feel like we have the energy to handle life.
When I had depression, my nervous system was so exhausted that I could barely get out of bed. And I’m scared to think where I would’ve ended up if that low-energy state had lasted much longer.
But aside from getting professional help, what helped me most was seeing mental health through the lens of energy.
It made things simpler for my tired mind and gave me something practical to work with because if I could reduce what was draining me, while doing more of what recharged me, I had a way forward.
Note: what was draining me was a combination of a shitty situation and thought patterns that made things worse.
I first started noticing my thoughts go negative whenever my energy dropped about five years ago.
I’ve always been an optimist. But when the energy dropped, I become a pessimist.
I’d also start to catastrophize and ruminate, which made it impossible to move forward on important things that gave me purpose.
And the feeling of not making progress made it worse.
I also noticed I’d retreat into myself. My confidence would dip, and I’d pull away from others worrying what they thought of me.
And that’s when I realised that maybe the rise in mental health struggles is actually just a decline in energy. A human energy crisis.
When Running for Resilience (R4R) started, I needed it as much as anyone.
It gave me structure, kept me active, and helped me make friends during the hardest period of my life.
And for that, I’ll always be grateful.
But I don’t need it now as I’m feeling great. But I give even more of my time to R4R because my mission is to help people have more energy for what matters most.
That’s what I was trying to do with Alfred (my food tracking startup I started to help people eat mindfully and see food as fuel) because when you eat better, you feel better.
But Alfred is on the backburner for now while I focus on R4R and my Energy Management talks, of which both are going great!
Anyways, this is a long way of saying: R4R is working because it’s giving people energy through exercise and community, and we should double down on it.
Thanks for reading.