The Truth About Your Friends

As many of you probably have noticed, or maybe you haven't, but your friends can have a large impact on your life and your health. I recently read a Mayo Clinic article that discussed the ways that your friends can have a positive impact on you and it is amazing how true this article is.
Healthy friendships boost your self-esteem and contribute to good mental health. I have noticed this with my friends. If I am in a down mood I can count on them to cheer me up and become more positive. Also, because my friends are for the most part happy people, it makes me happier. Being happy and walking around with a smile on your face leads to feeling more confident and surprisingly, it can make you feel less ill. If I am sick but am around my friends, I don't notice my cold or strep throat symptoms as much. Lastly, hanging out with my friends on the weekend helps me to release school or family stress that I would otherwise hold inside.
Friends also convince you to make healthy life choices. I joined the cross country and track teams at my school not only because I wanted to, but also because all my friends were doing it. They also encourage me to try my best and do well at it, increasing my fitness and physical health. Many of my friends also make healthy eating choices, which also influences the way that I eat.
The tricky part of this is that they can also create the opposite effects. If you have friends that are sad or pessimistic, it makes it really hard for you to be a happy person. You may also feel like you can't share your problems with these people because they are too concerned with their own problems. Holding these things in will make you feel even more sad and stressed out which is not a good thing for your mental health. Lastly, if your friends are making bad decisions concerning drugs or alcohol, that could influence you to make bad choices that could be potentially harmful to your health.
The most important thing to keep in mind is to choose the right friends. If you can find people who make you happy then you are doing things right, and keeping healthy, however if the people you hang around seem to be down all the time, you may want to reevaluate and decide if it is time to get new friends.

What it Takes to Get Into The Zone

I know first hand how hard it is to get motivated to work out, especially after a long day at work or school. I have cross country or track practice after school every day, and sometimes I just think about how much nicer it would be to go home for a short nap or get a head start on that nights long hours of homework, but then I think about the consequences. It is hard to get excited about working out, but it's not impossible.
Think about your goals. The first thing that you have to do is remember why you're doing this. Think about the great body shape that you'll be in or the progress that you will see at the end of the year. Personally, the meets make everything worth it for me. I just think about what will happen at the meets if I don't go to practice or what will happen if I do and try my absolute best. I'll be so much happier with my race performance if I show up and work hard at practice every day. Also, I get into great shape which boosts my confidence. When I think about all the great reasons to go, it makes me so much more motivated to go running.
Have a Hit List. Another thing that gets me pumped up for practice is listening to music. I have a list of all my favorite upbeat songs that I can play and it really gets me into the zone. I love music and listening to it before a workout really gets me excited and pumped up for anything my coach decides to throw at me.
Take a Snack Break. After a long day you probably feel worn out and the last thing that you want to do is go for a long run. Keeping something small in your bag such as a granola bar or some wheat thins to snack on will give you the energy you need for a good workout. Let's face it, everybody loves food and everyone feels better once they've had a snack, So not only will it give you more energy, but overall it will put you into a better mood for a workout.
These are the things that I do before my practices and they almost always work. There will be days that no matter how hard you try, you're just not feeling it. Believe it or not, that's completely normal. You just have to remember all the great things about a tough workout. All you can do is tough it out and hope for a better day tomorrow.