Here is How I Got Addicted to Running. So You Can Too.

I’ll be honest, this whole “21 days to build a habit” thing sounded like a joke to me. Until I tried it.

It was after the COVID years. I was still doing distance learning because of the war. I had too much free time and I hated it. I needed a change. One day, I heard on a podcast about do anything for 21 days straight and it’ll become a habit. Sounded like a challenge. I wanted to disprove it :)

So I did something simple: every morning. 6 AM. Wake up. Headphones on. Run 3 kilometers.

First day? Easy.

First week? Easy.

I didn’t want to miss a day.

Week two? That’s when discipline had to kick in.

But something weird started happening… I started to enjoy it. A little runner’s high kicked in(it not supposed to at this time). Reinforcement. And it wasn’t just chemical, it was the ritual.

Good weather. Mid-may. Nature. Lake. Same crazy people running at 6 AM. Birds. Fresh air. Starting the day right.

Isn’t it lovely?

I didn’t count the days. I just kept running. For 100 days straight.

Not because I was hyped on motivational videos. Not because I’m superhuman. None of that.

I kept going because it felt good. I was being rewarded. Sense of progress.

And yes, a little hack that actually played a crucial role for me personally, I tracked every run on my watch. Staking and seeing those numbers improve was addictive.

By the end of summer, I craved the run. For the next two years, I ran through snow, rain, and mud. Not because it was fun, but because it built character. (I’ll talk more about that in the next post)

Here’s the real take on this story:

You don’t need to hate your habits and grind through them to be “disciplined.”

You can build systems. Stack rewards. Reinforce the behavior. That’s what makes habits stick.

P.S. Attached are my actual stats from back then—2-3 years ago. Every number is real lol.

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