The Power of Mindset: Reclaiming My Love for Running

I used to run a half marathon distance practically every day. Back-to-back weekend marathons and ultras were my norm. Then I got injured. For four long years, I struggled, and not just with the physical pain, but with the mental toll of being told, “You can’t do this anymore.” Specialists said I might never run again, coaches asked if it was all in my head. Eventually, I started to believe it.

Fast forward to the present: I’m back on the road ( or tread..), lacing up my shoes, but everything feels so hard. Part of my brain tries to convince me that I don’t love running anymore. Yet a louder voice inside me knows that isn’t true. I’ve always loved this sport, and I still do. The real issue is that my mindset got tangled up in the words “You can’t.”

Recently, I began working on affirmations and mindset shifts, and it has been a game-changer. One morning, on a Sunday run that felt like a struggle-fest, a light-bulb went off in my mind: Before I got injured, running was completely new to me—no one had ever told me I couldn’t do it. I simply went out and ran for the fun of it, and I believed I could keep going. After the injury, though, I spent years being told the opposite: that running wasn’t possible, that I might never do it again. I internalized that belief and, in turn, my body followed suit.

But now I know that I can run. I’m physically able, and I have to reprogram my mind to fully accept it. I’m starting over with a beginner’s mindset. I am letting go of that idea that I “used to be better” and focusing instead on the joy of running and the knowledge that I can do it again. On that recent run, the switch in my mind flipped. Within moments, I went from struggling to feeling unstoppable. Three miles flew by, then another. If it hadn’t been for a time constraint, I would have kept on going.

Our brains are incredibly powerful. It is powerful enough to stop us in our tracks when we believe we “can’t,” and powerful enough to carry us through miles when we remember that we can. Sometimes, we have to reclaim our power from the negative stories we tell ourselves, or from the doubts others plant in our heads. With a shift in mindset, and a refusal to let “you can’t” decide for us, we can find our way back to what we love, and go farther than ever before.