I’ve learned a lot from running. Not the “running tips” kind of lessons, but the life ones, the ones you accidentally pick up when you’re tired, uncomfortable, and your brain starts negotiating with you like a hostage situation.

So I wrote down 13 lessons I’ve learned from training, racing, getting injured, getting back, and learning (sometimes twice) what my body and mind have been trying to tell me the whole time.

Some of these are about running. Most aren’t.

When you’re really up against it, it’s surprisingly hard to push past the desire to quit. Wanting to walk away is so normal when you’re on mile 19 or 20 of a marathon and your mind is begging you to stop.

There’s a theory called the Central Governor Theory. The simple version is: your brain snapshots what’s happening (running a marathon), projects it forward like “this will last forever,” and flips out. Then it starts using every trick it has to get you to stop. Negative self-talk. Comfort fantasies. “Just try again next year.” It’ll all sound logical.

I came so close to quitting my first marathon at mile 19. I was literally trying to call my wife to basically ask for permission to walk off and try again next year. She missed the call because she was running to mile 22 to see me again. I genuinely think if she answered, I would’ve quit.

But then something happened. I took a deep breath. Looked down at my watch. Heart rate was… normal.

I had imagined my body was falling apart. But my heart rate monitor was like: nope. I did a quick body scan, the way I do in meditation, and realized everything actually felt fine. My legs were moving. My heart was pumping. I wasn’t injured.

It clicked: my brain was the only part of me convincing me I couldn’t do this.

So I basically said, “Eff you, brain. I’m going forward anyway.”

And I finished. And I don’t have to live with the regret of quitting early for the rest of my life.

If you aren’t injured, if your heart feels fine, if your muscles feel fine, and the negative self-talk is just… talk, you probably have more in you than your brain wants you to believe.

Motivation is a blip. Chemically it’s a quick burst. Dopamine is designed to get us to repeat behavior, but it’s up to us to build habits so we keep going after the dopamine fades.

Think about a slot machine. You pull the lever. Nothing happens. Pull it again. Nothing. Then on the 6th pull you win a little money. Your brain lights up: this is rewarding. Dopamine fires. And now your brain is like: “Keep going… the jackpot could be next.”

Same thing with TikTok and Instagram. We scroll because every so often we get rewarded with something that hits.

But with exercise, eating well, saving money, building something meaningful? The reward loop is delayed. Day 3 or 4, motivation fades. You aren’t seeing results yet. The runs feel hard. Your body aches. It takes time and energy.

Your brain starts trying to conserve energy and convince you this isn’t worth it. Dopamine dries up and suddenly the couch looks like a spiritual calling.

How do you overcome that?

You stop caring whether you feel motivated. This isn’t about motivation. It’s about the contract you signed with yourself.

Over time, the reward loop changes because you keep showing up. Your brain learns you feel good after you do the hard thing. You become the type of person who just does.

And the best part is: the brain you train on your run is the same brain you use everywhere else. Work. Parenting. Creativity. Building a business. Hard conversations. You start stacking proof that you don’t need perfect feelings to take action.

The next 11 lessons are the ones I keep coming back to, even when I’m not running. They’ve changed how I work, how I rest, and honestly how I talk to myself on hard days.