Are You Changing or Becoming Root Bound?

     Recently, on a crisp Saturday morning it took a lot of motivation, but I finally got myself out of the door and went for a run. It felt really hard and I was just trudging along, but since it was Saturday I need to get extra mileage in so I kept pushing forward.  All of a sudden, I felt pretty good, started to relax and enjoy it.  Then I realized it was because I was going gradually down hill. I felt good and I continued on down the hill, until my brain kicked in and realized I had put myself in a little dilemma in order to get home I had two options:    

1. Take the hard route back up the hill 
2. See if I could bribe my daughter to pick me up and take the little longer route down the hill to a trail head.  

 I had a decision to make.  Did I want to challenge myself and struggle or take the less painful route?  This simple issue got me thinking about something I had heard recently.   That when a plant becomes root bound and starts to deteriorate an experienced gardener will tell you it cannot just be taken out and placed in another container.  Soil needs to be shaken from the roots, straggling roots need to be pulled and clipped from the root system. Then the plant is placed in the new container and soil needs to be vigorously pushed tightly around the plant. In most cases (unless your thumb is brown like mine) the plant will then take on new life and grow.  How often do we set our own roots in the soil of life and become root bound?   We become comfortable where we are and may treat ourselves gently and not let anyone disturb the soil or trim back our root system. When things start to get uncomfortable or a bit scary we retract back to that comfort zone, even though we know it is not where we need to be for progression.  We remain root bound, stuck.  
     During the last few years of my marriage I knew it was over, we were both not healthy.  Several times I got to the point of actually saying it was over, but when the reality of what I was saying would set in I would back down and go right back to what I had known, too scared of the change that lied ahead of me. It took time but I finally realized I was never going to change if I stayed root bound. There was gonna be pain no matter what I chose, but the pain of progress would lead to change.  I still remember the night I uttered the 3 hardest words I've ever said, "I am done."  This time I was sticking to my guns. In those first few days afterwards I was numb. Little did I know that the dirt was being shaken off of my roots.  I was being prepared for what lied ahead.  It's been just over three years and my roots have been pulled, clipped, I have struggled, battled and crawled my way up many hills.  
     I've come along ways, but still have a long way to go. I still find myself retracting to my comfort zone when things get tough and a bit scary. I tend to really do this where relationships are concerned.  It has been said, that life is ever changing and in order to learn we must change too.  Don't become so stuck in your comfort zone that you become root bound.  Fact is, there is going to be pain in change, but there is great satisfaction in the progress that is being achieved.  The growth is priceless.  

         
That Saturday morning, I let the hill scare me and I chose the more comfortable option to end my run. Yes, I would of gotten more out of my work out had I taken that hill option.  It would of made me stronger.  At the moment, it was worth bribing my daughter with lunch to get her to come get me, it took the pressure off and it gave me about 3 miles of thinking time.  Change doesn't have to come in huge ways, sometimes it is the small scary steps you take to just keep moving that matter most. I went home, emailed a race director and told him I had been chicken and asked if he would change my 5k registration to the 10K and I accepted a date for that night.  
Both scary steps for me, but steps in the right direction out of my comfort zone.

XOXO
Tiffanee