It’s all about perspective

It’s all about perspective

I do this a lot. When running or biking and hitting a wall, I’ll often imagine that if only I was going west to east instead or, if doing a loop, counter instead of clockwise. It’s a case of the grass is greener on the other side.

Many of us go through life thinking like this, and I’m also guilty.

So yesterday I finally took myself up on the assumption that if I ran my route in the other direction it would be mostly downhill. Boy, was I wrong!

There’s a new track through the woods being developed near me. It starts behind some apartments and winds through the woods, up and down hill. I like this kind of terrain because it breaks things up; flat can be very boring. Ups and downs gets the legs moving and forces me to regulate breathing. The downhill acts as a kind of recovery that, again, pumps me up. Keep in mind: I’m slow and old.

Instead of turning left and heading down a hill to access the path behind the apartments, I went right, across the busy road and eventually over the plank path over a low-lying wetland to where the track comes out of the wood. So far it felt the same as the other way, maybe a little more downhill, but once I entered the woods, uhhh. How did I ever think this way was better. All I could see was lonnnggg uphills. Switched up—this other way was nothing but up. I hated it. I also understood I hated it because it was/felt different. I was used to the other way, but it was in all reality: UP.

I did the same thing last month on a bike trip. I’d done a multi-day ramble counter-clockwise from my house to Alma, to Greenville, Lowell, then home via the Shiawassee Trail and Krepps Road. Over this Memorial Day weekend I did the opposite because I read somewhere that the old rail trail from Alma to Elmore was slightly uphill. Perhaps, but it didn’t make up for the other parts of the track. Sorry if this sounds confusing.

Suffice it to say: What first appears difficult, whether true or not, emotionally intuited or depending upon energy levels etc—so much plays a part in our perceptions—making us desire to try the other way, curious about if it might have been easier. This applies to LOTS of decisions. Should you have applied to the state school instead of a private institution, taken that other job instead of the one you did accept? Had that second child? The road less taken? Next time I’ll plan my vacation instead of leaving things up to serendipity. (In this case, why not try both approaches?)

We can all attest to regret, hindsight is 20/20. But, also, it’s human nature.

I’m here to say that I tried the other way on my run route—and I’ve been doing it right all along.