10/15/2024
For those who know me well, you know that physical exercise and running have become part of my life rhythms for many years now. I say that not to pat myself on the back but to point out a life lesson I’ve learned as a result.
For those of you who enjoy exercise and running, good for you. I am not one of them. After having a heart attack in 2015, my cardiologist told me that cardiovascular fitness would be a necessity for the rest of my life unless I wanted a much shorter life. The same cardiologist said that the genes I inherited lend themselves to high blood pressure and cholesterol, and these conditions don’t just take care of themselves. (Thanks, Dad.)
And so, three days a week I hit the treadmill early in the morning for an hour run (not every week, if I’m honest). And two days a week, I hit the gym for a little fitness training. Did I mention I don’t enjoy this? Even though I have run a number of half marathons and one full marathon, I have never experienced a runner’s high. I have, however, experienced a runner’s low.
I don’t wake up each morning and think to myself, What a great day for me to go to the gym. I can’t wait! No, some mornings it takes every ounce of discipline I have to climb out of bed and begin the painstaking process of engaging with the monotonous treadmill.
I just read this week that the first treadmills were invented as torture devices. No joke. In the early 1800s, British prisoners had to spend about six hours a day stepping on the spokes of a big wheel that pumped water or powered mills. Hence the term, “tread-mill.” A prison guard wrote that what “constitutes its terror” was not the “severity” but the “monotonous steadiness” (Adam Grant, Hidden Potential, 94).
Can I get an “amen”?
So, what is the life lesson I have learned over the years from the treadmill torture device? It’s pretty obvious, but difficult to maintain, that consistent effort over time yields great results. It doesn’t have to be an overwhelming amount of consistent effort. Studies have proven that any activity that becomes overbearing can lead to burnout and “boreout” (yes, this is an actual term used in psychology, ibid., 90).
We need a healthy rhythm of consistent effort over time that is also fueled by passion and balanced with deliberate play. Great results come from consistent patterns of effort, rest, passion, and play.
What is true physically is also true spiritually. Consistent effort over time yields great results. But the consistent effort of practicing the discipline of prayer and meditating on Scripture should be fueled by passion and balanced with deliberate play. In so doing, we will experience spiritual growth that helps motivate us to stick with that “consistent effort,” even when it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning.
Jesus modeled this for us when He rose early in the morning to pray and practice solitude (Mark 1:35) balanced with attending parties and weddings (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:29; John 2:1-11) and an amazing work ethic (Mark 1:32-34). He demonstrated consistent effort over time which yielded great results.
Unfortunately, monotony is a part of life this side of heaven. But it can be overcome when we transform the daily grind into daily growth by fueling our consistent effort with passion balanced by deliberate play.
