She told us we would have to report to her at the end of each of the three weeks of conditioning on whether or not we hit that goal.

The first week, I ran a mile on five different days and recorded my times.

I was happy to report to my coach that I had met the goal – but she never asked.

That second week, I missed a day, so I only ran 4 days, but I still recorded my times.

I had my excuse ready to go, but again, my coach never asked.

The third and final week, I figured she didn’t really care about us running on our own, and so I only ran one day.

She never asked, and that was it.

Looking back, I realized my only motivation for running was the fact that my coach had asked and wanted me to report.

But I also noticed something else.

I recorded my mile times in a little notebook that stayed on my bedside table for years as I added other random notes.

And when I looked back at the times?

I had improved every single time. I had gotten faster and stronger. I had gotten more healthy.

And I hadn’t even noticed or cared.

So while I thought I was “getting away” with not running the mile, I really was just harming my own strength and endurance journey.

I can’t help but draw the connection to scripture study.

Sometimes, we feel like we can “get away” with not reading every day. If your family isn’t encouraging you, if your spouse doesn’t find out, if your friend doesn’t check on you… then no one is the wiser!

Or, other times, we feel like “the big Coach” is watching over us and just getting really disappointed that we aren’t fulfilling that commitment every day.

But the reality is:

Scripture study blesses your life. It strengthens your ability to receive personal revelation. It increases your endurance for the trials of life.

And so when you stop reading,

You are only harming yourself.

So when talking about external and internal pressures, it’s good to stop and consider:

Where does my motivation lie?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Running the mile first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.