Know Yourself and Seek Self-Improvement

“Why are you doing this?”….That’s what my inner critic threw at me mid-run this morning.

I was doing 2-minute intervals with 1-minute recovery pushing myself. No race coming up. No finish line. Just me, legs heavy, breathing hard at 5:30am.

In this uncomfortable space, I had this quiet realization:

This is the part of me that no one at work sees, but I need it. Running like this challenges me in a way spreadsheets and meetings never will. It gives me clarity. It burns off stress. It reminds me that I’m more than my job.

One of the first leadership principles I learned at Marine Officer Candidate School was: 

“Know yourself and seek self-improvement.”

It’s not just about fitness or discipline, this is about having something that keeps you grounded, something that forces you to grow, outside the bubble of work.

As a coach and HR leader, I see how easy it is to lose that. We give everything to the job. But if we’re not working on ourselves then who’s driving?

What’s one thing you do that challenges you, that no one at work sees, but you know makes you better?