How to end well

Even good habits might need to change — here’s how to do it

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Earlier this week, we talked about streaks and the idea
of doing something every single day. Of course, nothing lasts forever,

(00:23):
and all habits or human endeavors end at some point.
The question is how you end things, and today's tip
is about how to end things. Well, I'm currently somewhere
over nine days into an everyday running streak. I've run
at least a mile a day every day since December.

(00:43):
I'll knock on wood here and say that I've been
lucky to have no serious injuries, though I definitely practice
some injury prevention strategies to ward those off. But it's
easy to imagine that a running streak could end because
of illness or injury, or some external force like that.
I'd like to think I make my peace with the idea,
but it's hard to know. So I was interested to

(01:05):
read in a recent issue of Runners World about a
young man who made a conscious decision to end his
running streak for his wedding day. He made it into
a big celebration. He and his guests all ran an
informal five k together. Then he got married and the
next day he did not run. He wanted to release

(01:25):
himself from any potential stress of needing to run every
day on his honeymoon while they were traveling well, his
new wife was perfectly happy with his running. It also
made sense to take a big life change and use
it to consciously reevaluate his schedule. I really like this
idea of a conscious ending in life. We often pay
more attention to how things begin verse how they end.

(01:49):
We subscribe to things that are on auto renewal and
pay for them for years. We sign up for a
retailer's website and continue to get their emails long after
we've ceased to care. We schedule recurring team meetings without
asking whether we actually intend to continue these on Tuesdays
until the end of time. Most likely we don't. Indeed,

(02:11):
we do know that there will come a Tuesday without
that staff meeting. The question is how it happens. I've
been pondering this with my running streak. One option I've
thought about is going to a thousand days and then stopping.
That would take me to late September two nine. There's
a nice roundness to that number, so there's something to

(02:33):
be said for that. Of course, one reason I've stuck
with my running streak is that I love to run.
Most days, I'm quite glad I went for a run.
So it's quite possible that I decide to end my streak,
but then wake up on the next late September morning
with the early fall sunlight dappling through the trees and
the just cooler temperature is beckoning to me, and I think,

(02:55):
you know, I'd really like to go for a run.
So we shall see. But as with athletes retiring on
top of their games, it's often wiser to end things
on your terms, rather than because circumstances force an end
upon you. If you're pondering ending something in your life,
try thinking what would make a satisfying story. For me,

(03:17):
a thousand days feels pretty satisfying. Not many people can
say they've run for a thousand days straight. For the
young man who stopped running for his wedding, it was
about acknowledging a new chapter of his life. You can
also mark the occasion in some way the groom brand
of five K with his wedding guests. I might decide
to run a really long run, like maybe a half

(03:40):
marathon or something to acknowledge the end of my streak,
throw a party, acknowledge how important the moment is, and
perhaps most important of all, it's good to end things,
to try something new that you're excited about. The happiest
former athletes start new ventures that use their time and energy,
whether that's businesses or nonprofit that's happy. Retirees are volunteering, traveling,

(04:03):
taking care of their grandchildren, writing books. I'm not planning
to stop running, even if I stopped running every day,
but maybe I could do something different with those non
running days, like committing to going for a bike rider,
taking an exercise class. In any case, a chosen ending
often feels more affirming than an unchosen ending. So what

(04:24):
are you looking to end and how can you end
it well? I'd love to hear your stories in the meantime.
This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

(04:47):
or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the
number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia
dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

(05:09):
in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio.
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