The run that changed everything

For years, the idea of moving back to Milwaukee, his hometown, tugged at Joseph Goss. But he resisted it. “[I had] this weird fear that I would be moving back to die — to essentially live a stagnant life, almost [as] if I had just given up,” says Goss, who had been living in Minneapolis for about 10 years. But an outdoor run after a rough breakup and his dad’s cancer diagnosis brought “a profound sense of calmness.” “I realized … I should be surrounding myself with the ones I love, no matter where it requires me to move,” says Goss, 31. That week, he requested a transfer at work and hasn’t looked back since.

By George, I think I’ve got it!

As Goss experienced, something special happens to your brain when you exercise. Make that many things: Exercise enhances the mood-boosting neurotransmitter serotonin and the motivational chemical dopamine. It gives you a sense of accomplishment, which can inspire new pursuits. When performed outside, it delivers sensory stimulation and a happiness-promoting dose of vitamin D. And when pursued alone, it offers a rare opportunity to be alone with your thoughts. In other words, it’s prime time for epiphanies, “aha” moments and creativity. One experiment even showed that people come up with double the number of creative ideas while walking than others do while sitting. Here are seven other stories of exercise-induced epiphanies:

“Your body is capable of so much more.”

It all started with everyday chatter between Luke Schnoebelen and his wife about their early-morning boot camps. It all ended with Schnoebelen and Claire, his 7-year-old daughter, collapsed, sweaty and laughing on the floor after completing nearly 200 burpees, something Claire had wanted to try after hearing about her parents’ workouts. “This made me incredibly proud and happy that my daughter had pushed herself while having a great time,” says Schnoebelen, who lives in Overland Park, Kansas. “And, as a 34-year-old, this made me realize that your body is capable of so much more if you put your mind to something and have people alongside you to motivate you.”

“I knew I could do it.”

Lisa Black had the desire to pursue an MBA, but she had more excuses not to: The District of Columbia resident was in her late 30s, not confident in her admission qualifications and lacked the time to go to school while still making a living. But one early morning on a treadmill, it struck her: “I didn’t start running until after I started traveling [for work], and I managed to do it consistently no matter where I was,” she thought. “If I could do that, I could go to school and find time to study too.” So she did just that by taking classes on weekends. She earned her degree last spring.

“The rest of my life was going to be great.”

When Elizabeth Gray finished her first marathon in 2012, tears of emotion streaked her face. Not only had she accomplished an impressive athletic feat, but she had also proved her abusive ex-husband — who told her she’d never run a marathon — wrong. “I knew at that moment that the rest of my life was going to be great,” remembers Gray, now a 44-year-old in West Columbia, South Carolina. She was right: Gray is now a domestic violence advocate who’s run 31 marathons. She’s on pace to run one in every state. “All of those things never would have happened if it wasn’t for crossing that first finish line,” she says.

“It got me thinking.”

For the three hours he was riding his bike in January, there wasn’t much for John Friedman to do but pedal — and think. So he did — about the recent inauguration, how the feeling in his District of Columbia community had changed in the past few months and, for the first time, how and why the year he’d spent in Germany as a teen had also left him changed. By the time he dismounted, Friedman, 54, had mentally crafted the framework for a story he later wrote for the Huffington Post. “I find [cycling] frees my mind to relax and simply drift — often resulting in new thoughts or ideas,” he says.

“Why not?”

Shu-Fy H. Pongnon knew she should be grateful: After a stretch of unemployment, she’d finally found a job working in cable news, reporting on topics like crimes and fires. But the gig was bringing her down. “It just wasn’t me,” remembers Pongnon, a 44-year-old in Brooklyn, New York. Then one night during one of her regular Zumba classes — a longtime source of comfort — a switch flipped. “Like straight out of a Hollywood movie scene, it struck me that I was meant to become a Zumba instructor,” she says. She’s been teaching Zumba and other fitness classes ever since. “It was the career I never knew I was supposed to have,” she says.

“The answer was there for me.”

John Digles had just a day or two left before he had to make a big decision: Would he take on a bigger role at his former Chicago public relations firm or accept another offer in New York City? “I felt it could be a defining moment in my career,” remembers Digles, 47, who weighed pros and cons, talked to mentors and played out scenarios. But the answer didn’t come to him until he got on his bike for 30 miles. “The physical exertion freed me to just feel my decision for the first time,” he says. “And I knew right away.” He’s happily worked at the Chicago firm for the past five years.

“I felt this wave of calm.”

For about 20 years, David Reich exercised avidly, competing in cycling events and triathlons outside of his day job. Then, he got the flu. “I noticed I was irritable,” remembers Reich, a 54-year-old in Boston, who was sidelined for three weeks. But within minutes of returning to his bike, he felt a wave of calm. “It blew me away,” he says. Now, Reich appreciates the power of exercise on his mental state. “Every time I am out there looking at the sunrise, I say, ‘I don’t care that I’m getting up at 5:30 a.m. — I’m getting to do this, and it’s keeping me more effective at work, as a father, as a person.'”

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8 Epiphanies People Have Had While Exercising originally appeared on usnews.com