There are some mornings, more often than I’d like to admit, when the last thing I want to do is run. I’ll walk around my residence, check my email and the weather and play the spelling bee game on the New York Times app. Then I’ll run through the list of reasons not to run (which, by the way, is significantly longer than the reasons to run). But when you’ve committed to a training cycle – for me right now it’s preparing for the Boston Marathon in October – sooner or later, you’ve got to get out the door.

I thought of this yesterday when Sr. Jenn shared some highlights from her discussion with the Grad Women Spirituality Group. They were reflecting on those times when you know that there’s something that you should do, but in the moment, you just don’t have the energy, the desire or the will to do it. Whether in running, working or maintaining a healthy lifestyle; making sure to get the rest you need; studying, starting or finishing a project; following through on good intentions, fulfilling commitments, maintaining a healthy prayer life – what do you do when you know there’s something that must be done, but you just don’t want to do it?

Sometimes, it takes reminding ourselves of the consequences of not doing it. If I don’t study, chances are I’m not going to achieve my full potential or do as well as I could if I do put in the time and the effort. If I don’t put the training in now, then the proverbial wall in the race will come a lot sooner. If I don’t rest, then I’m probably not going to be as focused or present as I could be. If I don’t pray, then the other half of who I am as a human person will be malnourished, neglected, hollow.

Sometimes it takes reminding ourselves of the rewards of following through: a healthy rhythm of prayer helps us to experience more deeply and intentionally our life in God and loving our neighbor; stepping up to that work or school project gives us a sense of accomplishment; and taking the time to train gives us the assurance that we gave it a shot or did our best. Sometimes it is about taking that first step out the door, just getting through that first (albeit imperfect) sentence on an otherwise blank screen – or, giving ourselves just a moment to quiet ourselves or make an intentional sign of the cross.

In her article, entitled “How to Get Back to a Marathon Mentality” in the most recent edition of Runner’s World, Coach Jess Movold reminds us that when it comes to honoring a commitment to training, “it’s important to reframe your thinking – so that the real question each day is not if you’ll get the training done, but rather when you’ll get the training done.” Ultimately – whether we are talking about running, studying, resting, following through on good intentions or praying – it’s about keeping our commitments. So perhaps when we find ourselves falling into familiar patterns of talking ourselves out of those things that we know we should do – it’s not a question of if I’m going to go for the run, or crack the books, get that much needed rest or say my prayers, but when.