Self-Sacrifice is Self-Sabotage: My Easter Thoughts

EASTER MORNING, 04/20/25, 40 DAYS DONE.

Photo above: Sunday morning’s walk, because I didn’t run.

Easter morning’s walk, with my son and dog, because I didn’t run. Considering I am not the most practicing Catholic and have my own personal challenges with the Church (validated by Pope Francis himself, may he rest in peace), I didn’t want to give anything up, just to do it. Instead, I decided to commit to something. For the last 40 days, I committed to running 3 miles daily, in addition to my scheduled workouts.

This could have been considered easy peasy lemon squeezy because I am a runner, but it wasn’t. I ran just as many miles per month as when marathon training because there was no rest in between days. Some days were 3 miles. Some were my long runs of 6+ mi. Some days, I was exhausted/sore/achy/tired, and I didn’t want to do it, splitting it up by 1 mile at a time during my work day/completing it during my “break” (what’s that??) if I didn't have time in the morning. Other days smoked the miles quickly, before or after my workout. All days, it required discipline and a commitment to myself.

More often than not, people may sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others, putting themselves last. We glorify this behavior as a badge of honor when it’s the furthest thing from it. This season can also remind us that we can commit to something other than self-sacrifice; we can commit to our growth in different ways. For me, instead of self-sacrifice, there was self-trust, self-reflection, accountability, and even deeper confidence every day.