I recently read Positive Addiction by William Glasser, in which he says there are two types of addiction, negative and positive. Negative addictions are harmful to us. They’re based on judgment and guilt and feelings that we are worthless. Positive addictions, on the other hand, are those that strengthen us and increase the quality of our lives.

He gives steps that lead to positive addiction in regards to activities, including doing the activity alone rather than with groups, and doing it for the pure enjoyment of it. To use running as an example, if we run with another runner(s) there is a tendency to compete and to judge. If the other person is faster than we are, we will probably increase our pace to keep up with them, and in so doing convince ourselves they are better than we are. If we run because we want to lose weight, we judge ourselves as being overweight. Or if we run to be on a school team, we judge ourselves as being slower (or faster) than the others with whom we compete.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t run with others or run to achieve goals if those are our needs; of course, we should! Competition does have its place in our lives, but we need to recognize that by its nature, competition is negative and judgmental. Perhaps a better way to look at it would be that in addition to running for competition or to achieve other goals, we need to also be doing it for no other reason than for the pure enjoyment of it.

If we are to be positively addicted to running (or walking, swimming or biking for that matter—all of which can help produce good feelings associated with having a healthy body as well as allowing us to feel great during and after), we have to accept ourselves for who we are, without criticism or judgment. We must learn to love our running and to allow it to have a positive, strengthening influence. As such, it can then help us to achieve a new dimension of satisfaction in our lives! And, as long as we’re careful not to overdo it, perhaps even increase our likelihood of running without injury because we’ll be less stressed.