Many runners talk about the power of routine. I am still one of them. Routine helped me become an elite ultra runner with asthma, and there was a time when running the same loop every day felt like the foundation of my discipline. But this year, everything changed. I tried running a new route, and that single decision shaped my mindset, my creativity, my enjoyment of the sport, and even the way I live my life.

In this blog post (and in the YouTube video linked here and podcast episode linked here) I share how changing something as simple as my running path helped me break out of autopilot, rediscover joy, and experience a ripple effect of growth far beyond the trail.

How Repetition Became Autopilot and Stole My Presence

For years, I stuck to the same trail near my home. It was a beautiful loop through a park, and it supported me through countless miles of training, including the months that led to winning my one-hundred-kilometer race. I knew every turn, every incline, every root, and every stretch of shade. It was familiar. It was dependable. It was easy to repeat.

But familiarity has a hidden cost. What once felt comforting started to feel automatic. My body knew the path so well that I stopped thinking, feeling, and noticing. My mind drifted away during runs, and I no longer felt present. At first, I thought this was a sign of strength. Autopilot made running effortless. But after a while, something inside me felt dull. I was putting in the miles, yet losing the spark that made running meaningful.

Autopilot has a way of seeping into the rest of life. When I was stuck in the same loop physically, I found myself stuck mentally too. I realized that while repetition is excellent for building habits, it is terrible for creativity, engagement, and personal growth.

Why I Decided to Break Free and Try Something New

One morning, after yet another autopilot run, I stopped and asked myself a simple question: “What would happen if I just turned left instead of right today?” That one question planted the seed for change. I wanted to feel curious about running again. I wanted to explore, not just execute.

So I made a commitment. This year, I would add a new route into my routine. Then another. And another. I would allow myself to step away from the path I knew and discover what else was out there near my home. The shift was small in theory, but emotionally it felt like opening a door I had not touched in years.

Trying a new route immediately snapped me out of autopilot. Suddenly, I had to look where I was going. I had to use my senses. I had to stay present. It was refreshing to notice houses I had never seen, streets I had never turned onto, and hills I did not know existed. I could feel my brain light up in ways it had not for months.

This change was not about abandoning consistency. It was about injecting intention back into my practice.

How One New Trail Created a Ripple Effect in My Life

Once I switched up my running route, something unexpected happened. That openness and curiosity did not stay on the trail. It started changing other parts of my life as well.

When I broke free from autopilot physically, I also broke free mentally. I found myself more willing to take different paths in my day. I became open to trying new workout classes, new restaurants, and new activities. I even went to a haunted house for the first time at age thirty-four. That experience genuinely terrified me, but it also reminded me that there is something powerful about doing things you never would have considered before.

This mindset shift seeped into my business too. As an entrepreneur helping people with asthma transform their health, I rely on creativity and adaptability. Trying a new running route helped me notice where I had been limiting myself professionally. It reminded me that how you do one thing is how you do everything. If I kept choosing familiarity on the trail, I would keep choosing familiarity in life. And familiarity never leads to breakthroughs.

That small physical shift created a cascade of mental shifts. I became more curious, more engaged, and more willing to explore ideas I had previously ignored.

How Changing My Route Helped Me Rediscover the Joy of Running

Before I changed my routine, something heavy had been happening inside my training. I had lost my joy. I was running eighty to one hundred miles a week. I was tired, worn down, and mentally foggy. Instead of looking forward to running, I felt like I was checking off a box. It is an uncomfortable feeling, especially for a sport you love.

The moment I added new routes, everything shifted. I felt excitement again. I woke up curious about which path I might take that day. I felt the thrill of discovery, even if the discoveries were only subtle changes in terrain or scenery. My mind was alive again during my runs, and I began to feel that old emotional connection to movement.

Running had started to feel like a job, but exploring made it feel like a passion again. It took me back to why I started this sport in the first place. I became a runner because I loved exploring cities on foot and running up mountains to see what waited at the top. The new routes brought me back to that spirit.

Joy returned not because the path was different, but because I was different on the path.

Why Exploration Matters for a Fulfilling Life

Choosing a new route may seem trivial, but it represents something much bigger. It is an act of breaking inertia. It is a commitment to curiosity. It is a refusal to let routine dull your senses and your spirit.

When you allow yourself to explore, you remind your brain that life is full of opportunities. You create space for new ideas to enter. You make room for creativity to breathe. Every new trail becomes a metaphor for the new paths you can choose in your relationships, your work, and your personal growth.

The most powerful part is that this is not a one-time transformation. At some point, even your new routes become familiar. Autopilot returns. But now I know when it does, it is simply a sign to pivot again. The cure for stagnation is movement. The cure for autopilot is exploration.

Your Next Step and a Gift to Help You Begin

As someone who grew up with asthma and was told I would never run, exploring has always been a gift in my life. This year reminded me of that truth again. Trying a new running route changed me in ways I never expected, from my daily mindset to my long term vision.

If you want to shake yourself out of autopilot, try a new trail this week. Choose a different street. Run in the opposite direction. Give your brain something to wake up to. You might be surprised by what shifts inside you.

To support you, I created a simple resource called the Three Pillars of Healthy Living Guide. It includes the exact system of movement, tracking, and accountability that helped me lose forty pounds and become an elite ultra runner with asthma.

Your next breakthrough may start with the next turn you make.