Kristin Armstrong Quotes & Sayings

Running fills the cup that has to pour out for others. Running feeds the soul that has a responsibility to nourish. Running sets the anchor that limits the drift of the day. Running clears the mind that has a myriad of challenges to solve. Running tends to the self so that selfishness can subside. — Kristin Armstrong

It's easy to lose sight of God when life is sweet and easy, but there is something awesome about despair, and it is the closeness of God when we are at our weakest. — Kristin Armstrong

We either live with intention or exist by default. — Kristin Armstrong

I love the thought of not knowing how things will turn out but the willingness to invest anyway. — Kristin Armstrong

A run has never returned me exactly the same. I go, I grow. — Kristin Armstrong

When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in. — Kristin Armstrong

Parents walk a fine line between discipline and grace - values have to hold even when circumstances change or call for compromise or compassion. It's the ultimate challenge to be both firm and fluid, soft and strong, yielding yet rock solid. — Kristin Armstrong

Runners and yogis are alike in lots of ways, and not just because some of us need yoga to unkink what running jams. Runners and yogis are also alike because of this tortoise shell idea, this 'home' we can access inside ourselves. — Kristin Armstrong

Freedom is not the absence of obligation or restraint, but the freedom of movement within healthy, chosen parameters. — Kristin Armstrong

It truly is a little intimidating to go speak at a middle school. Sure, on one hand the kids are only around 13 years old, but on the other hand, merely going back there reactivates the dorky, miserable feeling of being that age again. It isn't easy. As soon as I arrived I could almost feel the braces on my teeth, the don't-look-at-me slouch of my shoulders, the feathered wings of my bangs. — Kristin Armstrong

I love the big fresh starts, the clean slates like birthdays and new years, but I also really like the idea that we can get up every morning and start over. — Kristin Armstrong

The time I spend in the morning - praying, sipping coffee, and coming up with my list - is a ritual I relish. I have done it for so long now that I subconsciously measure whether or not the things I'm doing match with what I should be doing, what I want to be doing, and the life I want to live. — Kristin Armstrong

Running fills a need so we make fewer demands on others. Running reveals the roots of negative thinking, so the weeds can be pulled. Running reconnects the soul to the source, inspiring hope and creativity. — Kristin Armstrong

If we write our dreams and goals down, we dramatically increase our odds of realization. If we share them with others, they become potent and alive. — Kristin Armstrong

Perhaps love's greatest gift
that it is indeed unconditional
is also its greatest curse. — Kristin Armstrong

Runners, by nature, are intentional people and normally pretty light on our feet. — Kristin Armstrong

Times of transition are strenuous, but I love them. They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits. We can make our new normal any way we want. — Kristin Armstrong

Running has taken me in, and continues to comfort, heal and challenge me in all kinds of magical ways. I am not a 'good runner' because I am me. I am a good 'me' because I am a runner. — Kristin Armstrong

Do the things you used to talk about doing but never did. Know when to let go and when to hold on tight. Stop rushing. Don't be intimidated to say it like it is. Stop apologizing all the time. Learn to say no, so your yes has some oomph. Spend time with the friends who lift you up, and cut loose the ones who bring you down. Stop giving your power away. Be more concerned with being interested than being interesting. Be old enough to appreciate your freedom, and young enough to enjoy it. Finally know who you are. — Kristin Armstrong

When it comes down to it, determination has a greater impact than giftedness. — Kristin Armstrong

One of the best things about good mothers is that they remind their children to take care of themselves. — Kristin Armstrong

When everything is moving and shifting, the only way to counteract chaos is stillness. When things feel extraordinary, strive for ordinary. When the surface is wavy, dive deeper for quieter waters. — Kristin Armstrong

Disappointment is a sticky one, because no one can steal contentment, joy, gratitude, or peace - we have to give it away. — Kristin Armstrong

Whether I'm running, working, relating, parenting, learning - whatever I'm doing, I want to surround myself with people who push me. — Kristin Armstrong

Embrace your sweat. It is your essence and your emancipation. — Kristin Armstrong

Running is a grownup's lost link to playing outside. — Kristin Armstrong

I think I run my strongest when I run with joy, with gratitude, with focus, with grace. — Kristin Armstrong

When I forget who I am, I remind myself by finding my stride. I remember that I am strong, free, and loved, and that with God's help I can weather whatever comes. — Kristin Armstrong

There is something magical about running; after a certain distance, it transcends the body. Then a bit further, it transcends the mind. A bit further yet, and what you have before you, laid bare, is the soul. — Kristin Armstrong

As I get older I see that running has changed for me. What used to be about burning calories is now more about burning up what is false. Lies I used to tell myself about who I was and what I could do, friendships that cannot withstand hills or miles, the approval I no longer need to seek, and solidarity that cannot bear silence. I run to burn up what I don't need and ignite what I do. — Kristin Armstrong

That's what our training is for, we practice not panicking, we practice breathing, we practice looking directly at the thing that scares us until we stop flinching, we practice overriding our Can't. — Kristin Armstrong

I want to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. I want to get more confident being uncertain. I don't want to shrink back just because something isn't easy. I want to push back, and make more room in the area between I can't and I can. — Kristin Armstrong

When the seasons shift, even the subtle beginning, the scent of a promised change, I feel something stir inside me. Hopefulness? Gratitude? Openness? Whatever it is, it's welcome. — Kristin Armstrong

It's not only moving that creates new starting points. Sometimes all it takes is a subtle shift in perspective, an opening of the mind, an intentional pause and reset, or a new route to start to see new options and new possibilities. — Kristin Armstrong

Sometimes when we have so much going on, it's easy to forsake the things that seem like personal luxuries - for example, our morning run. But it isn't a luxury at all, when it is the thing that allows us and empowers us to face everything else. — Kristin Armstrong

Real connection and intimacy is like a meal, not a sugar fix. — Kristin Armstrong

When we focus on our pain, our ache deepens. — Kristin Armstrong

I'm glad to be here right now, poking at my threshold. I want to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. I want to get more confident being uncertain. I don't want to shrink back just because something isn't easy. I want to push back, and make more room in the area between I can't and I can. Maybe that spot is called I will. — Kristin Armstrong

Pause today and notice something you have worked hard on and recognize yourself for it. Acknowledge your effort. — Kristin Armstrong

Take care of yourself. Eat well, rest, train hard and smart, make time to think and breathe. Be intentional with your time. — Kristin Armstrong

Without running, I would have missed the joy of rain. What could be considered an inconvenience or a bummer to the inexperienced is actually a gift. Without running, I would miss a lot of things-like seeing cities in a certain way, or knowing certain people all the way to the core. I'm glad we don't experience life through glass, under cover, or from the sidelines. Good things take miles. — Kristin Armstrong

Before I got divorced, I was personally unfamiliar with trial, or at least trial of serious, heart-wrenching proportions. I figured that life went smoothly if you tried hard, and if you messed up, or things weren't working out, you just tried harder. — Kristin Armstrong

Whatever you may be missing right now - a person, a place, a feeling, maybe you are injured and missing running - whatever it is, have peace and take heart - remember that any goodbye makes room for a hello. — Kristin Armstrong

Thank God for running. It is the ultimate detox for me, whether my poison is bubbles, a foul mood, or a bad attitude. If I combat inertia, get out, and get moving, eventually every kind of toxin works its way out. — Kristin Armstrong

We postpone the finality of heartbreak by clinging to hope. Though this might be acceptable during early or transitional stages of grief, ultimately it is no way to live. We need both hands free to embrace life and accept love, and that's impossible if one hand has a death grip on the past. — Kristin Armstrong

In the midst of regular life, running is the touchstone that breathes adventure into my soul. — Kristin Armstrong

I want to be intentional about my freedom - in choosing it, honoring it, and protecting it. One of the best feelings I know is feeling truly free. — Kristin Armstrong

Every mile marker can be met with some measure of trepidation, in a race or in life. Am I on target? Do I have what it takes to finish strong? Am I taking care to stay nourished so I can endure? Is my training proving to be sufficient? Am I prepared for the hills? It is impossible to fathom the full distance, so we make our way to the next mile marker, and the next, checking in with ourselves as we go. — Kristin Armstrong

No matter who is watching or paying the paycheck, we are ultimately each our own boss. — Kristin Armstrong

Running is always an exercise in humility. — Kristin Armstrong

Sweat has the power to end a pity party in such a way that even the hostess is happy. — Kristin Armstrong

I write about the power of trying, because I want to be okay with failing. I write about generosity because I battle selfishness. I write about joy because I know sorrow. I write about faith because I almost lost mine, and I know what it is to be broken and in need of redemption. I write about gratitude because I am thankful - for all of it. — Kristin Armstrong

We can thank God for everything good, and all the rest we don't comprehend yet. — Kristin Armstrong

As my children leave the protected parameters of the bay called childhood and enter the wavier seas of adolescence, I'm starting to get seasick. — Kristin Armstrong

I avoid the carwash when I think it might rain anytime in the near future, which means I drive around the majority of the time in a pollen and bird poop covered car. This presents a stand off between Neat Freakshow and Practical Pennypincher, and Neat Freak usually triumphs. And then it rains. — Kristin Armstrong

Typically creative people are usually not clock-slaves or list-makers, so the idea of enforcing goals and deadlines can be somewhat daunting. — Kristin Armstrong

I think, as most of us do, I put such high expectations on myself that this spills over onto other people. And not everyone is wired this way. Some people can shrug expectations off their shoulders like a cardigan, remaining cool and breezy. Others wear them like a parka with a stuck zipper, hot and stifling. — Kristin Armstrong

Life is too sweet and too short to express our affection with just our thumbs. Touch is meant for more than a keyboard. — Kristin Armstrong

I find significance in all kinds of small details when I run; I'm hyper aware of my surroundings, the sensations in my body, and the thoughts running through my mind. Everything is clearer, heightened. — Kristin Armstrong

We all have our ways of handling fear and managing trying; jumping in or climbing down, a direct approach or a delay, joyful or miserable, a spirit of adventure, or God help me, get this thing over with. — Kristin Armstrong

Learn to say no, so your yes has some oomph. — Kristin Armstrong

I realize that I am typically vulnerable only when and where and how much it suits me. I can choose my writer words and even go back and edit. — Kristin Armstrong

The best thing to do when you find yourself in a hurting or vulnerable place is to surround yourself with the strongest, finest, most positive people you know. — Kristin Armstrong

The things I write about are the things that I am passionate about, interested in, and fighting for in my life. — Kristin Armstrong

To me, there is no greater way to achieve clarity than to run alone, or share miles with a trusted friend. — Kristin Armstrong

Every year, I appreciate life more because of the deeper understanding of what it took to get this far. — Kristin Armstrong

I run hills anytime I really have to think. — Kristin Armstrong

Circumstances in life often take us places that we never intended to go. We visit some places of beauty, others of pain and desolation. — Kristin Armstrong

I never imagined that divorce would be part of my life history or my family's legacy. When people say that divorce can be more painful than death, I understand why. But like any great trial, God uses everything for good, if we allow Him to heal us. — Kristin Armstrong

If you stopped yourself every single time you were about to say, "I have to" and changed it to "I get to," it might change your entire experience. — Kristin Armstrong

I think I get used to, even addicted to, the feelings associated with the end of a long training run. I love feeling empty, clean, worn out, starving, and sweat-purged. I love the good ache of muscles that have done me proud. I love the way a cold beer tastes later that afternoon. I love the way my body feels light and sinewy. — Kristin Armstrong