SAL Lessons from a Half-Marathon

As many of my readers know, I have run 13 marathons in a quest to qualify for the elite Boston event, yet never succeeded. My best time fell short by 9-minutes.

Following my 13th 26.2-mile run last year, I "retired" from the marathon distance feeling deflated, defeated, and disappointed.

Yesterday, I felt a measure of vindication by conquering an elusive personal goal of breaking 1:30 in the half-marathon. My time was 1:27.30 (6:40 mile pace). The purpose of this blog post is to share some of the Self-Action Leadership lessons I was able to take away from the experience.

1. Self-sacrifice precedes all meaningful accomplishments and growth.

I am not very good at regulating my personal diet. I am particularly weak when it comes to my love of soda pop -- especially caffeinated and diet soda. I was never strong-willed enough to give up soda during my marathon training. But over the Christmas holidays, I received a providential challenge from my Father-in-law to give the stuff up. It was the trigger of motivation I needed. I have not had a drop of soda pop for 10 weeks. This no doubt helped my cause yesterday.

2. Consistency is a key to the achievement of any meaningful goal.

I travel a lot with my work. My wife and I are also busy raising a 2-year old. These two life realities made it difficult to train as often and as much as was necessary to achieve my ambitious marathon goals. Insufficient training was a key component in my marathon underachievement. Fortunately, the past ten weeks, I have had a much lighter travel schedule as I have been working more from home building my own business. This schedule change provided me the opportunity to train more consistently. Instead of getting 3-4 runs in per week, I was able to get in 4-6 runs per week. The results were clear: consistency is a key to the achievement of any meaningful goal. It's not just about doing the work; it's about doing the work consistently to prepare your muscles in a way that only consistency can.

3. Your chances for success go way up when your goals align with your natural strengths.

I have known for most of my life that for races longer than a quarter mile, my natural talents are better suited to shorter races than longer races. My PR for the 800 meters (a mere half-a mile, is 1:55 (a 3:50 mile pace). As races get longer, I get slower. My next best event was the mile/1500 meters. I once ran a 1500 meter time that was the equivalent of a 4:15 mile. My 5k PR is 15:18. Without exception, my talent lessens as the race lengthens. No wonder I had such issues with the marathon!

The half marathon distance is a fascinating one for me because while it is half the distance of a full-marathon, it is only about 1/8th as difficult. I know, it doesn't make much sense, but there are many other runners who would agree with me. Without having to face the dreaded "wall" of the marathon somewhere between miles 17-24 (depending on the day), the half marathon is genuinely a pleasure by comparison. The results of turning my attention to events I have more natural talent in are already starting to bear fruit. After I get tired of the half-marathon, I am eager to turn my attention once gain to 10k and 5k races, where I will, no doubt, do even better at than the half marathon. And someday as an older guy, my goal is to compete on an elite masters level at my beloved 800 and 1500 meters.

Self-action leaders are wise to pursue personal and career pathways that align well with their natural talents and abilities. Successfully doing so requires that you try a lot of different work tasks and hobbies to figure out what you are best at. Socrates once advised: "Know Thyself." The more self-aware you are of your own innate talents and abilities, the better you will be able to plan for success now and in the future.

One of my favorite verses of scripture reads:

"For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby." [1]

Despite the gifts I have been blessed with, I am profoundly aware of the many gifts I lack. With the minimal amounts of time we have in this world to make the most of our lives, it makes sense to spend the majority of our time focusing on our strengths. That is not to say we should ignore or neglect our weaknesses; it just means that every one is better served when we become the best You and I that we are capable of becoming, which involves a primary focus on our strengths.

For example, I took algebra I three years in a row in high school. Higher level math has never been a strength of mine. It was necessary for me to work on my weaknesses in order to pass algebra so I could eventually graduate from high school and go on to college, but it would have been foolish to try and become a mechanical engineer like my wife -- who is brilliant at math. I am better suited putting my efforts and focus on my gifts, and then enjoying and being AMAZED at the remarkable gifts others have that I don't.

Words can hardly express how glad I am to not be running marathons anymore. Good riddance to 26.2. The distance simply doesn't suit my natural talents, abilities, or desires. While I am grateful I ran 13 marathons because of the lessons I learned and the confidence I built doing hard things, it is enormously satisfying to be working on events that better suit my natural talents and abilities, and it is incredibly rewarding to be breaking personal records and becoming competitive again.

Points to Personally Ponder: 

1. What is one area of your life where you could benefit from exercising more "Self-Sacrifice?"
2. What is one area of your life where you lack Consistency? Make a plan to be more Consistent in this area beginning this week.
3. What are your greatest strengths? Are you currently neglecting them in a way that is impeding your long-term success?

Footnotes:
1. Doctrine & Covenants 46:11-12

SAL Book: The Freedom to Change Part 1

CHAPTER 3:

THE FREEDOM TO CHANGE (Part 1)

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.[1]
– Dr Seuss

I can change.

These three words express one of the greatest powers you, I, and everyone else possess as human beings. This remarkable human endowment fundamentally separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Unlike a dog, a bird, a fish, or an ant, you and I possess cerebral capacities that empower us to think and behave in ways that rise above our natural desires and inclinations.

So what are some of humanity’s natural inclinations and desires?

Food,

     Drink,

          Sleep,

               Sex,

                    Sociality,

                         Variety,

                              Idleness,  

                                   Power,

                                         Popularity,

                                            Gain,

                                                 Defiance,

                                                      Rebellion,

                                                           Revenge,

                                                                Superiority

                                                                     Artificially induced “Highs,”

                                                                          Escaping reality,

And…

You get the picture.

I know; it’s kind of pathetic, but let’s face it: our base natures are programmed to operate under the same basic program as animals, meaning:

If it feels good, do it.

If someone crosses you, seek revenge, and

When others disagree with you, shun them from the herd.

Sometimes it is good—and quite necessary—to engage in natural desires and inclinations. Other times, it is wiser, and certainly more mature, to discipline, regulate, and in some cases, deny them entirely.

Not all natural inclinations are potentially bad. Some natural inclinations—like the natural instinct of a parent to love and care for one’s child—are thoroughly good. Nevertheless, it is usually true that nobler characteristics, such as courage, compassion, and patience, typically do not occur naturally in our minds and hearts; we usually have to pay a price in time and effort to practice and develop them until they do feel natural. 

What are some of the nobler characteristics?

Humility,

     Discipline

          Perseverence,

               Honesty,       

                    Integrity,

               Hard Work

          Patience,

     Courage,

Self-discipline

     Self-control

          Moderation,

               Tolerance,

                     Compassion,

               Forgiveness,

          Cleanliness,

     Magnanimity,

Empathy,

     Emotional Intelligence,

          Et cetera.

If you want to change; if you seek liberation from self-defeating inclinations that may presently have a stranglehold on your life and relationships – you can. If, on the other hand, you do not want to change, you have the liberty to remain as you are. This book was written to help you help yourself—but only if you want to change and are willing to work very hard to pay whatever price change demands.

What a privilege it is to be a member of the most advanced species on the planet—the only species capable of authentic, personal change. This book outlines a pathway to exercising this unique, personal power to transcend destructive desires and inclinations that, given free rein, could potentially ruin you and the relationships you hold dear.

FACTS VS. FEELINGS

Typically, the exercise of noble characteristics does not feel natural. You must pay a price in time, effort, and self-sacrifice to practice them until they do. The miracle of being human is that you possess the power to align your desires with deeply held values, goals, and beliefs—even when they may deviate significantly from whatever natural predilections you were born with.

Unlike animals, YOU have an existentially advanced brain that allows you to reason and rationalize cerebrally. Animals can feel and respond to situations according to natural instinct, but they cannot think strategically on the same level a human can. This means that you—unlike an animal—are not predetermined to act merely according to how you feel; you can transcend natural feelings to respond in deference to facts and goals. This is good news because no matter how meaningful feelings may be, facts must usually trump feelings to some degree in the attainment of any targeted objective.

This is not to say that feelings don’t matter; they do—a great deal. In fact, I believe our ultimate purpose as human beings is to experience authentic feelings of joy (not to be confused with the mere sensation of pleasure). Without feelings, life would be insipid and meaningless. But without the guidance of facts, feelings alone may influence you to engage in behaviors that carry dangerous long-term consequences, which, in turn, produce undesirable feelings.

Facts do not exist to squelch or deny feelings, but to empower your will to control them, thereby channeling their powerful energy into productive means of achievement and happiness. The surest way to maximize positive feelings in the long run is to control and regulate your behavior in the short-run. Facts must influence feelings if feelings are to flourish to their full potential. Therefore, the willingness to sacrifice what you want now for what you want most is the essence of character.

SAL Mantra

The willingness to sacrifice what you want now upon the altar of what you want most is the essence of wisdom & character.

Note: This is the first of 13 SAL Mantras to come. Freedom Focused recommends you commit them to memory as a means of empowering your mind with helpful reminders of the material in this book.

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[1] Geisel, T. (1990). Oh, the Places You’ll Go!  New York: Random House.