Going the Distance

*Don't worry, this article isn't really about running.

I like running. A lot of people don’t. I know for a fact though that it is one of the few times throughout any given day that I will not be interrupted by someone. I’m completely alone with my thoughts. I’m moving, observing, and thinking. Some of my greatest thoughts have come to me in this way. It’s also a good way to not think about anything if you don’t really want to.

As I finished running yesterday and checked off another item on my “Becoming Batman” checklist (See my article “Be Batman: A Resolution”), I realized that running is analogous to goal making. I’d thought about this before but never put it down on paper.

When I was in the Army I got the chance to exercise with some elite units. These guys were in tip top shape, and when I hung with them it was always tough. The exercise was really hard and really great. Now I happen to be a glutton for punishment in this category, however I believe all of those guys and me shared the same philosophy when things got really tough. Here's the important part: this philosophy can be applied to everything, not just exercise.

This philosophy may seem strange because it involves conflicting messages. On the one hand you must always keep the end goal in sight. You have to keep your eyes on the prize, no matter how far. It was always told to me while doing a hard run/march that I should never look down at my feet for too long.

The tendency is to lower the eyes down to the floor when the going gets tough. If you do that though, you miss out on all that is around you. This is bad because if you mire yourself in the grind and forget why you are doing something in the first place, you can lose motivation. You can succumb to the body which is telling you to stop. You can succumb to the here and now, which is the easier, more pleasant thing to do in the moment. Also, I don’t want to write in clichés; however it is definitely true that the journey is almost as important (maybe more) then the end point.

So here is when the conflicting view comes into position. I just told you that you should always keep your eyes on the prize and not get mired down in the grind. Always remember your purpose and intended outcome. BUT, sometimes it is REALLY hard right? It is hard like, “Matt you just don’t understand how tough it is man” hard.

I agree with you. Sometimes the grind gets the best of you and the target seems unreachable. How am I going to walk/run the final 70% of my journey if it’s already that difficult right now? In this way we have conflicting ideas. On the one hand I’m telling you not to focus on the grind because you need to keep your eyes on the goal. On the other hand I’m telling you that sometimes keeping your eyes on the goal can be disheartening. How do we overcome this conundrum?

You have to trick yourself. While I always “keep my eyes on the prize” and try not to “focus on my feet” I do acknowledge the difficulty of goals. You have to find your internal Zen garden or some other catchy phrase. So the solution for me in these scenarios is to keep my eyes on the prize with the understanding that while it is in fact difficult, I can always take one more step. This is some “mind of no mind” stuff that is intended to make you have your “see the matrix” moment.

I’m living in the now while simultaneously looking to the goal. The last step was difficult, but it is over, it is gone, I will no longer consider it among my problems. I don’t have a million more steps. I have one step right now, followed by another in that moment, and followed by another in the next moment. The idea is not to be mired in the grind, but rather acknowledge that taken as an individual step, any task along the way to a goal is accomplishable. I can always take one more step. Even at my most tired, I can always pick up one foot and throw it in front of the other. I just have to do that as long as it takes: One step, reset my mind, just one more step, reset, just one more step, all with my mind simultaneously fixated on my goals.

Taken in this manner, I can go on indefinitely. My body will quit on me long before my mind or drive will. At some point you should forget that I even started talking about running.

I’m not saying don’t plan ahead. A good plan makes each step that much easier. Look back on all of your steps at milestones; don’t get caught up in them in the moment. While you should always look to the distance and keep your eyes on the goal, remember that when it gets tough, you can always do one more step.

There's a quote that states "A journey of 10,000 miles starts with a single step". While this quote is poignant, I think the philosophy above helps you at the step you take when you're already 3,000 miles in.