It’s all one big mix today. Can’t separate the personal from the professional and sometimes that is just the way it is. They cross over in the most beautiful ways some days and other days they cross over in what seems like an evil trick.
Many of you know I completed a 1/2 marathon this weekend. It’s a big deal. For me. I have lost 72 pounds, trained for a 1/2 marathon finishing in under goal time, and I have learned a lot about what I am made of in the last year.
The truth about me and the truth about you is that no one knows you like you know yourself. People will create stories about you, romance you, exalt you and destroy you, but YOU know you. And you put your head on the pillow at night and look back on the day and live with every decision you made, every step you took, every heart you broke, and every person you helped (including yourself).
Here’s the lessons that came from the 1/2 Marathon- hope it helps you make the best decisions for you.
1) I learned preparation makes things easier. You can be the fattest, the slowest and the least skilled, but if you do the training you still come out on top. The every day makes the big day so doable.
2) I learned I don’t need a lot to accomplish a lot. My mind can take me further than any person, thing, or plan.
3) I learned people will get in your head and you have to protect your confidence. Every word we hear, every person we watch, and every interaction we engage in effects us. Run from the negative and the unhappy. It only slows you down.
4) I learned what I don’t have can be as powerful as what I do have. My phone was doing something funny and I didn’t use it. We need less than we think we need.
5) I learned starting is harder than finishing. Momentum is a powerful thing.
6) I learned you can only run your own race. 13.1 miles of asphalt is a lonely beautiful place. It’s you and the steps and the breath and you are reminded no one is coming for you. No one will save you. And in that knowledge you are empowered to save yourself.
Somewhere in 13.1 miles of sweat and tears and breath and asphalt I left my fears of being alone and found the the truth. I always have me and she carried me across the finish line all by herself.
Suzanne Evans, Chief Movement Maker
