In the past 365 days, I have participated and finished eleven 42.2 KM marathons in nine cities. One of the questions I get asked after every marathon is: “What was your position?”. I usually answer with the “It is not about the finishing position” response. Most non-long-distance runners don’t seem to understand why anyone would leave their city of residence, fly to a new city to run a marathon and still not win anything or aspire to win anything. The reward is the journey of conquering the 26.6 miles distance and the numerous lessons to be learned by participating in the marathon,
Sometimes in life, you might put in all you have got into a venture and still come short, study hard for the exam and still fail, train hard for a run and still do not finish, work hard to get promoted, and get passed over. The journey involves training, studying, waiting, and executing; that ultimately is the reward for showing up consistently to achieve any goal. You might not get what you want right now, but you must trust the process and keep pushing forward. As American writer Hal Borland asserted, “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.”
The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, caution lights called Family. You will have flat tires called Jobs, but if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perserverance, a driver called Will Power, you will make it to a place called Success.
Meditation
- Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt – Shedding
- A student once asked his teacher, “What have you gained from meditation?” the teacher replied, “Nothing.” However, let me tell you what I lost: Anger, Anxiety, Depression, Fear of Old Age, and Death.
- We sometimes focus on what we can get from a practice; we look for progress through measurable signs, the number of breaths we can stay present with or how long we can sit without fidgeting. But as our practice deepens, we discover that the gift we receive is not only measured. by what we gather but also by what we discard. We might start to notice our ability to let go of past hurts and regrets. Perhaps we are not as easily angered; we are not as fearful of the unknown, or we’ve lost an attachment to numbing distractions like zoning out with video games or food.
- Rather than focusing on what you’ve gained, take a moment to notice what your practice has helped you release. Acknowledge the fruit of your meditation through the burden you’ve cast away. The layers and habits you’ve been able to shed.
Letting go doesn’t always equate to you losing or missing out. You’re growing, you’re shedding, you’re becoming. -Alex Elle
Daily Jay with Jay Shetty – Vantage Point
- There once was a notorious circus owner who was notorious for playing games with his employees. One day, he took six workers, clowns, acrobats, and contortionists and blindfolded them. He explained that he had just acquired an attractive new attraction, and he wanted them to identify it based on what they touched. The first worker ran to a broad steady surface and said it was a climbing wall. The second worker grabbed a smooth rod that came to a point; he said it was a javelin. The third worker seized a muscular holes-like thing and said it was a massive snake. The fourth worker rubbed a bumpy tough exterior and claimed it had to be an exotic tree. The fifth worker touched a big floppy canvas and assumed it was a fan. And the sixth worker pulled on a swinging cord and concluded it had to be a climbing rope.
- The circus owner laughed and said “You each accurately described the attraction and yet you are all wrong. The workers removed their blindfolds and were stunned, in front of them was an elephant. Each circus worker believed they knew what they were touching and their observations were all true but their conclusions were wrong. If any of them had felt more than one part of the elephant; they would have realized that there was more to unpack.
- The same thing happens to us every day. Like when an old friend surprises you by demonstrating a skill you’d never seen before or your understanding of a subject gets turned upside down by some new information. Maybe you notice a hidden detail in a familiar painting, and it transforms what the piece means to you.
- We all experience this in ways big or small, we think we know everything there is to know about something, and then well we don’t. It’s humbling to accept that our perspective is always limited but rather than get discouraged by this, get excited
Podcast
- Making garbage useful with Tom Szaky of TerraCycle | How I Built This with Guy Raz
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