It’s been a totally surreal 7 year run.
5 Super Bowl trips, 3 Rings, played in the Conference Championship game every single year.
Everything caught up with them this year & they just didn’t have it.
No shame in that, just is what it is.
Now we just pray Patrick is OK.
3 Types of Motivation
Common Motivation
"I have so much energy and enthusiasm for this, so I will do it."
Deep Motivation
"I have no energy or enthusiasm for this, but I will still do it."
Anti-Motivation
"I am damaging myself for this, and I won't stop doing it."
A pebble of intelligence and a mountain of effort.
That's what running your best requires. Running on those bedrocks will build a powerful piece of experience:
You are already smart enough to build ANYTHING that matters to you. Will you sustain the effort?
3/3) But when you inevitably fail, be open to that experience too. Embrace the failure like a friend, because it is your friend. Like little toddlers falling over, it is the process of repeated failure that makes us strong enough to walk on our own two feet.
2/3) An open mind will encourage you to take risks, to let people in, to explore. You will be less cynical, because some belief is a prerequisite to take on new experiences. And yes, you will be challenged by these experiences, and challenge guarantees failure.
1/3) An open mind is a beautiful mind. Being strong enough to live in the discomfort of doubt is more beneficial than relaxing in the comfort of conviction.
3/3) If satisfaction is measured on a balance of peace and regret, it is hard to overestimate the value of someone who knows everything about you saying, “I love you, and I’m proud of you."
2/3) As time passes and all your experiences coalesce into a pool of feelings that was your life, it is a significant comfort to know that someone else was there, feeling you what you felt, and that it meant as much to them as it did to you.
The average American spends $92/month on coffee.
The average runner spends $83/month on running.
So, A) Running really is an affordable form of fitness. 😃
But also, B) I spend $175/month just to get my day started. 😑
@GuardianUS This article advocates firing people for 1) legal trouble and 2) voicing unlikable opinions outside of work. Not a lot of room for second chances...but the thing that soured me on this article was how it characterized Andy Reid as an angry coward.
Running the furthest you’ve ever run will teach you that your body is not some precious, fragile thing. It will teach you that satisfaction feels like exhaustion, and that love is not a soft and placid behavior.
These are not minor lessons.
Most efforts provide a reward in alignment with your ability.
Not running.
This is what makes running special in the world of self-improvement. You don’t have to learn anything or get better. Just keep showing up.
In running, the effort IS the reward.
Forgiveness means “to give before anything is owed.”
Run to exhaustion. Lift to failure. Learn to frustration. Parent to annoyance. Love to heartbreak.
Trying your best requires failure. Give yourself grace, even if you don't deserve it yet.
Consistency > Intensity
A mediocre plan executed every day for a year will yield exponentially better results than a great plan that sputters out after a few months.
Be Stronger. Be Smarter. Be Kinder....One day at a time.
Be the tortoise.
The last six miles of a hard-run marathon are the meaningful miles. These miles reduce you to only two desires:
1) Give up (slower)
2) Keep going
Your choice in the binary existence of those six miles will justify or invalidate all the training that came before.
Running well when you feel good is great. But everyone does great training when they're a 9 out of 10.
The key to gratitude, confidence and self-mastery is becoming a person who runs well when you feel like crap.
4 out of 10? That's more than enough.
Degree of significance different factors have on improving running:
Low - weather, elevation, watch, shoes, shades, gear in general, fasting, music, time of day, seasonality
Medium: Sleep, nutrition, intensity, weight training
High: "Did you run today?" = Yes
Life boils down to three questions:
1. Did I try my best?
2. Did I make wise decisions?
3. Did I treat others with kindness?
If you can answers those with satisfaction, then your life is a success.