'Stepping up to the starting line'
For almost 20 years I had a dream of running
a marathon. However, dreams remain dreams until we put
a target date on them, so back in January I decided I
was going to run Dublin City Marathon on October 31st.
It has been said that life is a bit like a marathon -
there is no lap of honour and it takes many twists and
turns. Looking back I have learned many life lessons from
the process of training and running the marathon and below
I share these gifts of wisdom with you.
Above and beyond everything else, I realised
you must enjoy the process, not just
the achievement of the goal. For me, running the marathon
was just the logical last step in the process of running
3 or 4 times a week since April. Jogging on the beach,
in the early morning, practically having the place to
myself, was one of the greatest rewards of the whole adventure.
Whatever goal you set for yourself, you have to enjoy
process of working towards it, otherwise you will struggle
to motivate yourself.
Before embarking on any new goal, seek advice
from experts. Speak to those who have already
achieved what you intend to do. I spoke with several people
who had already completed marathons, picking up tips ranging
from rubbing vaseline on my chest to stop the t-shirt
chaffing, to getting orthotics (in-soles) made for my
trainers.
As the business coach Brian Tracy states, you
will be rewarded in public for what you do (or fail to
do) in private. You have to put the time and
effort in when no one else is watching. I had to set the
alarm clock for 6.30am to get my runs in before the working
day began. It is the same whether you are writing a book,
designing a website, preparing a presentation. You have
to take personal responsibility for your goals and your
choices.
To read the rest of this article and to learn
how to over-come obstacles and how to be aware of how
we can sabotage ourselves whilst working towards our goals
click
here.
To learn about to how to 'Set goals for yourself'
or how to 'Take the First Step' contact us at (01) 6676147
or e-mail us.
Welcome
to the November edition of Next Steps the
monthly newsletter of James Sweetman & Associates.
