The Challenge Of Personal Change: Idea v Reality
Late in 2019, a physician informed me that to maintain my mobility for the long term, I had to lose weight and maintain a high fitness level. I decided to return to long-distance running to achieve these critical outcomes.
The truth is that this was more easily said than done. The idea of getting fit in this way was far more appealing than the reality of getting to and maintaining a high level of fitness and mobility. I was looking at a lifestyle change that required me to engage at a new level with personal discipline. I was going to need a new set of habits as I set out to become an “athlete”!
I embarked on my mission with enthusiasm and dedication, quickly clocking up the miles. It was exciting in those early days: I was in such bad shape that even the tiniest improvements were majestic! Outwardly I was upbeat, but internally, the reality was beginning to set in that this new lifestyle, which was proving to be quite challenging was here for the long haul.
Maintaining the activity when everything inside me wanted to sit down and rest, was an enormous challenge. However, this was not something that I was doing for fun, that I could drop if it became too challenging: my future quality of life depends on it, which raised the stakes considerably. I had to find a motivational catalyst that kept me going
Running for the sake of it soon lost its shine. The possibility of losing my mobility still seems so far off and is a ‘long-shot’ motivation, difficult to quantify. I realized that I would need to do something to keep my interest (and commitment) going in the present.
I determined to bring purpose into the exercise by training for and participating in marathons as I had done in the past. This would give me something to aim for, providing a structured route map that I could follow over time. I could work with this plan for many years to come.
The first marathon arrived. Internal struggles came out in force! I’d done this before and knew it would be a tough challenge.
I had sufficient reason to back out, and no one would have questioned the decision.
The choice to quit wouldn’t go away until I crossed the finish line.
This internal battle pitted me against my Self.
I was solely responsible for the outcome.
I finished that first marathon. It took me a while, but I got there in the end. It turned out to be a much tougher run than I anticipated (I’d accidentally picked an extremely challenging trail run instead of a more forgiving road run). But, once again, the support of family, friends, organisers, and spectators all worked together to increase the likelihood of success, reminding me that I succeed because of people, not despite them.
My takeaways from the year 2021 and this part of it in particular?
More often than not, making a significant change in life is hard — no matter how I attack the process: Get on with it.
Eventual outcomes are the sum of hundreds of small actions taken consistently over a long time towards a clearly articulated result. Combined with dogged determination, these actions do one of two things: They take me towards the desired effect or away from it. There is no middle ground: Get purposefully active.
There is no rush: Slow and steady (in my life at least) is more likely to achieve a result than fast but inconsistent: Always move forward.
Life can be hard: The only things I can control in the face of adversity are my thoughts, my attitudes and my actions. Take ownership of Me.
In the days that lie ahead, may I have the courage to continue to change the things I can change, the grace to accept the things I can’t change and the wisdom to know the difference (Unknown)
