This past Sunday I was at the finish line, in a cold driving rain, to see my sister and her husband complete a 1/2 marathon and my brother complete the full marathon. I am truly impressed by the dedication and committment they have shown to reach this goal.
I know that their accomplishments took untold hours of training and preparation. They were very focused on the achievement of this goal, and they set their sights on finishing the race. The thing that makes it even more impressive is that they all live full & busy lives, and they didn't let their training affect any other parts of their lives in a negative way.
For example, my sister kept up her training schedule, worked, and took classes toward her Master's degree. My brother trained for his marathon, worked, and he also did his fatherly duties as a dad to two girls, who are both under six. His wife helped him out so he could train as much as he needed, but he still had to fit in his training around the girls...because family comes first.
From L to R--Nick (brother-in-law), Dave (brother), and Erin (sister).
An action shot of Nick and Erin
So how did this affect me? I realized something about myself. I have accomplished a lot in my life, but I tend to "react" to my environment, and I am generally not a goal-setter. Most of my accomplishments stem from a challenge that I was faced with, and I wanted to overcome. If you put a brick wall in my way, I will fight like a dog to either get over it, around it, under it, or smash right through it.
But I give up much too easily with my goals. I tend to make lofty goals, and then say "screw it" when I experience a setback. That's not the fighting spirit that I want to show the world! I'm not sure why this happens, but I have recognized it now.
My brother and I were talking about it, and he gave me some excellent advice. He told me that if his initial goal in running, was to complete a marathon he would never have done it. It's just too daunting. He reminded me of a time when a mutual friend of our's invited him to Tulsa to run in a 15K. At that time my brother turned him down, because he knew that he could not run 9 miles. Now, several years later, he has run 26, and although he looked tired at the finish line on Sunday, he still finished strong.
So I am reassessing my goals, and I'm working on making them more manageable. For example, I have been thinking a lot about my crutches lately. I haven't even really used them since 1996. So my goal is to start using them more. Instead of trying to focus on getting back to the stamina that I once had, I'm going to focus on being able to stand on my crutches for 15 seconds, then 30, and so on. These goals are achievable, and whenever I get frustrated, I won't say "screw it."
I'm also going to remember something else I heard from my brother. He talked to me, about how he had to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. There were times during his race when he had to take a break and walk. But he didn't stop moving or give up. He walked for a bit, got his energy back, and continued on his path toward his goal.
So my three family members have provided me with a huge gift. They have shown me what is possible when you set achievable goals, and you just keep striving to reach them. Tonight I stood on my crutches for a whopping 8 seconds...but hey that's over halfway to my first goal! :)
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