Lesson learnt: Never say never
This journey started as a self dare, I knew it would be hard and that the learning curve will be very steep but I did not reckon that in 5 weeks I would be waking up early in the mornings eager to run.
The progress has been steady, pushing the boundaries each week…..Now I laugh (ha ha) in the face of a 1 minute interval run that seemed impossible a few weeks ago. My endurance has crept up the scale and ‘yours truly’ is now doing 10 minutes stretches of running as cool as a sweating cucumber. My running route is now too short for me as I’m running more/ walking less thereby finishing earlier, so I spent the whole of week 8 experimenting safe roads I can include to my route to make up my total 40 minutes.
I have learnt that the human body is super resilient …give it time, it will get used to any challenge and then get ready to absorb more. The only thing in the small print that I should mention is consistency – it is the key to steady progress. 6 things have aided this steady improvement; a clear target, an agreed weekly pace, avoiding distractions, keeping focused and music.
- I have shared my running target earlier in this journal……to be able to run 5km non stop by the end of 10 weeks.
- I have a weekly pace which helps me build up my endurance and yes, my confidence that I really can do more.
- I’ve selected a time and a running path with minimum distractions…cars, motor bikes. I do not run in the dark.
- I do not take calls while I’m out…my mind is fully set on competing the days assignment.
- I have used music to encourage myself and I have my running worship playlist. I’ve moved from “keep running till this 1 song is over” to “keep moving till the next 4 songs are over”. It takes me from the road to the heavens…I run with wings 🙂
As I sit here, I’m bold to say these 6 things can be applied to every aspect of our lives we’ve considered impossible especially spiritual goals. Lets take the angle of praying for instance. A few people have a challenge praying for a prolonged period of time. So I say, document your plan. What’s your target? 10 mins, 20,60?….it is achievable. My suggestion is as follows based on my experience;
- Plan to succeed. Set a target, minimum of 6 weeks, maximum of 12 weeks
- Pace yourself. Set out a daily prayer plan. Starting with 5/10 minutes a day and increasing by 5minutes each week ( depending on your target)
- No distractions. Select a period in the day when you will be least distracted. Early morning works perfectly for runs and also prayers because the traffic is low both on the roads and at home.
- Focus. Phones and other gadgets are a distraction. Calls can always be returned.
- Sing. It helps to focus. It helps to get you on the track of the business of the day. It helps to bring the presence of God into your room. Never feel guilty about going into praise-worship mode if words fail you. Just spend your planned time in His presence singing and praying.
- Consistency. If you meet God at the agreed time every day for 1 week, I guarantee you that you’ll be wanting more time. Moving up the prayer ladder shouldn’t be difficult.
- Finally, look out for others. If you run out of prayers for yourself…pray for friends, pray for the country, pray for the victims of terrorist attacks, pray for the orphans, the widows, the homeless….you can do it.
Building up a consistent prayer life has been used as an example and time permitting we could talk about fasting, bible study, etc. The list is endless. I have learnt that when a Golaith stands before men, the first instinct is to panic. But let’s take on the David mindset and first agree with God the father that with His help the giant can fall. So I close with a challenge…are you up to take on your Golaith??
Inspirations by Elozino 