My mother always used to say I was stubborn. She was probably right. But that can be a good thing; you have to be stubborn – let’s call it tenacious – for a lot of things in life. Climbing. Running. Out-arguing your kids who have a million reasons why a particular chore doesn’t need to be done.
But sometimes, all the best intentions get you nowhere. Like this morning. I went for a run in the neighborhood streets. my usual almost-3-mile training run. But it’s been a long time. Too much life happening.
Wow. So hard! So slow! So hard to breathe! My calves are cramping and really hurt. Is this the same body that ran four marathons? Seven half-marathons? Countless smaller races? Could that be me? The same me who can’t run three miles now without slowing to a walk here and there?
I guess it depends how determined you are. When I really, really wanted to run that marathon, I trained according to a schedule. Rain or shine. Whether I felt like it or not. No matter how tired I was that day, or how many hours I had worked.
Where did that go? Will I get it back?
I like to think I will. I like to think that tenacity is a character trait and not a temporary condition. So I’ll schedule another run for this week, despite my overly-full work schedule. And another.
What have I learned from this? Once you’ve found what you love doing, keep doing it! Don’t let life interrupt your progress!
But of course, it will, no matter what you want. Life is like that.
So – do you have a solution?
What do you do when life gets in the way? When you plateau out, or even lose ground and go backwards? So far, the only solution I’ve found is to jump back in, ignore the (recently) lowered standards, and keep inching them back up.
I suspect that I’ll get there – if I want to badly enough.
What do you want to accomplish this year? Let me know – keep me posted. We can help each other get there. As the French proverb says, “little by little, the bird makes its nest” – one tiny twig at a time:
Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid.
Good words to live by.
I definitely experience these ebbs and flows, but I think it’s normal; even healthy. Some days, the things I usually love just don’t seem as inspiring but lack of motivation in one area leads me to discover something new or reminds me of an activity I’ve long forgotten. Perhaps this is nature’s way of restoring balance where it has been lost. So – to get my passion back – I just have to want it. Rest is healthy; if I’m meant to return after a break, the passion will eventually consume me until I can’t ignore it anymore. That said, this year I want clarity in my life. A plan. Direction. A break was much needed but now I’m excited to get back to structure – with play built in. Thanks for sharing your thoughts; they certainly got me thinking.
Do you have a sure-fire method for inspiring yourself to get back to your previous level of achievement in a particular endeavor? (Or even surpassing int?) I struggle with that.
Yes, this happens to me too from time to time. The passion I had for progress fades and my training slows or stops. Sometimes, I chalk it up to age. But really, I know it’s just an ebbing of my desire. After a rest – a day or a month or even years – I return to what matters to me. And yes, I have to start again with lower standards, or maybe a fresh perspective on why I’m doing a particular thing. Thanks for sharing your post!