The Journey Is the Reward

We are all on a journey.  We can't predict this journey.  Although we can set our own course, we must be prepared for it to change.

While we really don't know what is going to happen on this journey, there are two things you can be sure of...

1. Your journey will not look like anyone else's.

2. Your journey can (and probably will) change along the way.

I decided 5 years ago that someday I would do the Ironman.  Someday really felt like a million years away at that time.  And in the grand scheme of things, and all that life has thrown me, a million years is a pretty accurate description. 

But here I am, at 30, feeling like it's closer than ever!  When I say close, I still mean probably 2 years away.  But I've got a date set and I am finally working towards my goals of getting to that 140.6 mile distance than I ever have before!

This got me thinking... After it's all said and done this goal will have taken me 7 years of my short 30 year life to accomplish.  Wow, that's an incredibly long time.  But you know what???  I could not have rushed it or I would have missed out on this journey of reaching that goal. 

I definitely am a goal setter.  I function best when I have set these goals.  I think some of that is my competitive nature in that I feel accomplished when I have set a goal and complete it.  Because of my natural desire to challenge myself I have learned to enjoy the journey of reaching my goals.  I think you could ask any runner that half the "fun" of training (any distance race) is the journey to get there.  How much less sweet would my first marathon have been if I had rushed through training and just showed up on race day?  Well for one that would have totally sucked and I probably would have died (literally! haha!).  But I would have missed those hours of training, and learning about my body and my nutrition. 

You see we live in a world that is all about instant gratification.  We want what we want and we want it NOW!  I am totally like that.  Ask my husband.  When I decide something I want to do it that very second.  It is so very hard to wait.  Sometimes I don't think I'm very good at being patient! However, patience is the most powerful weapon that I can carry with me in my journey of life.

When you set a goal to lose weight you don't want it taking months, we want the weight off right now.  If you are impatient and wish time to fly by, it's likely that you will struggle with reaching goals. Accumulation of hard work leads to great performances. Life, work, sports...even if you work hard but are impatient you will find yourself trying to take short-cuts or too many risks to try to progress too quickly.

When people want results yesterday, it's no surprise that something that can be accomplished quickly is much more fulfilling than something that takes time to achieve. 

Some progress is better than no progress. But if you have a goal and don't see extreme results in a week or two, how long will it take you to forget your goal and move on to another method to see if "that way" will be faster. Bouncing around from attempt after attempt is nothing more than feeling defeated by a challenge without realizing your true potential to achieve success.

There are no short cuts in life.  I've learned that over the 5 years it's taken me to get to the place I am. I would not go back and choose to skip it for anything. I love the journey!  Despite that it sometimes can get sticky and slow I have learned the true value of patience.  Hard work in both sport and life will pay off but you can't expect results tomorrow if you haven't put in the time to learn lessons, to overcome obstacles, to feel defeat and perhaps, become someone who you never imagined you could be.

So that's where I am at!  Anticipating the journey of the Ironman!  I don't want to rush it!  I don't know if it will be the only one I do, or if I'll be crazy enough to do more.  So rather than rush the next 2 years I'm going to be patient with my progress, learn all that I can, pick myself up when I fall down, and hopefully I will be able to encourage others along the way to be patient in their journey.

The Journey really is the reward!