The marathon continues, I say this in my Nipsey voice. You will hear this sweat soaked mantra running laps around air waves and from the mouths of friends, family and stranger alike. The power of these words is in examining the lifestyle of the professional marathoner and applying it to our lives to achieve our goals, by changing our current lifestyle.
Marathon runners think long-term, so the 1st step is always going to be our mental state. They understand that their goal of running 26.2 miles will not happen all at once. It’s going to take a while to achieve, and they embrace this fact. Marathoners don't view this as an event. It's viewed as a series of events broken down into smaller goals. Knowing they have run shorter distances no problem such as a half marathon. They may split it in two, or even smaller still quarter marathons. making the end goal much easier to achieve.
A five-year lens is viewed as long term for most of us here in the United States. Even when we think of old money, we think of families who got their start in our country. These are actually short-term series in larger events. Living a long healthy life your expectancy should be roughly 100 years, which is one saeculum/generation. A five-year span will happen 20 times! So, graduating from college or trade school with a profession is a short-term goal. You could do this three times over and still have plenty of life.
When it comes to wealth building, we must think more than just our great grandchildren, which is four generations and only 400 years. Using lessons from Europe, the Colonna family claimed origins from the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the gens Julia whose origin is lost in the mists of time, but which entered the annals for the first time in 489 BC with the consulship of Gaius Julius Iulus. This family has been wealthy before recorded time. When they say old money in most countries they mean thousands of years, not hundreds.
Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results that's what? Practice, not insanity. Extreme foolishness or irrationality is insanity. How does the marathon runner train for this grueling task? Having good form is critical if you run marathons, or you risk injury.
- Land with your feet directly under your hips.
- Don’t over stride by landing sharply with your heel and your leg out in front of your body. This causes you to decelerate.
- Make a conscious effort to run as lightly as possible, springing off the ground with each step.
- Place your foot on the ground directly underneath your hips so that you “roll” into the next stride. Your foot should already be moving backward relative to the ground as it lands so that you have a smooth transition into the next step.
This is just some of the technique involved in the run itself. We have not hit on the diet of the runner, how they map out the course or the mental practice of envisioning a successful run. That's more than the scope of this short essay. Think of how much conscious effort goes into even running properly and how this must be done over and over again adjusting as you go to improve. Proper practice prevents poor performance, those are the five P'S.
How can you apply this methodology to your life? Start from the end and work your way back. What does your finish line look like? How are you going to measure your success? Once you know the end game, break it down into smaller chunks that work toward that goal. Think long term and study those who have had long term success. How did they prevent their family from getting hurt in the long term? Land with your feet under you. We can think of this as being present in the present as well. Don’t overstride/ Don't bite off more than you can chew. spreading yourself too thin. Make a conscious effort to run as lightly as possible, springing off the ground with each step. The world is ever changing, and we need to be light on our feet so we can pivot when needed. Place your foot on the ground directly underneath your hips so that you “roll” into the next stride. Well thought out and pre planned transition to the next series of events within our life marathon. Then make a conscious effort to practice and live a lifestyle that moves you towards your goal. What we have here is a recipe for a whole lifestyle. That's based on a function. and your form (the way you look) follows your function.