Here’s a self-improvement cliche: You are capable of so much more than you think.
I check in with my coaching clients every two months or so. The most common statement I’ve heard over the last year when I do so is, “I never actually thought I’d be able to do this stuff.”
To be clear, it’s not because I have some mystical or magical coaching technique. It’s because the average person doesn’t consistently reflect on what they want, what they think is in the way, and what they can do to get further.
It’s the difference between someone who practices piano for 10 minutes a day and someone who doesn’t think they’ll ever be a good piano player and therefore never practices once.
One is guaranteed to improve. The other is guaranteed to change nothing.
The people I see creating fulfilling lives for themselves are not the ones making the most money. They don’t have above-average IQs. They don’t have the perfect morning routines or meditation practices.
They just take consistent, small steps in the direction they want to head.
I ran a marathon in 2020 without training for it once. That was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done. Don’t do that.
My legs stopped working about 19 miles in. After that point, the only thing that kept me going was my mind (and the encouragement of my friend).
My brain told me I had to stop. I had to walk the rest. But I just kept hobbling.
I knew there were only so many steps between where I was and the finish line. Once I made it there, my first thought was, WTF, brain. Why’d you lie to me like that?
Running 27 miles with rubber legs is different than living our day-to-day lives. But the mentality is all the same.
We want something. We think there’s something in the way. Then most of us choose not to pursue it. We often think, I can’t bear this. But you can. You already have.
I knew I could keep running in pain because, well, I was already running in pain. I had proof I could handle it.
Unfortunately, most people stop before they get that proof. Don’t stop.
Keep running.