Finding Success Without Suffering

 I feel like I am not alone in my long-standing belief that in order to succeed at something, you need to put in a lot of hard work.  And I still do believe that it is a consistent and focused effort that does bring with it eventual success.  Where my thoughts are starting to shift, however, is around what that hard work needs to feel like and look like. 

How many times have you taken on a new pursuit, or set a new goal for yourself only to grimace at the thought of what will be required between where you are now and where you wish to be?  Whether it be early mornings spent on the bike trainer, or running in the cold, or late nights spent learning or practicing a new skill, in my experience there has always seemed to be an element of suffering that was required.  It sometimes seems like without that piece, the end goal or success just isn't quite as meaningful.  The pain or discomfort has been the yardstick of just how important or meaningful the end result really is.  

This mindset has definitely served me over the years.  When I think back on many of the accomplishments I have had in my life, I cannot name many that came without going through the school of hard knocks and without some type of grind that ended up being fuel for the journey.  The downside of this is that it is very depleting.  It is not easy to wring yourself out over and over and to not lose desire for the very thing that lit you up in the first place.  Why is it that we feel this need to beat ourselves up in order to ultimately improve or enrich our lives?  Seems counterproductive when you take a step back and reflect for a minute.

Full transparency - I am in week 11 of 16 of a new marathon training plan, which has definitely brought these thoughts and feelings to the surface.  Trying to balance a desire to become a stronger and more consistent runner with the other desire of wanting to become a faster runner has been a tricky balance.  On the one hand, I have enjoyed this plan as it has been much different than what I have done before, and there have been many opportunities for me to experience runs where I have been able to enjoy the experience versus just focus on the end result.  There have also been runs where I have been left feeling defeated and unsure if I am on the right path...if I am NOT always pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, will I ever actually improve and grow? 

From what I have been reading, the answer is yes - learning to slow down in order to speed up seems to be where the magic lies.  And with that mindset comes the idea of unhooking suffering from success.  Learning to invest in the process over the outcome and adopting a sense of gentle power instead of gravitating to the place of exerting maximum force for minimum results.  Something I will continue to ponder on my final long runs in the next few weeks, as I try to gracefully and mindfully make my way to my races and across those finish lines. 

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