A fellow ultrarunner posted the text from a sign he really liked (on the door of a gym):
"By entering here, you agree to give 100% of what you have. There are no second chances. Every day, every moment is an opportunity to excel, to be more, to be your best. Do not squander your time by going through the motions. Train hard and get results. At the end of the day, look in the mirror and ask yourself if you gave it your all. If you do not have this type of commitment, do not waste your time or ours"
I responded:
One of the greatest challenges of life is figuring out how to give 100%, 100% of the time. If you literally give 100% to your workout, you may not have much left for the remaining 16 hours of the day. If you give 100% to the first 100 yards of an ultra, you'll fall short of 100% for the race.
One of the most transferable lessons I learn from ultras is pacing. What's a pace I can sustain and give my most and my best to all my responsibilities? Giving 100% to marriage or parenting or spiritual growth or friends or even to a career is a lot more challenging than giving 100% to a race or a workout and involves incorporating rhythms of rest and restoration, etc.
It's the greatest challenge (and for me, one more area where I find Jesus to be the perfect role model- "Run with endurance the race set before you, fixing your eyes on Jesus..." [Heb 12:1-2]). There is something within me that so wants not to give anywhere near 100%, and something else, deeper, that won't settle for less.
Life lived well isn't easy.
Life lived easy isn't really life.
1 comment:
this is one of the major things i wrestle with...when i give 100% to one thing, i feel the others suffer. so frustrating!!! my friend got me a mug that says "both of us can't look good, it's either me or the house."
:)
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