Lessons Learned In Life – Through Running | Prischew.com

Running can teach us some very important lessons that can be applied to our daily lives as well. So if you are training for your next race, you may be unconsciously picking up useful habits for your everyday use as well. These lessons learned in life may include:

As a runner, you can pick up some important life lessons.

Never Giving Up

How many times have you seen people struggling with something and then they just give up rather than keep persevering and carrying on till the end?

As a runner, you will definitely be familiar with this lesson learned in life. You are struggling at the 30km or 33km mark of a marathon race and you don’t think that you can do it any more. From that point onwards, it is definitely mind over matter. Yet there will always be those who give up on the race and take shortcuts to the finish line – just like a certain Tam Chua Puh did at the 2013 StanChart Marathon. But if you don’t give up – then the reward will come at the end when you cross the finishing line.

Applying this to your daily life too, will be useful and you will be surprised at the benefits – be it at work, at home or anywhere else.

Be Consistent

As a runner, you will probably know that you need to keep on training consistently in order to improve your race times. If you slack for a while, you will definitely find yourself struggling in your next race. If you train consistently, then you will reap the rewards.

The same applies in real life, be it in your working or family life and other areas. For example, if you keep on producing good work consistently for your boss, then you will probably do well and even earn yourself a promotion – akin to receiving that finisher’s medal and tee shirt. So as long as you remain consistent, then you will reap the rewards.

Not Waiting for the Perfect Moment

If you sit there and wait for the perfect moment to get things done, they will never get done.

In the case of running, if you simply wait for a good day to train, for example, one that isn’t hot and isn’t looking as though it will rain anytime soon – then you may not get any training done. So that is why some runners just stick to their training schedules regardless of the weather or their energy levels – with even a few running in the rain – because they don’t want to see their training postponed indefinitely.

Similarly, if you wait for the perfect moment when you feel awake and full of inspiration before you start on your new project at work, it may not even get started.

So just get cracking and slot in time to do the work – do not just sit there and twiddle your thumbs. Remember that there is never a perfect time for doing work.

Believe in Yourself

Marathon runners have sometimes felt like giving up at the 30km mark of a marathon race simply because they tell themselves that they are not able to do it. But instead of giving up, the right thing to do is to remain strong and believe in your own ability – so that you can cross the finishing line.

This can also be applied to your everyday life. If you firmly believe that you are able to achieve something, then you will be able to do so. As they say, it is all in the mind.

Achieving Your Goals Through Plenty of Hard Work

You know from your running exploits that achieving your goals takes a lot of hard work. You have always set your sights on completing a sub four-hour marathon and after a few years of training, on your fifth or sixth attempt, you are able to finally break the four-hour barrier. Can you imagine how good that feels – and that all your hard work in training has paid off?

Apply this analogy to your work, family and social life too. Imagine that you have always wanted to become senior manager of your company and have been clamouring after that promotion for a few years already. If you work hard at your job and consistently impress your boss, you may get the promotion that you want. All your hard work can then definitely pay off.