Running a marathon is easy.
Yes, that’s right. Actually, virtually anything can be easy
– it’s all in the approach.
In last week’s post, I shared the stories of three amazing
young people who have achieved mastery in their sport, despite physical obstacles
that would stop most of us in our tracks. In the post before that, I shared the
stories of three people who overcame several other kinds of obstacles to
accomplish the seemingly impossible – a 100-year old marathon runner, a
102-year old who earned her doctorate, and a woman who led the Harvard women’s
basketball team to an NCAA championship despite starting her coaching career
with zero knowledge of basketball.
To paraphrase what several readers have told me after
reading these blog posts – That’s all well and good. Now, what about the rest
of us mere mortals?
We watch a 100-year old man run a marathon, or a teen with
only one leg compete seriously as a swimmer, and we cannot help but marvel at
what one human being can achieve. But we tend to view those cases as
exceptions, convinced that they must have special powers unavailable to the
rest of us.
I’ll let you in on a secret. They don’t possess any super
powers. They’re mortal, just like you and me. What they possess is a particular
outlook that enables them to achieve greatness, despite the very real obstacles
that stand in their way. The rest of us have this same ability – with the right
approach, we can accomplish whatever we want.
That is why a marathon – or any other big goal you might
wish to accomplish – is easy. And if not easy, then at least achievable.
So what is the secret sauce? There are a few sauces that
people use to achieve seemingly impossible goals – certain sauces work better
for some than others. Here’s mine: Do very little.
Yes, that’s right – to accomplish a lot, do very little.
Before you move on to someone else’s blog in search of less
ridiculous advice, stay with me for a few more paragraphs.
To go from the kind of person who was told as a kid he would
be saddled with special orthopedic shoes for the rest of his life to a person
who is running five marathons at the end of his fifth decade (more about that
in a future post), I’ve employed a variety of approaches. Some are specific to
my running form. Some involve time management. Some involve working on the way
I think. But the approach with the single greatest impact is to do very little.
In his book, Mini Habits, Stephen Guise puts forth
the idea that we often fail to start working on our goals because they seem
overwhelming. We don’t start the workout, because an hour of exercise seems
daunting. We don’t start the writing assignment because it seems too big. We
never follow that dream of owning our own business because all the details seem
overwhelming.
Guise posits that we can overcome our lethargy and our fears
by picking a goal that is so small it almost seems silly. Don’t commit to a
full workout program. Just commit to doing one push-up. Don’t commit to writing
the article. Commit to writing 50 words. Don’t commit to starting your own
business. Commit to spending 5 minutes a day gathering information about
starting a business. When the goal is so small it seems ridiculous not to do
it, then go ahead.
What value is there in one push-up, 50 words, or 5 minutes
on a project? A lot, actually.
First, the biggest problem for most of us when we try to
accomplish something is getting started. If you make the goal small enough, you
can get started. If you do that every day, you will develop the invaluable
habit of being able to start easily.
Second, chances are good you will do more than your small
goal. If you only do one push up, or write 50 words, then you’ve completed your
goal and you at least are developing the habit of starting and consistently
taking action. But usually, once you are down on the ground doing one push-up,
it’s pretty easy to do a few more. Once you’ve opened up the document to write
just 50 words, it’s pretty easy to keep going and write a few hundred.
By doing this consistently over time, you will be able to
move mountains, even when you don’t feel like getting out of bed.
Really, it works. I’ve trained for marathons this way. When
I have a long training run ahead of me, I often start talking myself out of it
– I’m tired. It’s too hot. It’s too cold. It might be better if I did my long
run tomorrow.
At moments like this, I employ the mini-habits strategy. I
tell myself that I don’t have to commit to running. I will just commit to
putting on my running clothes. Once my running clothes are on, I decide to put
on my running shoes, but not make a commitment to run in them.
As long as I’m dressed for running, I agree that I can walk
out the door, again not committing to actually running. Once I’m out the door,
I commit to running for only two minutes, and then I’ll see how I feel. After
two minutes, I’ll agree to run another two minutes, and then another.
Sometimes, I run only to the next utility pole, and then the next, and the
next.
I have completed eighteen-mile runs this way. I have even
finished marathons this way – when the last two miles seemed like two hundred,
I have committed to taking just five more steps, and then five more, and then .
. . . the finish line comes into view.
You can apply this strategy to virtually any goal –
especially the ones that seem so big you can’t quite get started.
The key is to do it consistently. If you don’t believe me
that this strategy works, then at least believe Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld’s
secret to becoming a successful comedian was revealed in an article years ago
on Lifehacker. When an aspiring young comic asked Seinfeld for tips, Seinfeld
told him that the way to become a good comic is to have better jokes. The way
to have better jokes is to write jokes every day.
Seinfeld told the young comic to post a full-year calendar
on his wall, and then get a big red magic marker. Mark each day in which the
task of writing has been completed with a big red X.
Seinfeld said:
"After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it
and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain,
especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job next is to
not break the chain." "Don't break the chain," he said again for
emphasis.
That, in essence, is the mini-habits strategy. Find a daily
goal small enough that you can’t fail to start it. And then do it without fail.
Try it. You’ll be amazed by the results.
_________________________
I am running these five marathons for the amazing children and adults at the Israel Sport Center for the Disabled. We have set a goal of $5,000. Every donation of any amount makes a difference. Click here if you want to help us get to the finish line!
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