A lot of people ask me if it was always my dream to run 60 ultra-marathons in 60 days, and it’s often met with bemusement when I answer honestly that no, it wasn’t.
But throughout the past few years I have allowed myself to be open to possibilities and opportunities that feel right to me. That feel right for me. Visualisation is a term that comes up frequently in the area of personal development (it basically means concentrating on a mental image of your dreams or goals) but I believe that when you allow yourself to be open and attuned to your feelings and desires the visions will come to you.
That’s how endurance running kicked off for me anyway. I literally saw myself doing it. It was unexpected but the image lit me up and I had the sudden, innate sense that I could do it.
To be honest I believe that applies to everybody, that we can all harness an instinct for the things that pop into our heads. I also think this power is hugely underestimated.
I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of a man called Earl Nightingale, but if you haven’t, I definitely recommend looking him up. He wrote and spoke about life with such wisdom but one thing always stood out for me – he said, “the definition of success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal.”
I love it. It’s a reminder to go easy on yourself as you work towards your goals. Getting the result you want is important but not if it is to the detriment of everything else along the way. So many people don’t consider themselves to be a success when they’re on their journey, that they’ll only be successful when they’ve reached the top of the mountain, see the extra zero’s on their bank statement or fit into those jeans but that’s not true. The definition of success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. When you have that ideal in your mind and in your heart and are taking steps towards it you are already a success.
And I’ve learned that the hard way; in the past I’ve set myself goals and when I eventually reached them it felt anti-climactic because somewhere along the way I stopped enjoying the experience of the process.
But the worthy ideal goes further than any goal, and that’s how I am approaching these 60 ultra-marathons. It’s not just a matter of getting them done, I plan on enjoying every step of the way.
