Reflections from a Marathon…

As we wind down the first quarter of 2014 most of our clients will take time to reflect on the impact of the decisions they have made so far this year. This will cause some to adjust and others to keep doing what is working. In my case, many things come to mind – and believe it or not, its not all about investing!

In an effort show another side of my life I’d like to share about my recent experience running the Phoenix Marathon. It would be easy to tie these lessons to many things, and I hope you will take time to see how they might apply to you and your life as well.

1. First, let’s state the obvious: It’s a marathon, not a sprint. That may sound cliché, but I there is an important lesson in that simple truth: One of the most important parts of running a marathon is not going out too fast. Many runners start too fast in the beginning, and most who do pay for it in blood during the last few miles. These are the same runners who now have stories about taking as long during the last 8.2 miles as it took them to run the first 18!  You don’t want to be that person. To be fair, it is difficult pace yourself at the launch because the atmosphere of the starting line is electric and everyone is so excited! But staying calm, sticking to your original race plan, and not getting caught up in the moment is critical if you want to avoid hobbling (or even crawling) over the finish line.

2. Stay positive no matter what is happening around you. Don’t let any negative self-chatter into your mind. This is really important because you will NEED to stay positive and be mentally tough for those last few miles. Everyone suffers in the marathon, but not everyone stays positive. If you are psychologically down in the dumps early on in the race, it will be almost impossible to turn it around later on when you really need to draw on your mental toughness.  Continuously remind yourself of how lucky you are to be out there with a healthy body capable of exercise (I saw one runner pushing his adult age disabled son in a wheelchair – talk about inspiration, that guy was a stud!). Think about a spouse and family that supported you throughout your training. Consider a career that gave you the flexibility and financial means to invest extra time pursuing personal interests. Positive thoughts like these will help keep you going even when your body is wearing down.

3. Know the “why” behind the why” you are doing this. The decision to run 26.2 miles is usually not made just because you want to get in shape – it is usually because you want a changed life. So knowing why you want to run the marathon is ultimately more important that actually completing the race itself. You can’t just show up and run – deciding to run a marathon (and then following through on the training required to complete the race) is something that is too big to just do on a whim. It’s a decision that requires commitment and sacrifice over a long period of time. Running a marathon is not about a goal you can achieve quickly or get immediate gratification from… so knowing the “why” behind your decision has to come from deep within.

I’m very thankful for the opportunity to achieve this life goal, and I’m very thankful for many people and circumstances that allowed me to share these experiences with you. And before I forget… Whoever invented Vaseline should receive a Nobel Prize.

I hope you are looking forward to a great Q2 filled with all of the results you are working hard for!

Sincerely,

Phil Bervig

Categorized in: Blog

This post was written by Conscient Capital