I invited three of my friends (Josh, Bryan & Tom) to do a sprint triathlon with me in the summer of 2010. None of us had previous triathlon experience, so it would be a learning curve for us all. I vividly remember my first training swim at the local YMCA pool in Newton, IA. The sprint tri included a 300-meter swim – 6 laps in the pool. I was a decent athlete and in pretty good shape, and so how hard could it be to swim 6 laps on race day. But I figured it would be a good idea to get in a few practice swims ahead of time. I’ll never forget that day. My first practice swim. After swimming one lap (1 lap!), I stood leaning up against the side of the pool, huffing and puffing like I had just completed the most strenuous workout possible! I couldn’t believe how tired I felt and how out of breath I was after swimming only 1 lap! I realized I’d need a few more practice swims in order to build up to 6 laps come race day. Fast forward to the fall of 2019. The day was Sunday, November 24th. The location was Tempe Lake in Tempe, Arizona. The event was Ironman Arizona. At 7:13A, I stepped into that cool, dark water to begin a 2.4 mile swim (the equivalent of 84 laps in a pool) … the first leg of the Ironman experience. An hour and 38 minutes, and 2.4 miles later, as I got out of the water… my breathing was slower and my body felt better than it did after swimming that first lap in the pool some 10 years earlier. Why was that and how could it be possible?
RT + OT = RR. Doing the Right Thing Over Time leads to the Right Results. After my first sprint tri in 2010, I decided to step it up a bit to an Olympic distance tri, which included a 1.5 KM swim (approximately 33 laps in a pool). And so I started swimming. Regularly. Weekly. Multiple times weekly. The distance I swam began to increase. 10 laps. 20 laps. 30 laps. I was slowly but surely increasing both my speed and my endurance. I was choosing to do the right thing over and over again. Then in 2019, I signed up for my first Ironman race (IMAZ). I knew I could swim 1.5 KM (.9 miles), but this race would include a 2.4 mile swim. Once again I knew what I needed to do. I simply needed to go to the pool. Again. And again. And Again. It wasn’t going to happen overnight. I didn’t develop the endurance to swim 2.4 miles in a day, or a week, or even in a year. It was a 9-year progression. Which involved 100’s and 100’s of practice swims. It’s much the same way in life. If you desire to have a healthy marriage, to have a positive influence on your kids, to develop financial stability, to stay in shape physically, to grow in your field professionally, etc… the most proven way to get there is one step at a time. It’s not going to happen overnight. You’re going to need to do the right thing/s over and over and over again. I believe this should give us hope! You don’t have to do extraordinary things; you just have to do ordinary things consistently over time. And as you do the Right Thing Over Time it will lead to the Right Results.
Let’s say there’s an area of life in which you’re unsatisfied, struggling, and not where you want to be. In some area of life, you’re just off. Disappointed. Missing the mark. Coming up short. You’ve gotten in the pool and attempted to swim… but after a short go of it… you’re tired, exhausted, wondering if it’s worth it, wondering if you can, wondering if you even want to, if the payoff is worth the price to get there. You can’t believe it’s this hard. And so after a short attempt… or another attempt… or a repeated attempt… we quit. We begin but don’t finish. We start, but then over time we fizzle. Because we’re tired. Because we tried… and it didn’t seem to work… or to make a difference… and so we gave up. We didn’t seem to have the time needed or the energy required. We’ve all been there right? It’s not a question of whether or not we find ourselves there, it’s a question of what do we do when we find ourselves there. How do we respond when faced with that looming obstacle, trial or challenge? Well, how about we just do the next right thing, over and over again. It’s likely going to be a small thing. Something which seems insignificant at first. But as you stick to it over time, you’ll begin to notice a difference and to realize that change is beginning to happen. Because the principle is true: Do the right thing, over time, and you will get the right results. RT + OT = RR. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, because it won’t! But I am saying it’s going to be worth it. So, keep loving your spouse in small ways, be consistent in spending time with your kids, make regular wise financial decisions, choose to work out again, read that next book, continue meeting with that coach / mentor, etc… For as you choose to do the right thing, even when that right thing is a small thing, over time you’ll begin to see the right results. So how about it? What’s that next right thing for you? Will you act on it? I know you can. And I know you’ll be glad you did! Until next time… #Ironmanlessons
Comments