It’s a beautiful fall day here in Nebraska. You bet, I went out for a run today. It was great! Let me share with you some lessons I’ve learned from running… and more. Actually, what I should say is lessons I’ve learned from not running. But let me tell you some lessons I’ve learned from running and more, I should say, lessons from not running. I enjoy running. I really enjoy running. I’ve been running for years. I used to get out and run five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten miles without batting an eye.
As I get older, I am down to running just a few miles and maybe three or four on a very good day. I feel good about that, though. I always feel really good when I finish a run. Running has taught me that it feels good to sweat and put in some pain. I just got back from a run and I’m sweating, even though it is 50 degrees today.
It’s windy, yes. But it feels good. Here are some lessons I have learned from not running. I’ve found that my running pace and mileage go deeper in the summer months, because I am out running more. Here in Nebraska, it can be hard to run in the winter.
This past summer, in the middle of August, I hurt my achilles. Man, I was fearful that I was going to completely tear my Achilles tendon so it forced me to stop running. I had to stop running for several weeks. After not running for over 3 weeks, I came back and it really was just a walk. It took me a good week or so to get back up to running again. Wow, wow.
Has that still impacted me today? I’m still not back to my old pace. I lost focus for those 3 – 4 weeks, because I had to step away from it. One thing it taught me though is the power of repetition and the power of staying consistent. How many times do we find ourselves lacking consistency with things? We start something, but then we “see” a “squirrel” or “shiny object,” and get distracted.
Consistency is where we win the game. That’s where we win. That is where we make a difference. I can’t stress that enough. Boy, has this setback been painful in multiple ways. I tell myself that I wish I had stretched better before I ran and then maybe I never would had hurt my achilles. There’s another lesson on preparing before you do anything. I failed to prepare myself before my run.
What does it mean to prepare in business, in life? It’s about having a plan. It’s about having a plan and sticking with it. Think about that for a moment. I’ve learned so many lessons from this setback, and I am fortunate to have learned them. This was my first real significant issue, and honestly, as I look back on it, it wasn’t that significant. It was the most significant issue I’ve had with running in a long, long time.
I am grateful to have good knees, good ankles, and good legs. But wow, I learned some lessons. Plan, prepare, repeat, plan, prepare, repeat. Maybe we should take that to the bank every day with everything that we do. That’s what I’ve learned. Go out today and plan, prepare, and repeat.
Copyright 2020, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
