Life really is a Marathon

by | Mar 12, 2018

Darcy Luoma is one of America’s most highly credentialed coaches. She’s worked in 48 industries, with more than 500 organizations, and has impacted tens of thousands of leaders and employees.

Getting ready to run a marathon is no joke. If you want to finish, you’re going to need to put in the miles, run practice races, and get yourself in good enough shape to go the distance. This is true in life also — many of the things we want take hard work and practice.

I give bad speeches sometimes. And I will apologize right now if you were in the audience when I had an off night. It happens. I could let that discourage me and use it as an excuse to quit trying. I am a great trainer, so maybe I should just do that. I am a skilled coach, and could fill my days with coaching clients instead. But the fact is, I want to focus my energy on becoming a phenomenal keynoter.

There have certainly been times in my life when I have used excuses to not do things that are hard. I didn’t move to Colorado. I worked in politics for many years longer than I wanted. But I also know that many of the greatest joys, and biggest lessons, in my life came when I sucked it up and stuck it out. And so, next time I am giving a terrible speech to the 14 people that actually show up to the Greater Hinterlands Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, in the end it will be worth it. Because speaking as much as I can to practice and improve is the phase of the journey that I am on right now. Just like you can’t run a marathon without doing a 20-mile training run before-hand (well, not without a lot of pain, anyway).

In my Thoughtfully Fit framework, ENDURANCE is the practice that focuses on overcoming obstacles. There will be things, both real and imagined, that make it hard to do something new. If it’s just a missing skill that can be an easy fix. Take a class. Ask YouTube. (And if you are intimidated by YouTube, just get your kids to give you a guided tour — that’s where they learn everything.) But if it’s an unsupportive spouse or major financial hurdle, things can be a lot tougher.

I can tell you, after coaching hundreds of people towards a huge variety of goals, over many mountains of obstacles, that I have seen very few cases where something is truly impossible. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it can be hard. You will have to work, you will likely fail somewhere along the way, new obstacles will arise with time, but it most likely will be worth it. Here are a few key pieces of endurance:

  • Take the Leap. You have to start. That is the one thing that is completely non-negotiable in achieving ANY goal.
  • Level Up. Ready to get better? Figure out what tools or skills might be missing, and make a plan to get them.
  • Build Support. You don’t have to do it alone! I hire coaches, go to workshops, read, and talk to my friends to get the support I need in working towards my goals.

Are you ready to take the leap? Do it! Because life really is a marathon, and the hard work ahead will be worth it. And keep an eye out next week when I’ll share with you the ONE thing that is key to overcoming obstacles.

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