Two weeks ago, I competed against 48 other men and women of all ages in Knoxville, Tennessee in a 70 miles triathlon (a Half Iron Man) : 1.2 miles swimming, 56 miles biking, 13.1 miles running. It is called a Half Iron Man. I finished at the 25th place with a time of 6 hours and 26 minutes, 2nd in my age category. It was an amazing experience and I have learned several great lessons that I believe are applicable to anything in life.
Ready for this? let’s hit it!
LESSON #1: DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF WITH OTHERS. COMPARE YOUR TODAY SELF WITH YOUR YESTERDAY SELF.
- During my race, I was competing against people who didn’t train as much as I did, who were older, maybe sick, maybe facing some difficulties in life. I could beat them pretty easily. But I was competing also against people who were much more prepared than I was, in much better shape, and who had done that type of race already several times. I was no match to them. And either way, that didn’t matter to me. What mattered to me was to show up, not give up and finish this incredibly difficult race. It was ME vs ME.
- In life, it is just the same. You have no idea what other people are going through, some have it easy, some are facing huge challenges. And sometimes, people are just in a different season of life. Don’t compare yourself with others. It is useless. But compare yourself with the old you. Are you making progress? Are you getting better? Are you impacting more people? Are you doing a better job? In life, it is YOU vs YOU. The new YOU vs the old YOU. And my friend, you need to crush the Old YOU!
LESSON #2: DON’T EXPECT RESULTS IF YOU DON’T PRACTICE
- It was very clear at the early stage of the race, what my ranking was going to be. Even before the race, I had a very good idea of the time it was going to take me to finish the race. Because I have practiced. I have practiced again and again. I knew my level of preparation. I knew how much I had given to go swim at the local pool at 5am, ride my bike when it was completely dark outside or run in the middle of the day when it was 95 degrees outside. Practicing was hard but if you don’t practice, you don’t win.
- In life, it is just the same. Don’t show up to a meeting not prepared. Don’t make a pitch to a client, without having done all your research. Don’t wait for your wedding anniversary to come and not have a clue about how you are going to celebrate. Be prepared. Be ready. If you want to be good at something, you need to study, you need to do the homework. Do the freaking work!
LESSON #3: A BIG GOAL IS ACHIEVED ONE STEP AT A TIME
- 6 months ago, I had never done a triathlon in my life. Then I decided to set a huge incredible goal: Compete at an IRON MAN (140 miles – the longest possible triathlon distance) by 2022. And then, I started to slice this huge goal into smaller goals. A Half iron man by Fall 2021. A shorter distance by Summer 2021. My first triathlon ever by June 2021. I then sliced down my practice, starting at a very humble performance, and just increasing slightly, slowly but surely the pace, the distance. Increasing my discipline towards my diet one step at a time. Working on my discipline towards these small goals. Almost forgetting the very big goal. The huge mountain. Just focusing on my small steps. Working on them. Getting better. One step at a time.
- In life, it is just the same. I know we live in a society of instant gratification. But it is a lie. A big huge lie to believe that things will come to you easily. Life is hard. Achieving huge goals is hard. Being fit is hard. Maintaining a healthy marriage is hard. Becoming financially independent is hard. Becoming a master at your job is hard. These are big goals. These are huge goals, and worth working for goals. And the only way to achieve them is by slicing them down to smaller and smaller goals and then just working on your daily / weekly discipline in your practice.
LESSON #4: YOU CAN ACHIEVE THE MOST INCREDIBLE GOALS WHEN YOU NEVER GIVE UP
- It was 6am when we arrived at the race ground. It was cold, raining, the weather was awful. I was really not expecting the weather to get that bad. The entire week had been beautiful. It was depressing and increasing the stress in my body. But it didn’t matter. Because that morning, I made a promise to myself: “I will finish this race”. I may be the last one finishing, I may be walking instead of running, I may be pushing my bike instead of riding it, I may be laying on my back in the middle of the lake if I am too tired swimming, but I will finish this race. Giving up was not an option. Everything else was. But not giving up. So, I knew I had already won. Even before the race, I had already in my mind, achieved my goal: finishing that half iron man. Never give up!
- In life, it is just the same. Who can stop you if you don’t give up? Will you lose weight, if you keep eating healthy and working out? Yes! It may take you time. It may take you more time than any person you know. But does it matter? No! Because you will achieve your goal. You will become the person you have always dreamt to become. If you don’t give up, you will become healthy finally. If you don’t give up, you will become one the greatest expert in your professional field. If you don’t give up, you will develop a passionate relationship with your spouse. If you don’t give up, you will make your biggest dreams come true!
LESSON #5: YOUR POTENTIAL IS HIGHER THAN YOUR WILDEST DREAM
- I love setting incredible goals. I enjoy so much challenging myself. I am so curious to see if I am going to reach a breaking point, if I am going to reach my full potential. And every time I do so, I realize that I have not even touched my potential, This Half Iron Man was hard, very hard, probably the hardest physical challenge I have ever faced. But I did it. And a couple of hours after the race, I was already thinking of a full Iron Man. I was already planning a 140 miles race and what the practice was going to be, to be ready for such a challenge. It made me smile. Even laugh. It is extraordinary how high our potential is. The only thing that is between me and my potential is my mind. I just need to make a decision. The decision that I will achieve my next goal!
- In life, it is just the same. We have huge potential. Our mind wants us to stay safe. It is a survival mechanism. Our mind wants us to stay in the comfort zone. But here is the breaking news: our potential is way outside of the comfort zone! If you are willing to achieve your potential, you need to be willing to get out of the comfort zone. You need to be willing to tell your mind that you are in charge of your life. You have only 1 life, and it is yours. So, there is no time to play it safe!
The 5 lessons I learned are :
LESSON #1: DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF WITH OTHERS. COMPARE YOUR TODAY SELF WITH YOUR YESTERDAY SELF.
LESSON #2: DON’T EXPECT RESULTS IF YOU DON’T PRACTICE
LESSON #3: A BIG GOAL IS ACHIEVED ONE STEP AT A TIME
LESSON #4: YOU CAN ACHIEVE THE MOST INCREDIBLE GOALS WHEN YOU NEVER GIVE UP
LESSON #5: YOUR POTENTIAL IS HIGHER THAN YOUR WILDEST DREAM
