[Life] How to complete a marathon and do almost anything in life?

[Rajesh Rana]

One of my favorite time in whole day is at evening when I finish the daily chores and talk with my wife for around one and a half hours, we talk about almost everything under the sky and sometimes beyond the sky. Yesterday, we were talking about; the only reason why we wanted to achieve something in life but couldn’t, is that ‘we simply didn’t do it’ there is no other reason, and this post is all about why we couldn’t do something or anything in life even we wanted to with all our heart.

One of my friend has took a new challenge of completing half marathon (which is 21.9 KM) on 26th October, New Delhi and I’m damn sure that, he can definitely complete it but if he won’t, then the reason would be the same, the only reason behind all our excuses of not doing anything in our life.

and the reason is our MIND.

The mind is a wonderful thing. If we can control it and use it properly then we can achieve anything in our life, but most of the time we can’t use it in proper way, as we fall into it’s sweet trap and never ending lies & deceptions, It’s one of the biggest liar in world that constantly tries to convince us not to take actions we know are good for us, and stops many great changes in our lives.

The mind wants comfort, and is afraid of discomfort and change. The mind is used to its comfort cocoon, and anytime we try to push beyond that comfort zone very far or for very long, the mind tries desperately to get back into the cocoon. At any cost, including our long-term health, happiness, relationship and almost at any cost you can think of.

OK, with that in mind, let’s go into the excuses:

1. I can’t do it. It seems too hard, so we think we can’t stick to the change. We don’t believe in ourselves. This can be countered from the fact that many other people no more capable than us have done it. For example, if my friend, start doubting about his ability to complete marathon then he can site an example of Mr. Fauja Singh, World’s oldest marathon man, 103 years old, “If he can do it at the age of 103 then, so can I”. Another example is when I went for an interview in AIMK for MBA admission, I was very nervous then I glanced around the current students and thought, if they can do it, so can I” it always works if you believe it.
2. He/she can do it, but that doesn’t apply to me. Just because someone else can do it, doesn’t mean we can, right? We look for reasons they can do it but we can’t — maybe the Fauja Singh can run marathon and complete it because he is doing it from the age of 81, but I never did it so, I can’t do it. Maybe he’s way, way fitter than I am, so he can run a marathon. Maybe he doesn’t have all the obligations I have, or has a supportive family, or doesn’t have a health condition. OK, fine, it’s easy to find excuses: but look at all the other people who have worse obstacles than you who’ve done it. Yesterday, I was talking with my friend and trying to motivate him to start working out but he was sighting excuse of his busy schedule, I said “then, just do 50 push-ups for 2 minutes” still, he was unconvinced that he can find 2 minutes in 1440 minutes, have you ever heard of Nick Vujicic, the motivational speaker who was born without limbs (No hands and no legs), this week he is occupied with 13 seminars in different countries, still he finds time for working out, time for his wife and a child.  If you look you may find many such stories about people with disabilities or illnesses who overcame their obstacles to achieve amazing things. Your obstacles can be overcome and you can too finish your marathon.
3. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Most us want to enjoy life; party hard, drink hard, sleep late, wake up late, eat those juicy cheesy KFC’s Zinger burger, Addictive, Chocolates, Cigarettes, Magnum Budweiser, and you name it, we want all. Our mantra of life is “Life is short, so lets enjoy it today”. Sure, I agree with this statement (as many of us would) but the problem is this is used to justify all kinds of crappy behavior. Hey, life is meant to be enjoyed, right? No. You can do without junk food and still enjoy life. You can exercise and enjoy it. You can give up pretty much anything and still enjoy life, if you learn to see almost any activity as enjoyable. 
4. I need comfort. This might also be true, but we can push ourselves into more discomfort than we let ourselves believe. We can be a bit cold or hot, instead of needing to be at the perfect comfortable temperature. We can do hard exercise, instead of needing to lay around on the couch. We can write that thing we’ve been procrastinating on — it might be hard, but we can push through that. When our minds seek comfort, don’t let them run — push a little bit outside the comfort zone, and begin to be OK with a bit of discomfort.
5. I don’t know how. This is also true, but you can learn. Start with a little at a time, and learn how to deal with this new change. Do some research online. Watch some videos. Ask people online how they dealt with it. This is easily overcome with a little effort and practice. In fact, if you do it now, and learn a little at a time, then you’ll be able to do away with this pesky excuse. In January 2013, I took a challenge of Six packs in 90 days with my friend, inspired by Hritik Roshan and Farhan Akhtar, We had no idea how we are going to do it but eventually we persist and learned it, may be we couldn’t get Six packs but we learned a lot about healthier life and we were able to get into best shape that we ever had in our life.
6. I can do it later. Sure, you can always do it later … but your later self will also feel the same way. Why should the later self be more disciplined than your current self? In fact, because you’re allowing yourself to slide now, you’re building a habit of procrastination and actually making is less likely that your future self will be more disciplined. Instead, do it now, unless there’s something more important that you need to do … don’t let yourself slide just because you don’t feel like it.
7. One time won’t hurt. This is so tempting, because it’s kind of true — one time won’t hurt. Assuming, that is, that it’s only one time. One bite of chocolate cake, one missed workout, one time procrastinating instead of writing. Unfortunately, it’s never actually just one time. One time means your brain now knows it can get away with this excuse, and the next “one time” leads to another, until you’re not actually sticking to something. Make a rule: never ever believe the “one time” excuse. If you’re going to allow yourself a bite or two of chocolate cake, decide beforehand and build it into your plan and stick to that plan, rather than deciding on the fly, when your resistance is weak.
8. I don’t feel like it. Well, true. You don’t feel like working hard. Who does? Letting the rule of “I’ll do it when feel like it” dictate your life means you’ll never write that book, never build that business, never create anything great, never have healthy habits. Create a plan that’s doable, and execute it. When the rationalizations like this come up, don’t believe them. Everyone is capable of doing a hard workout even when they’re not in the mood. Everyone can overcome their internal resistance.
9. I’m tired. Yep, me too. today, I still read Gita, Freedom from Unknown, Awakening the Giant within, Pranic Healing, couple of articles, and now going to write one chapter of new book, listen to audio book of laws of success, 3 KM jogging, one hour workout and one hour meditation. There is truth to needing rest, and resting when you need it (listen to your body) but this is usually the mind trying to weasel out of something uncomfortable. There’s a difference between being exhausted and needing some rest, and being the little tired we all feel every afternoon. Push through the latter.
10. I deserve a reward/break. We all deserve that tasty treat, or a day off. I’m not saying you shouldn’t give yourself a reward or break. But if you make this rationalization your rule, you’ll always be on a break. You’ll always be giving yourself rewards, and never sticking to the original plan. Here’s what I do instead: I see sticking to my plan as the reward itself. Going on a run isn’t the thing I have to get through to get a reward — the run is the reward.
11. Wouldn’t it be nice to stop? This again is our mind wanting to run from discomfort, and of course it’s true — it would be nice to stop if you’re pushing into a discomfort zone for too long. The thing is, the implication is that it would be better to stop, because it would be nice … but that’s a lie. It would be easier to stop, but often it’s better to continue pushing. In 2013, me and my friend took challenge of 30 KM walk, when I was in around 25 KM, my mind was constantly telling me to stop but we both completed despite of what our minds were telling to us.
12. The result you’re going for isn’t important. If you’re trying to run a marathon, this is phrased like, “It’s not that important that I finish this”. While, the result might not be that important, the truth is that the process is very important. If you stick with a process that will be better for you in the long run, then you will be better off. But if you let yourself go just because you are uncomfortable and at this moment care more for your comfort than the goal you set out for, you’ll have lots of problems. The goal isn’t important, but learning to stick to things when you’re uncomfortable is extremely important.
13. I’m afraid. Now, this is the most honest excuse there is — most of us don’t want to admit we’re afraid to pursue something difficult. But it’s also a weaselly way out of discomfort — just because you’re afraid doesn’t mean you can’t do something. You can. I’ve done tons of things I’m afraid of — mostly creating things that I was worried I’d fail at. And while the fear sometimes came true — I didn’t do too well sometimes — the act of pushing through the fear was incredibly important and I learned a lot each time.

I’ve used all of these excuses hundreds of times each, so don’t think I’ve overcome them all. And you can use them in the future too. There’s nothing wrong with giving in sometimes.

The key is to learn whether they’re true, and see your pattern. Here’s what I’ve done:

1. Notice the excuse. It has way more power if it works on you in the background.
2. Try to have an answer for the excuse beforehand — anticipate it.
3. If you give in, that’s OK, but recognize that you’re giving in to a lame excuse. Be aware of what you’re doing.
4. After giving in, see what the results are. Are you happier? Is your life better? Was it worth it giving in to discomfort?
5. Learn from those results. If you pushed through and are happy about it, remember that. If you gave in to excuses, and didn’t like the result, remember that.

If you consciously practice this process, you’ll get better at recognizing and not believing these lies. And then, bam, you’ve got your mind working for you instead of against you.

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