As I ran down the hill with arms flailing wildly to slow my momentum and catch my balance – narrowly avoiding a face plant into the road – I revisited an important lesson about success.
I’m a newbie runner training for a half-marathon and learning everything the hard way. That’s the story of my life; I’ve read the books and attended the classes but the value I bring comes from hard-earned experience.
Before I had much distance in, I thought that uphill was bad and downhill was good. Now I know it’s not that simple. I’ve noticed that while running uphill, my eyes are fixed on the goal as I concentrate on good posture and the burn of muscles pulling me to the top. It takes focus to press in and I know for sure that “Just Do It” is more than a snappy tag line. But it was while headed down the “easy” side this morning – relaxing and enjoying the speed that I almost bit the dust.
Timeless words carry the warning: “pride comes before the fall” and “take heed lest you fall.” That’s sound advice. There are countless examples of leaders who’ve gotten careless and cocky after ascending to ranks of power and influence and done a face plant while the whole world looked on.
Embrace the process of the uphill climb. It can be tough – some days more than others. For every uphill climb, there’s a chance to coast down the other side. Just don’t let the forward momentum cause you to get out of control. Keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the goal. Success has its ups downs – both are important pieces of the journey.
“I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails,
put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go.”
Dean Karnazes
Loved reading your post. Very inspiring. Success does not come easy and we all must go through trials and challenges, but in the end if we focus on our goals we can achieve the success we have yearned for.