Download Life as a Marathon Event, Not a Sprint

Life as a Marathon Event, Not a Sprint
By Trudy G. Wilson, LPC
As we head into the business of the holiday season over the next two months, I felt it necessary to
write about the opportunity for us all to evaluate whether we are sprinting throughout life and its
experiences or pacing ourselves for the marathon called life. More importantly, have we done the
necessary preparations of endurance in order to manage our often hectic and at times chaotic lives
so that we actually are able to enjoy life, both through our challenges and our successes?
If you often find yourself saying, “I don’t have time for …” or “I wish I had more time for . . .”
and even “I am always running out of time” let this be your wake up call that you are sprinting
through your life. In our demanding society where people are often juggling a number of roles
and responsibilities (i.e., parent, spouse, employee, coach, neighbor, friend) it is absolutely easy
to understand why so many of us subscribe to the feelings of “there is never enough time.” It is
because of these lifestyles that we become overwhelmed and unable to actually enjoy our
experiences. If we prepare for our life effectively, just as a marathon running prepares and trains
all year for race day we will begin to have more frequent positive experiences. This will also
serve to decrease the hurried negative experiences we often have because we are already in a full
sprint trying to get to the next one.
As you begin your endurance training, one resource that is extremely helpful is the book “How to
Simplify Your Life: Seven Practical Steps to Letting Go of Your Burdens and Living a
Happier Life” by Tiki Kustenmacher. There is one core concept that is explored throughout the
book, “the way of simplification.” This is not an earth shattering idea however it one that many
of us struggle with because we aren’t find meaning in our lives due to the fact that we are asking
ourselves questions that are too complicated. It doesn’t have to be that difficult; we make things
harder than they have to be. This book is about learning how to be masterful in your life and a
worthwhile read as you train for your “marathon.” The acronym for priority should be utilized as
your daily mantra as you exercise your brain:
P- Prepare and follow a life mission statement
R- Rethink your priorities
I- Identify your core values
O- Organization is crucial
R- Realize your potential
I- It takes time to make time
T- Think positive
Y- You are in control
Once you have “simplified” by establishing the priorities, your next “training exercise” should be
on being available for positive experiences through becoming more present and mindful. How
often do you find yourself saying “I don’t remember if I ate today,” or “I didn’t even remember
driving home today?” Again alarms should be going off if these are questions you ask yourself
with some regularity. One way of becoming mindful is to shift one’s brain to being aware of the
here and now by the utilization of our five senses. In our busy environments we can become
easily overwhelmed, nearly inundated with stimuli that we tend to shut down and become
somewhat unaware of what we truly are experiencing. If you have already simplified then you
likely have de-cluttered your brain capacity (just as you de-fragment your computer when it
seems to be running slow) and now will actually have the ability to experience via one if not all
your senses.
Sounds too easy to work right? Try it the next time you are having a cup of coffee. Not the cup
that you are drinking in the car on your way to work, or the one you stopped off at Starbucks to
grab on your way to soccer practice but rather try this as an experiment. Sit with that cup of
coffee and feel the warm of the cup in your hands as you raise it to your mouth. Look at the color
of that coffee in the cup and see the true richness of the color. As the cup is now closer to your
face take a nice big inhale of that aroma and truly smell the coffee as your anticipation continues
to build. Next as you take your first sip, experience the taste of that magnificent elixir on your
tongue. While you swallow listen for the sounds your body releases as it accepts this gift, you
might even find yourself saying out loud “Mmm that tastes good.”
You have just spent 25 seconds truly being present, mindful and engaged in an endurance activity
that has now prepared you so that you can set the tone for the rest of your positive day. You have
activated all five of your senses, and will most likely remember that cup of coffee.
“Slow down and enjoy your life, it is the only one you get” – Anonymous
Recommended Resources
Winston, Stephanie “Getting out from Under” (New York: Perseus Publishing, 1999)
Kingston, Karen “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui” (New York: Broadway, 1999)
Orman, Suze “The Courage to Be Rich: Creating a Life of Material and Spiritual Abundance”
(New York: Riverhead Books, 1999)
Carlson, Richard “Don’t Worry, Make Money: Spiritual and Practical Ways to Create
Abundance and More Fun in Your Life” (New York: Hyperion, 1998)
Kustenmacher, Tiki “How to Simplify Your Life: Seven Practical Steps to Letting Go of Your
Burdens and Living a Happier Life” New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004)
Seiwert, Lothar “Managing Your Time” (London: Kogan Page, 1989)
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly “Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life”
(New York: Basic Books, 1997)
Smith, Hyrum W. “The 10 Natural Laws of Time and Life Management” (New York: Warner
Books, 1994)
Cox, Connie and Evatt, Cris “30 Days to a Simpler Life” (New York: Plume Books, 1998)
Gross, Gunter E. “ Win at Work and at Home!” (Cambridge, England: Director
Books/Woodhead-Faulkner; Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1991)
Swenson, Richard A. “Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to
Overloaded Lives” (Colorado: NavPress, 1992)
Ortberg, John “The Life You’ve Always Wanted” (Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1997)