When I ran my first marathon, I fell flat on the finish line.
Not before it. Not after it. Right on the line.
Why?
Because my mind knew it was the finish line.
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford
Our bodies are capable of so much more than we think. We’re resilient.
Long before there was electricity, gas or automobiles, humans used to survive in every corner of the world despite their limited resources. Some sweated it out in the unrelenting heat of the Sahara and others suffered through the frigid tundra of Alaska. Heck, we hear stories all the time about survivors who managed to stay alive on an insect diet.
When we’re in situations where we have to do the uncomfortable to survive, we do it. Aron Ralston cut off his own arm after a climbing accident for crying out loud! Guaranteed he probably never thought he was capable of that until he was faced with death.
The specifics of the story aren’t as important as the message – our body can withstand so much more than we think it can.
To run a marathon, you have to train your mind.
We usually stop when things get hard. But, most of us are also striving to do the impossible. So how do we make ourselves keep going?
Your body takes its orders from the mind.
If you want to achieve your goals, you have to push your mind. The body will follow. Only you can determine your limits. You determine how much pain you can put up with, how far you can run, how high you can climb. And you determine how to push through.
Me? I’ve pushed myself eight days beyond what I thought I could when I was training. My body was ready to give up, but my mind wasn’t ready to quit. If I can do it, you can too.
