Going the Distance

As you may or may not know, running is something I enjoy doing from time to time, though I can't say it's something I'm great at. About a year ago I had worked up to running a straight mile... not a fast one, mind you, but a mile no less. At that time, I would keep close track of the time... trying to push myself closer and closer to the coveted 10-minute mile, but that never happened. Then for a long time I stopped running... mostly because it got cold, and I do not do cold. More on that some other time...

But what I'm realizing is that I was measuring the wrong thing. It's not speed I'm after... it's distance.

Kind of like this blog-a-day project... it's a test of endurance. I've said before that I'm going for quantity here, not quality. Each post doesn't even have to be particularly amazing... it just needs to get done. I just need to keep working and keep doing what I love, and one of those things is writing. It's a form of self-expression for me that can't be matched by others. So when I feel like I just can't keep going... life is just too hectic, too demanding, too draining... and I have no more time to write, I have to push back and write every single day for a month to get that mojo back.

Lies that have formed in my own mind have hindered me. Lies like, "if I don't have something amazing to write, I shouldn't write it." Or, "if I can't draw like a professional, I shouldn't draw." "If I'm not the fastest runner, it's not worth running." But I'm accepting that I don't have to be the fastest runner to run. I don't have to be the greatest writer to write. I don't have to be even a decent artist to draw silly pictures. I just have to do that which brings me joy. And keep on doing it.

I can see how this could be construed as one of those lame justifications for mediocrity that we've become quite adept at forming... but that's not what this is at all. Striving to be the best and intentionally working toward excellence are good things. It's just that once you're there, in the race, feet moving swiftly one in front of the other, one step at a time, and you're tired and weary, then the goal becomes finishing. Whether you finish first, third, or fifteenth, when at last you finish, you're exemplifying tenacity and endurance... two noble traits without which you wouldn't make it to that line at all.

It's not about the finish line, it's about the race.
It's not about the destination, it's about the journey.

Run to win? Nah... Run to finish. It's about going the distance.