{"id":1902,"date":"2022-02-21T07:08:33","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T07:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/?p=1902"},"modified":"2023-11-14T10:59:16","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T10:59:16","slug":"marathon-is-a-metaphor-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/2022\/02\/21\/marathon-is-a-metaphor-for-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Marathon is a Metaphor for life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Initially, running will feel painful and wretched, but running will become addictive as years go\u00a0by, but it is a healthy addiction. As you get used to the surge of endorphins flooding your brain,\u00a0you will crave the daily fix of runner’s high, forcing you to lace your running shoes frequently.\u00a0The main intention behind this book is to get you\u00a0addicted to the endorphins of endurance so that\u00a0running becomes a part of your daily life, like\u00a0brushing your teeth. Once you get hooked on the\u00a0endorphins, your life will change drastically.\u00a0Unlike other addictions like alcohol and drugs,\u00a0which will ruin you and destroy your health, your\u00a0life will undergo a 360-degree reversal. You will\u00a0become fit, healthy, positive, disciplined, spiritual\u00a0and thriving because of the positive mental\u00a0attitude that comes with running. Marathon\u00a0training translates to real life in many ways, and it\u00a0teaches a person a lot about himself which you\u00a0will understand as you read on<\/p>\n

\"\"The term “marathon” came from the legend of\u00a0Pheidippides, a Greek messenger. The legend states\u00a0that he was sent from the battlefield of the Marathon\u00a0to Athens to announce the defeat of Persians in the\u00a0Battle of Marathon. Pheidippides ran the entire\u00a0distance without stopping and burst into the assembly\u00a0exclaiming, “we have w\u03bfn,” before collapsing and\u00a0dying. Running a distance of 42 km is so gruelling and\u00a0demanding that it took the life of Pheidippides\u00a0towards the end of his run. That is why running a\u00a0marathon is one of the most challenging and daunting\u00a0tasks. Training for a marathon requires enormous\u00a0dedication because one has to run a distance of 42\u00a0kilometres in one go like the Greek messenger. Living\u00a0our lives, just like marathon training, requires a\u00a0commitment to living our best lives. That is why\u00a0marathon training can teach us important lessons about living our best life.<\/p>\n

The first lesson we can draw from training for a marathon is that you cannot achieve success\u00a0overnight without working for it. Someone who wants to run a marathon cannot wake up one\u00a0fine morning and run a marathon without the training. To be ready for a marathon, one would\u00a0have to wake very early to train even when feeling like sleeping in and keep adding miles day\u00a0after day till the body becomes adapted and ready to run the distance of 42 km. The same applies\u00a0to life. Cracking the civil services exam or gaining entry into IIT or IIM cannot happen if one\u00a0doesn’t put in the hard work to prepare for the exams by sacrificing daily pleasures like hanging\u00a0out with friends for partying, movies or dating members of the opposite sex. Success comes only\u00a0for those who cut out all distractions and work hard.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Second, our lives, like the marathon race, need massive goals. We frequently encounter\u00a0individuals who have never \"\"run a kilometre after their childhood, finishing marathons. Marathon\u00a0training teaches us to increase our mileage by\u00a0conservative planned amounts each week till the\u00a0body adapts to haul itself across the finish line\u00a0at the end of 42 km. Running a marathon is a\u00a0metaphor for life. In much the same way, you\u00a0break up the 42km distance of the marathon into\u00a0smaller chunks, you set smaller goals in your\u00a0life as you go after larger ones. Anybody in life\u00a0can conceive any massive dream, like building\u00a0the most significant company like Elon Musk’s\u00a0SpaceX or becoming the most outstanding\u00a0sportsman ever by setting a life inspiring goal and taking small steps towards achieving the goal\u00a0without giving up. Like a marathon aspirant who works his way towards the goal of 42 km,\u00a0 investing a little bit of time and effort daily and following a training schedule can do the trick.<\/p>\n

Following a marathon training schedule may not be smooth for all. As in marathon training, life\u00a0rarely goes exactly the way you plan. Obstacles can pop in the form of injuries\/disease or change\u00a0of location, personal tragedies or turmoil. Obstacles in life and marathon training come to test\u00a0our determination, commitment and resolve. When I was training for the first marathon, I\u00a0developed sciatica because of the load on my muscles due to overtraining. My marathon race\u00a0was just a month away, and my doctor advised total rest for at least a fortnight. I had come very\u00a0close to the marathon race to give up on my dream. I didn’t want sciatica to destroy my plans. So\u00a0I took three days off and resumed my training by receiving a massage every morning and\u00a0evening and eventually completed the marathon as planned. There is a way out of any obstacle\u00a0for a determined mind, which is an essential takeaway from training for a marathon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"Similarly, in life, one must take proper care of one’s body by eating healthy food and regular\u00a0exercise. Training for a marathon teaches one the importance of sleeping early, waking up early\u00a0and eating the right foods to fuel one’s run. Someone training for a marathon will find it hard to\u00a0finish the run if they abuse their bodies\u00a0with unhealthy habits like late-night\u00a0parties, excessive drinking and eating\u00a0unhealthy foods. Marathon teaches one to\u00a0invest in self-care to bring one’s best to\u00a0every facet of life. Better health enables\u00a0one to attain more and experience more\u00a0from one’s mind, body, and diet. Marathon\u00a0training can help you reach not only those\u00a0race-day goals but also follow a new\u00a0passion and live not just longer but better.<\/p>\n

Marathon training can also be a metaphor for business. To achieve success in business and life,\u00a0one should visualise and affirm. Visualising is a powerful tool if you are trying to build a\u00a0successful company. Picture yourself as a successful businessman like Jeff Bezos if you want to\u00a0be one. If you are a student trying for a 4.0 GPA, picture yourself as passing the course in flying\u00a0colours or if you desire to own a fancy car, imagine yourself as a proud owner of a Ferrari. What\u00a0you visualise and believe you will attract into your life. In the marathon, too, if you can vividly\u00a0imagine crossing the finishing line, you will eventually succeed just as you imagined it in your\u00a0mind.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Many entrepreneurs have great business ideas. They launch start-ups and companies with\u00a0considerable fanfare and investments, but eighty per cent of the start-ups fail in the first five\u00a0years. They lack the mindset to persist through \"\"setbacks and stay focused on their goals no\u00a0matter how difficult it may seem. Marathon training teaches one the resilience and recipe for\u00a0achieving the goal by remaining focused on the finish line and not giving up despite enduring\u00a0enormous pain and suffering en route to\u00a0the finish line. Marathon training may\u00a0seem like an individual endeavour, but\u00a0it teaches team spirit because you can’t\u00a0run a marathon alone; you need the\u00a0support and encouragement of your\u00a0family and friends, as well as guidance\u00a0from your coach and pressure from\u00a0your peers to get over the finish line. So\u00a0it also teaches one to be a team\u00a0member.<\/p>\n

From marathon training, you also realise that you have to put in the required time and effort to\u00a0excel at anything, no matter how talented you may be. You also learn your capabilities and the\u00a0abilities of others are never the same, so you have to do the best you can do. And to win in life,\u00a0you must work ten times harder than the next person. Despite hard work and preparation, you\u00a0must be ready to face disappointments along the way. The second time I ran the Auroville\u00a0Marathon, at the 29th km, I twisted my ankle and couldn’t continue with the race. I had to drop\u00a0out without reaching the finishing line. I was disappointed, but in life, there are times when many\u00a0businesses had to close shop during the pandemic despite all the hard work. However, they were\u00a0profitable ventures before the onset of the pandemic. Sometimes, the most gratifying experiences\u00a0come from enduring life, like a marathon race. The surge of endorphins at the finish line comes\u00a0from the suffering of having withstood a gruesome 42 km run.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The most important lesson from a marathon race is to first reach the start line to get to the finish\u00a0line. I had long nursed a desire to write a book. But, the book I wanted to write never happened\u00a0because it lingered in my mind and never tried stepping out of it. Only when the desire became\u00a0unbearable and overwhelming did I decide to reach for the pen and paper to materialise my\u00a0dream little by little. Another nugget we can pull out of training for marathons is \"\"that your mind\u00a0is mighty. If you can train your mind to\u00a0push through even when your body wants\u00a0to quit, you can go far and be limitless\u00a0when it comes to accomplishing\u00a0incredible things. We can also learn from\u00a0marathon training that every day is not the\u00a0same. Some days are different. On some\u00a0days running 15km seems like a song.\u00a0You breeze through it as though it’s\u00a0nothing. Some days it could feel like a\u00a0cruel punishment. Every step of running seems impossible. Finally, think of this: someone who\u00a0ran with the slowest pace, the worst time, and who completed the race last is still better off than\u00a0those who refused to try. In life, too, someone who attempts and acts is far superior to the\u00a0millions who are sitting on their sofas and bingeing on Netflix.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I am sure I have been able to drive home how life-changing participating in a marathon can be.\u00a0Marathon training can alter your life forever. Once you train for a marathon and participate in\u00a0one, your life will never be the same again. You will transform your life and the lives of others\u00a0by inspiring them to go beyond themselves and test their limits. Once you traverse the physical\u00a0distance of 42 km, just that mere knowledge helps your mind and body to believe that anything is\u00a0possible and attainable in life. That’s why training for a marathon is training for life because once\u00a0you develop discipline and resilience by training for one, you become unstoppable. After all,\u00a0discipline in life translates to success, and nothing in life succeeds like success. I wish you all the\u00a0very best. Happy running!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Dr.K. Jayanth Murali is based at Chennai, India. One\u00a0fine day, he decided to substitute smoking with\u00a0running. Now an avid runner, he has never looked\u00a0back since then. He has done a bunch of marathons\u00a0and half marathons over the years. When he is not\u00a0working, he is usually running or helping people\u00a0discover the endorphins of endurance.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Initially, running will feel painful and wretched, but running will become addictive as years go\u00a0by, but it is a healthy addiction. As you get used to the surge of endorphins flooding your brain,\u00a0you will crave the daily fix of runner’s high, forcing you to lace your running shoes frequently.\u00a0The main intention behind this book is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-running"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1902"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3405,"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1902\/revisions\/3405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jayanthmurali.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}