We must learn to walk before we can run

I want to run run run! I want to cross the finish line of a marathon! I want to feel the wind in my hair because I’m pushing my way through air, not because it’s pushing me. I want to achieve! I want to grasp joy and hold it and spread it around and leap bounds and…but wait. Slow down.

I’ve talked before about how you don’t set out to run a marathon the first day you run. In fact, the first day you plan to run might end up being the day you walked and never ran a step. Last year, I tried to begin running every day. Within about 3 days, I was in such pain, my body had a chat with my mind and they decided to shut it down. No more running. Sure, I could have run through the pain, but the point of running is that I wanted to do it for me. But I’ll admit: I had visions of pushing my way through the finish line banner of a marathon. Because everyone who gets running shoes should next run a marathon, right?

At the start of this year, I set a different goal – walk every day. Because the truth is, I’m not always the best at finishing the creation of new habits. (They say it takes 21 days before a habit can be created. Not 3, FYI.) OK, I realize that Day 4 isn’t the best time to report in on how that’s going, but the point I want to make is this: walking is much easier than running, therefore I am not scared of the pain of walking. I know that if I can do this every day, slowly walking farther and farther, faster and faster, my body will comply easier. Each day, I am excited to go. Today, after a tense morning with my own emotions and whatnot, I headed out and walked a half mile. By the time I stepped back through my front door, I felt refreshed and my head was much clearer. I was also no longer feeling like I was in a valley. Not bad for a 10-minute walk.

Let me get to my real point here: What I have learned about myself is that in every area of life, I plan to run a marathon immediately. Have a computer? Write a book! Have a camera? Start a business! Have a story? Become a famous speaker! It’s not at all about not dreaming big but rather about learning to walk before I try to run. Because the book thing, the successful business thing, the speaker thing, and the running marathons thing? They haven’t happened. Not because I don’t think I’m talented enough, but because I haven’t taken the time to walk first.

Walking first means learning the basics, not working in auto mode. Learning the rules, not calling all your mistakes being artistic. Doing the work, not winging it. No matter what I want to do, to be, to achieve, I have to walk first. Walk through beginnings, processes, technique, time. If you don’t learn how to walk first, it’ll take much longer before you can run. This hard lesson has hit me square in the face over and over, and I’m finally seeing it because I’ve slowed down the run long enough to see the worth in walking.

“It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.” -Confucius

Look, you can set the goal to climb the mountain, but first you have to do the work. The mountain will still be there while you do the work. So slow down, walk and walk and walk, and then you can run. The journey will be worth it.

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