As cliché as it sounds, but life is like a marathon. I recently finished a half marathon (13.1 miles) and realized why people keep saying that life is a marathon.
Here are the 13.1 reasons why life is a marathon:
1. You can start now or later
When we went to the venue, there was a long line of people about to start the marathon. There were people close to the start line, and others were in the middle or even the end. But you get to choose where you wanted to start. In life we always have a choice whether to start living now or maybe a bit later.
2. Have a plan
Some wanted to get to the finish line first, others planned to do it in 2 hours. If you trained, you can plan to run all the way or if not be slower and do 5 minutes running and 2 minutes walking. The fast-pacing world gives us a lot of anxiety to finish a lot of things overnight but having a plan could lessen this anxiety and makes us more efficient and productive.
3. Age does not matter
There were people of all ages during the run – kids, young adults, adults, and oldies. Some of these runners ran faster than I did regardless if they were younger or older than me. It was not because I was the slowest but because we had different paces. Your age does not matter when you want to live your life to the fullest.
4. You compete with yourself or others
I was tried to compete with people I did not know to keep me running. I marked them so I kept running fast whenever I got behind. In other moments, I just competed with myself by trying not to stop to run for 5 minutes. These tactics worked for me. We can compete in life but not with the life of others but use the life of others and yours to improve your overall well-being.
5. Having a partner or group is fine
I saw people running in group or with a partner and they made it together. They created a pace that suited the group or their partner. This way it made running more fun when you have someone. They say no man is an island and the people around you could help you make your stay on earth enjoyable so allowing them in your life will be worthwhile.
6. Being alone is fine too
That marathon had so many participants that running alone is fine too and you won’t feel lonely at all. Although you are running alone you see other people running and it may inspire you seeing how they strive with their capabilities to get to the finish line. Most of the time we feel like we live alone but we have to remind ourselves that we are never alone in this journey.
7. You are free to feel anything
At first I was excited running on the pace I could maintain. Then a little bit sad seeing others go past me even if I was doing the best I could. Feeling what you are feeling is the most liberating thing everyone should be able to do. There will be a thousands of different emotions that we will feel in our lifetime and suppressing them will just drag us down.
8. You will get frustrated
By the 10th mile I was getting a bit frustrated because 3 more miles felt like forever. When will I get to finish this? My feet were too painful to keep running but I wanted to finish the run. Life may give you a lot of pain before you get to a wonderful destination. Be persistent.
9. It can be tiring
Several times I wanted to go the short route because I was exhausted. Why not? It will still bring me to the finish line. But, life is not about taking the short path. It is about persevering and fighting because life may seem too long to endure but really it is short and fast.
10. But you do not quit
When things become hard our brain would like an easy way out. In a marathon especially if it was your first time with no training, your brain will want to quit. But, no, convince yourself that you will finish this. Never quit in life. You are way more powerful that what you think!
11. It is a long journey
The 13.1 mile is a long journey literally for a body of a first-time runner with no warm-up. But once you start enjoying the process between the start and finish line, you will be surprised that you are so close and in a blink you are there. Romanticize your life from start to finish and you will never feel it a long journey.
12. You can rest and then keep going
Mid way the run, I saw people stretching or stopping. It may be more painful in the long run but what I realized was that you are allowed to rest to gain energy to keep going. If you feel like your life is too tiring, pause, rest, gather all the energy you need and then keep going again.
13. Nothing is impossible
I was feeling hopeless that I may not finish the marathon because the pain in my feet was too much. But I saw this grandpa, running-walking-running and was so determined to get to the end. Often times I felt a lot of things that I do not deserve nor believe I would achieve but the universe will tell you that it is just in your mind and you are limitless!
.1 You will arrive to the finish line and have a reward.
At the end of the finish line, I got a medal for finishing the run. Aside from that we got to have snacks, massage and beer. However, it was soooo painful and those perks did not take away the pain all over my body! The reward was finishing the marathon despite a lot of times thinking of not making it to the finish line, and knowing that you can do everything you set your mind with.
larswrites 