IT'S YOUR RACE [Makers Monday Motivation 12.11.17]
My husband, David, is long distance runner and has completed two full-marathons. He has explained to me that aside from the training preparation, there are two things that impact his success on race day: his self-confidence and his pace.
He says, when you step up to the start line, it is critical to believe you are capable of running 26.2 miles. If you psych yourself out with negative thinking or worry, you’ll use up a lot of mental energy that will weigh you down and impact your ability to finish. Regarding pace, he says, the moment the race starts, the runners you’re shoulder to shoulder with will take off at all different speeds. Everybody is different: some will be going really fast, while others much slower. If you pay too much attention to the other runners, instead of setting your own pace, it’s easy to start off running too fast and end up gassed before you get to the finish line, or, alternatively, too slow and have difficulty making up the time. Ultimately, he says, they call marathons a race but the reality is, no one’s really racing anybody but themselves. You’re ultimately setting out to accomplish your own personal goals.
My role at his long-distance races is simply to show up at at various points along the route to cheer him on, yet, when I think about my work as the owner of a creative business, it’s fair to say I’m running my own type of marathon. With that, these same “race day” lessons hold true to my success and that of any small business owner:
- You must have the confidence to believe you can do it
- It’s critical to chose the pace that’s right for you and focus on running your race
As we get near the final miles of the marathon that was 2017, this week’s Monday Motivation Challenge will help you take some time to think about what type of race you have been running this past year and how to start strong in the next.
Take some time this week to reflect on the following questions. Journal your answers.
- How are you currently setting the pace for your business? (For example: What benchmarks are you using for your own productivity and success?)
- Are you looking externally and trying to hard to keep up with others?
- Are you not pushing yourself enough and might benefit if you “picked up the pace”?
- Who are your current pace-setters?
- What does “a good pace” look like for your business?
- Are you putting in enough time training and preparing along the way so you feel confident when big things come up for your business?
- What is something you can you do at the start to 2018 to insure you have enough energy to meet your goals and finish strong next year?
David, like many others who run marathons, always joins a running group and gets a good pre-race guide, because the reality is, it’s hard to keep up the motivation and insure you are preparing effectively when you are going it alone. Those of us running creative businesses can benefit from this same strategy as well!
If you want to make 2018 a great year, I’d love to work together to help set a strong pace for your business so that you reach your goals, and to provide you encouragement and support so you stay motivated as you work to achieve them. If you book a one-on-one coaching session before 12/31/17, you can get 15% off your first session by using code ‘DEC15’ when booking.
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We’re in this together,
Ashley