Go at your own pace – in running, in life and in business!

Today I made the decision to go for a run and to go slower.
This goes against my competitive and perfectionist nature, where I am often striving to improve.
But, I decided I would go out and I would focus on enjoyment instead.
To enjoy my run more, it required me to go ‘slower’. And sometimes this is the case in life too, it’s okay to not always be sprinting!

My running goal is to achieve 5km in 25 minutes. This is a big goal for me, as I have always considered myself ‘not a runner’.
 I am overcoming this self-limiting belief and working to both improve my mindset and physical ability; to become a more accomplished runner and to achieve my goal.
This requires physical fitness improvements too; you cannot just positively think yourself fit! I am currently just under a 28-minute 5km, so I have a way to go. But I am confident that I will get there if I follow the process.

But, every run does not have to necessarily be pushing towards this goal. I am not racing. I am not fighting. I am doing this for me, for my own health and to improve, for me (which doesn’t always have to mean faster!)

I know how to sprint. I know to train hard. I know how to ‘push’. This isn’t always what is needed. And it’s certainly not always enjoyable.

Today I decided that I was going to ‘go slower’. To overcome the voice inside my head which always tells me that ‘I am not going hard enough’ and that I need to be ‘doing more’ and ‘pushing harder’.
This voice inside my head applies both to my competitive sport and my business, by the way.

Business and fighting share many commonalities – They are tough. They both require an awful lot of hard work and determination, with a competitve nature to drive you. There is also the need to be able to act quickly, change what you are doing accordingly and accept the losses.
Accept the losses and learn from them. Learn from them, with humility and respect.

Jess – I am Fighting Fit

In Fighting, there IS a need to ‘Push’! But there is no need for it in daily life!

I am aware that I don’t always need to compete with myself, and I certainly don’t need to compete with others. I have always been working to improve what I do, for me, and have never found the need to compare myself with others.

It’s pointless, you cannot change what they are doing, only your own actions in response!

This is probably the main reason I don’t consider my losses as failures. I know I always gave it my 100%, both in my training and in the ring.

And when training to fight, it is very necessary to have the ability to keep ‘pushing harder’. It’s a mentality that needs to be practiced and one which both stops us from giving up and stops us from getting knocked out. But it’s TOUGH. Hence, we only do it for 8 weeks at a time.
I certainly wouldn’t say fight training is the best approach to health, for many, but it happens to be something that I have personally received great benefit from. Especially with regards to my own confidence and mindset.

This need to ‘keep pushing harder’ and ‘to go faster’ is not necessary for running, or for business, and certainly not for life. It is possible, and healthier, to achieve great things, at a slower and more maintainable pace.

Today, at my ‘slower pace’ I climbed a hill that would never have been possible to sprint – it was nearly 2km! If that’s not an achievement, I’m not sure what is.

Finally, my business is not a sprint. It is more of a Marathon. I am not fighting to prove myself to anyone, as I have never done so in the ring, and I’m not about to start to now, in my business.

I will become a winner, my wins will lead to me becoming a champion. But I may just to go that bit slower, and learn to truly enjoy the process too😊