Tuesday, 27 September 2022

Take Your Time

 Take Your Time



Hi Readers,

The last week of holidays and I was starting to worry that I wouldn't get another post done.
I just don't sit down and plan them, I just wait for something to grab my attention, and then I see how I can relate it to my own life.
And hopefully prompt some thinking among my readers how it might get you thinking too.

Didn't a great one pop up this week!!

This is related to something that I was once passionate about, especially while I was able to do them, but now my body just won't let me do them, no matter how much my mind wants to do it.


Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya broke his own world record for the marathon in Berlin over the weekend.
Not only did he set another record, he beat his previous time by 20 or so seconds. That's massive !!!!!
There are so many stats available that describe the enormity of this feat, but one that sticks out is that he was running sub 3 minute kilometres for the duration.
To put that in perspective, go outside and try to run 1km in just under 3 minutes.
Then do it 41 more times !!

I've only run less than 10 marathons, and for me each one was a massive grind, and took nearly twice as long as Kipchoge.

Which brings me to the title of this post, "Good Things Take Time".

There is no way that Kipchoge could have just fronted up and run this time without the many years of training, preparation and strategic planning needed to get his body and mind in the same place at the same time.

Similarly, there is little chance that he would have predicted this a year or so ago when he came so close to getting under the magical 2 hour limit in a staged race.
To go under 2 hours in the marathon is one of the major challenges left in athletics and it is very doubtful that runners go out expecting to slash more than 20 seconds off a record. The gains are becoming more miniscule as the record creeps closer and closer to the magical 1.59.00, but surely we may witness this in our lifetime.
The 100m sprint is another that is creeping downwards ever so slowly now, as big gains are just about beyond the physical power of the athletes. Gains are measured in hundredths of a second, and soon there will be debate as to whether or not to go to thousandths.

To get some perspective on this, set up the stopwatch on your phone. Now try and stop at 0.05.  That's only 5 hundredths of a second. Now you might understand how precise 1/100 of a second is.

Could the marathon be heading this way as the limits of human physical endurance be put to the ultimate test?



So what has this got to do with us?

To really achieve what we want to in life, we need to dedicate time and planning in order for some levels of success to be obtained. The problem we face however is that we often set our goals too high ( It's still okay to aim high !) and give up quickly once we hit our first hurdles. We 'dare to dream' ( from a recent post) but fail to prepare ourselves fully for the journey.
I'm thinking of the many things I've wanted to do in my life that I could have achieved, only to find that I wasn't prepared to accept small gains along the way rather than achieving them straight away.
For example, when I was in Grade 6 I wanted to learn the guitar. I went to a few lessons at school, mum and dad provided heaps of support, but I just wasn't patient enough to put in the hard yards and commit to lots of practice. I wanted to be able to play the guitar NOW, and the idea of practice, practice, practice just didn't sit with me. I have always regretted that decision.

Who knows where I might have popped up with this new skill!!

I suppose I was luckier with my marathon running, because I really committed to that and put in the MANY LONG HOURS on the road getting myself into  a position where I could finally attempt one.

The difference between these two examples is that for the latter I was probably a bit older, wiser and more patient, knowing that the window for achieving this goal was getting smaller each year. How glad I am that I persisted.

As for the guitar, I was probably thinking that I've got the rest of my life to do this, and 50 years later I am still wondering "What If...?"

I've said in previous posts that my marathon experiences have prepared me for so many things in life, particularly the need to be patient and give things the time that they deserve.
This means that I have not gone to the well expecting instant results. I've been able to accept whatever little gains came my way and used these as a springboard for further motivation. In one particular marathon I was in what I believed was my best ever shape and ready to get a cracking time. I was cooked by 20km and in the First Aid tent after blowing up. This could have been the finale for my running career, but by accepting that I wasn't able to reach my expectations that day served as further motivation to plan for a smaller gain next year.

I just needed to take my time.

Taking one's time also doesn't mean doing the same thing and hoping for better.
I had to understand my own capabilities and the requirements of the task at hand. Sure, I needed to change things, and that meant doing things that I'd rather not do, but they were necessary if I was to get where I wanted to be. 

So Readers, this big analogy is what I have been able to use in other facets of my life.
I see things that I want to do, and rather than just go bull headed at them ( some may think I still do this !) I try my best to set realistic goals and identify the smaller steps that will get me there, rather than just aim too high and become discouraged by the inevitable lack of success.
It also means identifying those who I can lean on (not sponge off !) and use as support for the journey. The gains may differ for each goal that I am aiming for, but by accepting this and remaining patient I find that the journey is much more of an exciting challenge rather than a tedious chore.

So what things could I be aiming for right now?
As I look out the window I see the nice garden that Jen did so well at maintaining, and realise that it is now up to me to lift my game and continue her good work. Ideally I'd like it to look spiffy with just the minimum of work, but that attitude just won't cut the mustard. I know that I'll need to plan ahead, put in regular time and accept lots of small gains along the way.

Am I being a bit too aspirational here???


I have a few injuries that are going to need a bit of cut and paste by a local surgeon over the next few months. I'd like nothing more than to wake up relatively pain free tomorrow, or next month, but I know that is just not going to happen.
BUT.... I can help to facilitate this by doing all that I can to encourage quicker recovery. I just need to accept small gains along the way, give things time and not become despondent and give up if my expectations exceed my ability to get better.

Similar attitudes need to be applied even to my work in the classroom.
I'm the first to admit I feel like I'm swimming at times keeping up with what needs to be taught, collecting data and implementing various programs. 
Actually, I'd be the second to admit this. My colleagues would be first !!!!🤣
However, rather than slide into oblivion and spend my days rocking in the corner, I just commit to believing that each day will be better, and accepting small gains wherever I can.
Anything bigger than that is a bonus for sure.

Readers, after writing about and reflecting on those last three examples, it becomes clearer than ever to me that it is the mindset that we bring influences everything so much.
"If you think something will go wrong, you'll be right"
I'm sure I've read that somewhere before (Henry Ford ??), but if not, it still sounds good doesn't it !
Just by being prepared to realise that gains may be slow or minimal at times, but are necessary in the big picture is consoling and provides me with the necessary patience to persist with goals, and approach newer ones with a positive attitude.

So do you have things that you'd like to achieve, but have put them in the "too hard basket" because it might just take too long for you to persist with?

It might be a basic thing that is always nagging you, but you've never begun it because it seems like an elephant rather than the ant it might actually be.
Some plans just might be shelved altogether, and that's okay. Let's be realistic.
The world won't stop and the sky won't fall down if you just put in place some small steps to get started. Who knows, it might just trigger that little part of the brain that suddenly re-engages and motivates you to persist.

Tasks could be related to work, home maintenance, family, travel, personal fitness or hobbies. The list is only restricted by the mindset we approach them with.

What I've been fluffing on about today isn't backed by any research or world recognised speaker or educational or psychological genius.
I'm just sharing what I have experienced myself and what works for me. Your experiences could be, and will be different. 

And you might just think what I'm suggesting is what you see above !!

My experiences over the past 13 months have really challenged me and made me assess so much of what has happened to myself and others, and this is probably why I am now so much more prepared to take every little gain that is offered in life, because sometimes little gains are all that we get at times.

In finishing, I just wanted to share an experience from today.
Yesterday I went down to Melbourne as I had to finalise a number of things relating to Jen that couldn't be done here in Bendigo. I decided to stay overnight ( actually I needed to due to different appointments) and I was able to do all the things that Jen and I would normally do together when we went and stayed in Melbourne during our holidays.
While Jen was in hospital for all those months, I'd visit in the morning, go for a big walk in the middle part of the day and then head back to see her each afternoon.
While I was In Melbourne yesterday, I went for a long walk and revisited all the places and routes that I usually went to on those daily walks. In a way, I needed to see them one more time because every time I thought about them or recalled them, it just brought back sad memories of the time I spent in Melbourne. There was something nagging me to see them again and get this feeling out of my mind. Honestly, as I revisited each place, street, shop, park etc I was continually reminded of how down I was the last time I was at these places.
But it really cleared my mind and gave some sort of closure ( damn I hate using that cliche !!) and I drove out of Melbourne feeling that these places no longer had that impact on me.
The hardest part was standing outside Royal Melbourne Hospital and looking up towards the room where she passed away, but I could now move on.

So why did I share this story?

I was listening to a podcast in the car and they spoke about and used the example from the movie "Love Actually" where the guy who had a massive crush on a girl who married another bloke, played a song and flashed cards outside her door on Christmas Eve.
At the end of it he picks himself up, shrugs and says something like  "Time to move on"
He'd been able to pick himself up and get his S%&T together at last. 
Sort of.

This is what I felt like as I walked away from RMH. It didn't upset me as much when I saw it on the news tonight, I was able to sort of put away so many of the bad memories these places had for me. Melbourne had left me with so many negative experiences but through revisiting them yesterday and today, I found I was able to "Move On" , just like the actor did in the movie.

I'll have to "Take My Time", but I feel that I'm now better equipped to do so.


Well Readers,
Another page of fluff and bubble, but I hope it encourages you to tackle things in a more positive way, and even have a crack at those things you never thought you'd do.

I know I'm going to tackle the next few months in the most positive way that I can and put myself in the best place to achieve whatever gains there are.

Until my next post,

Cheers 😁












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