The Power of Slow

Posted on 17. Jan, 2012 by Joe in Health & Wellness

Will I ever be “there”?  I’m not sure where that is to be honest.

Instead, I like to think I am on a long slow journey where the destination isn’t quite known.  I don’t have a map, so I don’t know how to get where I am going.  Instead, I stop for directions along the way, learning something new as I meander down an unknown path.  If I have learned anything important along the way (and I have learned ALOT that is important), I have learned the power of slow.

Slow breeds a great many things.  One of those is patience.

As many people slam headlong into their shiny new resolutions and goals, they are doing so with the greatest of haste.  I want to lose 100 pounds!!  I want to add 100 pounds to my bench press!!  I want to lower my cholesterol by 100 points!!  However, as I have meandered over the last decade or so, I have found that the lowest times are when I tried to force progress.  Those times when I went into a hyperactive mode of accomplishment.

The flip side of the coin is visible to me when I step back and take a look at my running progress.  It has been a microcosm of the patience I have learned over time.  I started out 2 ½ years ago as a horribly slow, untrained, unknowledgable runner pretender.  I could have laced up my shoes and decided to run a marathon.  And trust me, the thought did creep into my mind.  I wanted to do something monumental.  Prove that I am changing my life.

Instead, I settled for the small gains.

Eventually, I bit off the Buffalo Turkey Trot and savored the victory of completing my first five miler.  Later, I attacked the half marathon.  Then I went after the full marathon.  It was a series of small victories that got me to the point of crossing that finish line, last May, in downtown Buffalo.

It wasn’t one pivotal moment that got me there.  And that is why I think it has stuck.  Same with my weight.  I’ve lost over 90 pounds since being at my heaviest over 13 years ago.  I don’t remember a single period of time where I lost an epic amount of weight.  It has been a (painfully) slow march towards the better place I am in today.  One small step at a time.

It is important to remember that we don’t exist in a vacuum.  It is easy to latch on to the amazing transformations we see on shows like The Biggest Loser.  However, look how terribly hard those people work to get there.  It is that difficult and they have a unique opportunity to do it inside a vacuum.

Reality for most of us is that our own transformations have to occur inside and outside of us, buffeted by all kinds of outside influences.  We balance many competing interests along with our health, like family, friends, and career.  We easily become frustrated when change isn’t quick.  We lose faith when our first two monster swings at the ball meet nothing but air.

Instead, a bunt is called for.  Start small.

Pick some small changes to attack first.  Build momentum.  Have patience.  Slow is the ticket to greatness.

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will the new you.  Which is a good thing, because we want it built to last.

Related posts:

1. Lesser of Two Evils

Tags: goals, half marathon, health, marathon, wellness