I get a little nostalgic every year as the Leadville Trail 100 (a 100-mile running race) date approaches in late August.
See, in 2005 I had knee surgery. I was a big skier at that point in my life and entered the 05/06 ski season REALLY out of shape. It took me until about February to ski myself into shape and so, that following summer, I vowed to not have that happen again.
So I started running.
During the course of training to get in shape for the 06/07 ski season, I decided that I wanted to continue running. And what better way to do that than to sign up for a big, dumb running race, right? So I committed to racing the LT100 in the summer of 2007.
I had no idea whether this was possible, but I knew it wasn’t IMPOSSIBLE. That zone is the sweet spot where commitment lives.
I didn’t finish the LT100 on that first try. I dropped out at about mile 70.
But here’s the deal. I didn’t let that get in the way of my commitment.
The following year, I finished the inaugural Leadville Silver Rush 50. I then ran a couple of marathons, got injured, got treated, got a coach, and built back up during 2009 with a commitment to put the 2010 LT100 back on the map.
I got up every day, and committed to working on the plan. And that summer, I finished the LT100 in less than 25 hours (which is how I came to possess that big, dumb belt buckle commemorating that achievement).
And here’s the deal… by getting (and staying) committed, I pushed my zone of commitment out a bit. And what’s amazing about that is now I am able to commit to even bigger things.
See, when we extend ourselves our ability to stretch increases. Little by little (or sometimes in big leaps), we are able to push our comfort zones out to achieve bigger and bigger goals.
When I started that journey in 2006, I had no clue whether I could accomplish my goal. But I knew it wasn’t impossible.
I achieved this through the power of commitment. And you can too. Whether that’s in your business life, personal life, running, or anything else, getting committed to something bigger than what’s probable but not impossible is powerful.
If you would like help getting committed to something big, we should talk. Give me a ring.
