Running in the Face of Challenge

I got asked how my "Couch to 5K" running program is working.  I admit I'm learning a lot about myself.  For instance, I know I can run for over 25 minutes without stopping. Now I admit I'm not setting a blistering pace, but I'm running.  I know that I can run and not have my old knees give out.  I know that it takes a determined effort to start, and that getting going seems harder than I expected.  But as I've begun to run longer distances (well longer for me), one of those leadership principles is jumping to my mind.

You see, this week I've begun to run 2.1 miles without stopping.  Okay, it's not a great distance for runners, but for me it's the first time since I was in the military 34 years ago that I've run that far.  And considering that I only had to do it once in the military, 2.1 miles seems like a huge hurdle.  Just the thought of it is overwhelming.  As I set out it seems insurmountable.
 
But I've discovered a secret that works for me.  I have the IPod loaded with uplifting, inspiring music, but that isn't enough.  My secret to running in the face of this bigger challenge is this-I spend a lot of time looking at the ground right in front of me.  I watch the sidewalk, the road, the trail about 10 feet in front of me.  I glance up occasionally and see my progress, but most of the time my head is down and I'm watching the road.  I run 2.1 miles, 10 feet at a time. 

Leadership is often like that.  A leader will face challenges and hurdles.  More often than we would like, those hurdles and challenges seem huge, insurmountable, overwhelming.  Staring at them can be flat out discouraging and defeating.  But real leaders know the secret of facing challenges and hurdles-set your face and keep running.  You keep plugging away bit by bit, step by step.  You look up occasionally and judge the distance to the overall goal, and then you put your head back down and run on.  Building, analyzing, recruiting, modeling, implementing, evaluating, organizing, defining, detailing, equipping, encouraging, we run on-step by step toward the goal.

Proverbs put it this way, "Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. "

Proverbs 4:25-27 NIV

Staring into the face of some big challenges?  Put your head down and run on.

The Man in the Window