Have you ever accomplished something that you had no business accomplishing?
You took on a task that you didn’t know anything about. You started something without any experience or knowledge. You dove into something head-first without even realizing the risk.
When someone asks how you did it + you recap the story for them, all you can think is “I didn’t know any better.”
Welcome to The LIFT
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THE CURSE OF MASTERY
The older I get, the more I catch myself in this dance between mastery + innovation. Maybe ‘dance’ is the wrong word. It’s more like having two left feet.
As humans, we are programmed to look for patterns. To project. To hypothesize. To predict. It’s how we learn. It helps us predict what’s coming. To avoid pitfalls. To save time + energy.
Clearly, the older we get, the more of these patterns we come to know. Often we know the outcome before something even starts.
Or so we think.
IYKYK
Last weekend, I ran the Carlsbad Half Marathon in Carlsbad, California with my husband. The conditions were perfect. We got so lucky!
After days of stormy weather, the forecast showed a break in the rain during the hours of the event. And, sure enough, that’s how it played out.
We had to use our windshield wipers on the drive up + the drive home, but the event itself was dry. Low 50s. No wind. No sun. Perfect running conditions.
On top of that, the days leading up to the event were perfection. We ate well. We were well-hydrated. Well rested. Well trained.
We could not have asked for better conditions. We were ready.
That said, somewhere along mile four, I realized how tired I was.
Normally, this is something I wouldn’t notice until around mile eight or nine. Not a good sign.
“I should NOT be feeling this tired at mile four. I’m a little worried,” I said quietly to myself + then out loud to my husband.
He quickly reminded me that we could slow down. We weren’t in a hurry. We were just out there to have fun. The conditions were perfect + we were well prepared. Nothing to prove. We should enjoy it.
He was right. I felt fine otherwise. I was just starting to project how I was going to feel at mile 13 if I was feeling this tired at mile four.
I have run enough distance events to know that how you are feeling in one moment is not how you’re going to feel the next.
In fact, it can be quite unpredictable.
You can have a bad run in perfect conditions. You can have a good run in terrible conditions. You simply can’t predict how a run is going to end based on what is happening the first few miles. A lot can happen in 13 miles.
You just never really know how it’s going to go until you get out there.
So, at that moment, I accepted the fact I was tired, but I also realized nothing hurt. The conditions were perfect. I was prepared. Let’s just see where this goes.
You have to be able to find a place to ‘put your tired’.
I can’t remember where I first heard this - a podcast, an article? But the person was referring to endurance events + how long-distance running is mind over matter.
Those words really stuck with me.
I heard myself repeating them to myself at mile four. I said, “Karen, let’s find a place to put the tired. It’s a beautiful day. You have all afternoon to relax + recover. Let’s have some fun while we’re out here.”
At that point, I stopped worrying about being tired. I started thinking about the fact that here I am, 54 years old, in perfect health, running along the coast, surrounded by such beauty right next to my best friend.
WE KNOW LESS THAN WE THINK
I somehow forgot about my tired + I got to thinking about how my 44-year-old self wouldn’t even recognize me. If someone had told me when I was 44 that 10 years down the road, TK + I would be running 13 miles on a Sunday for fun, I would not have believed it.
At 44, I had never participated in any sort of organized athletic event. I had never run more than 2 or 3 miles. I didn’t know the slightest thing about running.
It wasn’t until I was 46 that I ran my first marathon. I could never have guessed that one event would open up a love of running, multiple events + countless friendships, not just for me, but for the two of us.
It really is amazing when I stop + think about it.
Of course, thinking back to my 44-year-old self, made me also look ahead ten years + wonder what fun surprises my 64-year-old self will have to offer my life story.
What new loves will I develop in the next few years? What new adventures will unfold? How will they change my identity? My hobbies? My free time?
It’s easy in midlife to think you’ve got it all figured out. You know who you are. You know your limitations. You know your strengths. But, honestly, we hardly know ourselves at all.
There is ALWAYS something new to discover about ourselves. No matter what age.
Of course, we have to be willing to try new things. To say - ‘yes’ to that invitation to do something that sounds a little crazy at the moment.
If I hadn’t said yes to the idea of training for that first marathon - as crazy as it seemed - my life today would look very different.
A BEGINNER’S MIND
I share this all with you today because as good as it feels to think you’ve got it all figured out, it’s just not true. You don’t. None of us do. Sorry!
Every day, we choose our next adventure. We can play it safe in our zone where we think we can predict all of the outcomes. Or we can get in the game, allow something new + see what unfolds.
I couldn’t help but get a little excited about what lies ahead as I powered through that run.
At mile four, I could have easily talked myself out of having a great event. I could have made the entire thing miserable.
Instead, I found myself at the end of the race feeling energized + inspired.
Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out…you realize you don’t. And, that’s okay. In fact, that’s incredibly good news, don’t you think?
YOUR MISSION:
This week, I challenge you to find a place to put your ‘tired’. Just set it aside for a bit + think about a part of you you discovered later in life. A new interest, talent, skill. Something that surprised you. What makes you think that wouldn’t happen again? Can you set aside thinking you already know the outcome? Can you open up space + allow something new into the picture? Just for fun?
WORTH YOUR TIME:
READ: The Creative Act: A Way of Being | Rick Rubin
LISTEN: Rick Rubin | #730 Rich Roll Podcast
LISTEN: Seth Godin | #728 Rich Roll Podcast
IN SUMMARY:
I leave you with a quote from Rick Rubin’s new book (see above) to take with you into the week ahead:
Try to experience everything as if for the first time…When you see what’s present around as if for the first time, you start to realize how astonishing it all is.
As artists, we aim to live in a way in which we see the extraordinary hidden in the seemingly mundane. Then challenge ourselves to share what we see in a way that allows others a glimpse of this remarkable beauty.
See you next week?
Meanwhile - you can read thru the archives here. And, please reach out to me anytime!
Email: karen@becounter.com
Instagram: @redefiningkaren
I'm 46 and I just started running last year! Ten years ago I weighed 100 pounds more and drank way too much. If you had told me then that today I'd have a few years of sobriety under my belt and be hooked on obstacle course racing, I'd have laughed so hard!
I also just finished The 12 week year, that was your recommendation, wasn't it? Fantastic and now I'm ready to tackle the next hard thing! Thanks for sharing!
I have to agree with you there, Karen. We definitely hardly know ourselves, and the way we continue to discover those hidden parts is by saying yes to new things, by getting uncomfortable in the little ones, and by challenging ourselves to find that next level that is our best self.
I can so relate to being in a place/doing things personally and professionally that the me ten years ago could have never envisioned. And I really love the idea of looking ahead and wondering what me ten years from now will be up to. Trajectory-wise thanks to personal growth, it's looking really good.
Loved the newsletter this week, Karen! I'm looking forward to the next.