goals

For big results think like an Ultra Runner

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Key insights from Shajan Samuel, a corporate leader and an ultrarunner

For even the most experienced marathoners, running a 100 km seems like an impossible dream! But how do the ultrarunners are able to complete such long runs? 

Know from the ultra runner – Shajan Samuel himself! 

Here are his personal tips and strategies to stay determined and driven :

  • Condition Your Mind: Half the marathon is won when you set your mind to it. Mental Fortitude is key for the long run. If you are not mentally prepared for the race ahead, running for so long won’t be possible. 
  • Make Pain Your Companion: Embrace the discomfort; it’s your path to achievement. When you feel like giving up, constantly remind yourself why you started.
  • Look Forward to Challenges: When you decide to run, whether it’s for 5km or 100km, there are going to be challenges. Show up for the challenges, push yourself daily. Consistency is where the magic happens- remember one step at a time.
  • Rest Is Vital: Never compromise on sleep. Your muscles need those 7 hours to recover and rebuild.
  • Fuel and Hydrate Properly: Nutrition and hydration are your energy sources. Don’t neglect them during the run.
  • Set Race Day Goals: Break down the 100 km into smaller segments. Set achievable goals along the way to stay motivated.
  • Adapt and Adjust: Be flexible with your training plan. Life can throw curveballs, but don’t let setbacks ruin your motivation.
  • Celebrate Milestones: Recognize your training achievements, no matter how small. Each step is a victory in itself.

Translate these key points to your big goals. No matter how big, it is achieved one step at a time. Break it down and support your mindset and conditioning to get to the finish line!

Hope these tips will help you chase your crazy, mind-blowing goals.

p.s.: if you liked this, consider sharing it to friends.

The Simple Approach for Achieving Complex Targets

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Sufiya Sufi is a mind-blowing Indian runner who has three World records to her name. These include Fastest Female runner from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Indian Golden Quadrilateral (6000 KM) Running Challenge, Himalayan Ultra Running Challenge (Manali to Leh), and the Siachen-Kargil Running Challenge. The most surprising part is that she doesn’t come from any athletic background.

How does she attain insurmountable goals?

Covering these great distances appears an inhuman task. It is natural to think that to traverse and to achieve such a milestone, you need to be born with crazy genes. Sufiya shares a very simple mindset in how she has gone about achieving her goals.

She breaks them down into very simple, measurable targets like light poles.

A run of 42 km, which is a full marathon distance, is incredibly long. For an average runner, it can take anywhere from 4 to 6 hours of running without injuries. The finish line is a long way out and the terrain varies through the distance. Contrast this with a 100m race where everything from the track, distance, competition is ultra visible.

Long runs are games of endurance. Much like our careers. 🙂

I like Sufiya’s approach of small steps. Instead of being fixated on the finish line, she focuses on what the best target in front of her. If that so happens to be a traffic light, so be it. What’s the parallel we draw with her approach?

We have setup ambitious goals for our careers.

This includes titles, revenue targets, product launches, or awards. Targets are good but the trouble is that we don’t have a clear path towards those. The meaningful ones are not a 100m race but instead like one of Sufiya’s long-distance runs.

Instead of shooting for that huge goal, I recommend that you break it down into these smaller targets.

Let’s say, you want to improve the efficiency of your product by 30%. This is achievable after a fair amount of trials and tribulations. Complex projects don’t present a clear picture (and hence, the complexity). Quite likely, when you start working on ambitious targets, you may not get initial success leading to demotivation. Here’s how we go about these situations:

Ask yourself, what is it that could get me 1% improvement?

That’s an incremental goal. Let’s attain that and then shoot for the next 1% level of improvement. Why will this work?

You are racking up some basic momentum, some initial wins.

If you add up these tiny wins, that can take you to this much larger target. This is how long-term investment works where you use SIPs to achieve your target. The same principle applies here.

To sum it up:

  • Break your target into small steps
  • Take action to rack up early wins
  • Leverage the momentum to reach your much bigger goals.

To learn more about Sufiya, watch my podcast episode with her (it’s in Hindi).

Do This Before The Year Ends

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A Highly recommended activity for Professionals

Many years ago, I learned a fabulous tip from Sanjay, my mentor. We used to catch up for lunch in San Diego. I was early in my career and being the wiser one, Sanjay would share insights from his career. During one meeting, he suggested updating my resume during this year-end break. I was happy with my role and scoffed at the suggestion to which he patiently explained his reasoning.

You need to find time to tune your compass.

Resumes are updated when people are looking for jobs. There’s not much time for internal reflection there. How will you know if you are making progress toward your goals?

We all have work goals, learning goals, and areas we want to collaborate with others.

Tracking them on a weekly basis is not always possible. Ideally, a six-month reflection works but we get caught up. Instead, just like your annual health check-up, we need to make time for it. But, doesn’t this get captured in work reviews? It depends on how deep you get to reflect – we capture the highlights, sort of like your resume.

We need to make time for detailed introspection. Allow it room to expand and the time of the year is perfect for that.

People are in a relaxed mood and many are taking time off. You will have fewer interruptions and can devote time for deep reflection. Let your mind run free and take notes.

What do I recommend as the plan for action?

Take a notebook – online or offline doesn’t matter. Have pages that cover the following:

  1. Work Goals
  2. Learning Goals
  3. Collaboration Goals
  4. Family Goals
  5. Health Goals

Add more as required.

For each page, you want to capture near and long-term goals.

For each goal, ask yourself two questions:

  1. Where am I today?
  2. What actions should I take?

I like to keep it free-flowing. More details, the merrier.

How much time to devote?

This exercise takes days. The first day usually gets the brain dump out onto your notebooks. Give yourself a day or so to let latent thoughts emerge. Brainstorm with your partner or a mentor if you’d like. After a couple of days, your thoughts are completely out onto your notebook.

From there, determine the near and long-term actions you will dedicate time to.

If you would like a template, just shoot me a note.