Ready, Zen, Go!

If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon. ~ Emil Zatopek, Olympic Champion Long Distance Runner

A guest post by Katie Tallo of Momentum Gathering

As race weekend approaches here in Ottawa, everyone and their Uncle seems to be out on the trails training for the big marathon. I’ve heard a marathon can be a life changer. All that sweating and striving, exhilaration and triumph.

Really, when you think about it, we should all run a marathon. In fact, it should be a required course in high school, a job qualification, a prerequisite for life. Yes! Let’s push ourselves to our very limits. Let’s burst out the front door everyday of our lives. Let’s go for it! Let’s … oh forget it. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

But wait. If life’s like a marathon, how do we sustain our dreams for the long haul? How do we gather enough momentum to achieve real life change? How do we run this race without feeling as though we’re falling behind, losing ground on our goals, or stumbling towards some unreachable finish line?

We turn that marathon into a zenathon. We infuse our lives with zenful, mindful sources of energy that help us run, our way. We get ready, we zen and we unleash our very own style of get-up-and-go!

a simple guide to running a zenathon

• Be still in the beginning.
  Stay quiet and present as you ready yourself at the start of any new venture. In that stillness you’ll find steadiness and space to hear your own voice. You’ll be more likely see and head towards what matters most to you, ready to surge forward when the time comes.
• Wear the right shoes. Try not to step into someone else’s shoes, even if you admire them. Learn from them, but trust that you can be self-reliant as you follow a path that resonates with your beliefs. Use words and actions that fit you. You’ll gain energy from being yourself.
• Visualize the course. Create a picture of your goal, your purpose, and see yourself achieving it. Close your eyes and contemplate the path ahead – the steps, the challenges, the milestones and the possibilities. A clear mental picture will invigorate the early days of any journey.
• Warm up and stretch. By moving in different ways, breaking routines and assumptions, and stretching your creativity, you’ll be more receptive and open to opportunities and more able to brave adversity. You’ll stay loose and won’t cramp up at the first sign of trouble.
• Start slow. If you burst out of the gate, you risk missing steps, tripping up, or running out of gas too soon. If you start nice and easy, your pace will gradually align with your natural rhythms and you’ll begin to get where you want to go.
• Watch your posture. As you move through your day, carry yourself like that person you know you are or know you can be – shoulders back, chest out, head held high – that fulfilled being who has found their calling and has embraced the freedom and joy of living their dream. Your confident posture will infuse your day with momentum and keep your energy flowing.
• Stay nourished. Love your work, love your path, but don’t let that enthusiasm to succeed, earn, and grow consume you. Fuel yourself with rest, feed your body and soul with natural sustenance and fill yourself with deep breaths of oxygen.
• Talk to yourself. When you feel like you’re on your way, heading in the right direction and hitting your stride, be your biggest champion. Encourage yourself, support yourself and tell yourself that you can do it. Kindness isn’t just for others. Give a little to you.
• Enjoy the scenery. Look around and be grateful for where you are right now. Maybe you’re moving slowly towards your goals from the back of the pack, maybe you started late, don’t feel ready, or can’t quite see the next turn in the road – that’s the time to relax and enjoy what’s right in front of you. Energy comes from accepting and embracing where you are.
• Let go of winning. Allow others to go ahead, maybe even help them with a compassionate push. Let go of being first, being the best, being noticed, and start by just being you.

There are miles to go, hills to crest and finish lines to cross in all our lives, but we don’t have to grasp for victory and blow past everyone else to make real and meaningful changes in our lives. We just need to start moving along with zenful strides, and begin gently listening and looking as we flow along our path. Set a peaceful course, relax and head off in the direction of your dreams. Don’t endure the race, enjoy the zenathon.

Katie Tallo is a writer, director, motivator, runner, vegetarian and mother who writes a blog that encourages steady, positive actions for sustaining joyful and vibrant life change, Momentum Gathering.

Note from Mary Jaksch: Katie is a member of the A-List Blogger Club, the amazing ongoing training environment for bloggers that Leo Babauta and I run. I’m proud of Katie – she shines in this guest post – which was a training assignment. Take a look at her blog and subscribe: Katie is worth it.

The A-List Blogger Club has changed my life. A month ago I didn’t know a tweet from a widget. Now I’m running my own blog and the club is right there with me. Everyday I connect with someone new, and not just connect, but get to know them, laugh with them, befriend, share, support and exchange ideas. Mary and Leo have created a community that is a reflection of who they are — generous, genuine and successful!
~ Katie Tallo of Momentum Gathering