A few months back I had an amazing conversation with #AdamKreek (Olympic Gold medalist, Author: The Responsibility Ethic & Executive Business coach par excellence). During the conversation, he asked me what’s my vision, my purpose, my drive. Grandiosely I blurt out: a fulfilling life & career, being a coach, readily being of help to others, debts paid off, working towards being a better runner, followed by few minutes of silence. I knew it sounded all well but the hard truth, I needed to get back to my drawing board & dive deeper within to get something more.
Within a few weeks, I got what I believed was my game plan: Working towards truly the best years and thriving my streamlined life and work balance. Crystal clear purpose with ease in overcoming all of the obstacles holding me back from living my potential and reaching higher levels of success – accomplishing more yet with less stress and being more productive and efficient than ever before – with LESS overwhelm. Waking up each day with clarity about what to do next and an unassailable mind, a smart strategy, and an action plan to reach my biggest goals. Of course, I am, 100% sure that I am living on purpose. The emphasis was on ‘purpose’, but did I know what it was, or was there something more towards my being?
The next few weeks continued, based on the current ongoing situation the realization it’s when your best-laid strategies meet the imaginary adversary of ambiguity & discomfort, which includes impatience, anxiety, confusion, and fear. It’s easy to just wish it away. It’s natural to want more ease and freedom. But the more resistance I had to what is, to this current reality, the more pain and frustration I began to bring upon myself. The finality of letting it and surrendering takes courage. In this case, surrendering is into a place of acceptance
I realized my absolute space of surrender was usually during my long runs. During one of those moments listening to audiobooks came across
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García. Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being”. The word refers to having a meaningful direction or purpose in life, constituting the sense of one’s life being made worthwhile, with actions taken towards achieving one’s Ikigai resulting in satisfaction and a sense of meaning to life. Ikigai, the age-old Japanese ideology that’s long been associated with the nation’s long-life expectancy. A combination of the Japanese words “iki” (生き), which translates to “life,” and “gai” (甲斐), which is used to describe the value or worth, Ikigai is all about finding joy in life through purpose.
As career goals have been playing its prominence in my mind, I stand to say my faith and my family are the centers of my life. However, there’s a difference between the things that are important in your life and your life’s work. Ikigai is about finding joy, fulfillment, and balance in the daily routine of life. It’s all too easy to fall victim to siloed thinking, that our job, family, passions, and desires are all separate and unrelated aspects of our lives. The fundamental truth of Ikigai is that nothing is siloed. Everything is connected. As one of my Gallup strengths being: connectedness (the others being: positivity, communication, empathy, developer, etc.) this thought made me introspective as to discover that in Ikigai, you must first find what you’re most passionate about. Then, you find the medium through which you can express that passion.
It is said you can feel Ikigai even if your present is clouded in dark, as long as you can hold on to that thing that you live for. The feelings associated with Ikigai include a sense of fulfillment in everyday life, self-realization, the motivation to live, and a sense of existence and control. Long slow distance running has been my passion, what could I do for it to be of value? When I took my mind space away from myself about the highs, overcoming the injuries/challenges & the number of marathons I did, could I translate it towards a value for others?
Why not challenge myself in running a Marathon (42.2KM) distance every single weekend for five weeks, back to back, for a cause? I had never attempted it before. Yes, I have done a 100K run in 14+ hours, just a month back, but every week to sustain a 42.2KM, would be a provocative challenge to myself and with a caveat of accountability, not to anyone but to myself. I was not answerable to anyone if I did not complete it, but it was a commitment and finishing it.
As I have mentioned previously in one of my other articles, I had to learn to trust the process and believe in the possibilities of my dreams as my values resonate with high energy, a sense of commitment, discipline accountability, positivity, resilience, patience, and endurance. The first aspect of goal setting was attitude: enjoy the journey, the process, know the goal.
The goal: One Month, 5 Weeks, 5 Marathons for The Terry Fox Foundation – Cancer Research
It’s here I realized my purpose for the time and as it’s said if you can find pleasure and satisfaction in what you do and you’re good at it, then I had found my Ikigai. The statement “The purpose of life is to discover your gift; the work of life is to develop it, and the meaning of life is to give your gift away.” — David Viscott. This made sense, as what I believed running would not really surmount apart from a few medals, fit state of mind, body & spirit, pushing oneself & of course a dash of ego – self-glorification.
More importantly, as said by Dean Karnazes “I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary. I run…to savor the trip along the way. Life becomes a little more vibrant, a little more intense. I like that.” But the thought of using running to add value made a shift in my perception. It is here I realized it’s a blessing to stand in the unknown and work to become more comfortable. God, I do trust, but during my runs, I got to trust that Life knows what she’s doing and that everything that is unfolding is working for my benefit when it’s being given.
Through the runs that’s a wonderful journey into introspection & retrospection it left me thinking as I heard Robin Sharma about life’s true essentials… what really matters
…people to love and people who love you…good books and great friends…work that expresses your gifts and makes people happier…pursuits that bring you a sense of adventure and grow your native greatness.
You can grow in your self-care by:
…resting when you’re tired and enjoying life when it’s time…eating foods that nourish your spirit and upgrade your health…appreciating yourself for how far you’ve come and the person you now are versus always feeling like there’s more to do…not comparing your path and progress to anyone else’s. Because you’re precisely where you need to be…setting clear boundaries so no one ever disrespects you. Ever again…giving yourself permission to re-engage with your playful heart. And have a very good time…to chase things that matter little at the end…to get caught up in trivialities while missing that which counts…to major in tiny things.
You don’t have to be a runner, but having a passion, a dream, or hobby that you can dedicate your time to, raising a family, or being able to work and make steps towards diving deep into that passion project you’ve always fantasized about, are all Ikigai. What value are you giving back to life or the world? Sometimes, inspiration just happens. When you’re least expecting it, you see something or hear something or experience something that moves you deeply. That’s the purest kind of inspiration and, when it strikes, I encourage you to follow its lead and see where you end up… It could be your Ikigai…
As a parting thought, a statement by @Adamkreek “What I have found most meaningful in my athletic pursuits, has been the connection I feel with the universe. Yes, it was nice to receive recognition, and yes, it was nice to be able to use my experience as a metaphor to help others, but by far, the greatest gift of athletic pursuits, I have found, is the connection with the spirit and the divine.” Yes, this has been a grounding truth the connection with the spirit and the divine, that I realized and is now allowing me to take one step at a time to work on what really matters, my vision, purpose, and finding my IKIGAI, though not a long life but a life that has value. It’s a work in progress…
FOOTNOTE
On Oct 31st, 2020, I completed my goal of running 5 full marathon distance, every weekend of the month in my endeavor to raise money for Terry Fox foundation- Cancer Research.
A huge thank you & shout out to all who believed that I could do it & also provided, prayers, motivation & support during this journey.
#hardwork #value #goalsmatter #commitment #discipline #accountability #positivity, #resilience #endurance #adamkreek