I’ve been thinking about this one quite a bit lately. Early in my career I was told that one of the ways to run fast was to “run through the finish line, not to it”. Essentially I took it as: run to the best of your ability in that given moment and let the line pass you on your journey (instead of making the line your destination). I’ve heard this said in baseball as well: “Throw it through the catcher’s glove, not to it”.

Whether this concept makes sense to you or not in the sporting sense really isn’t important for the sake of this article. I want to discuss the idea of “run through it not to it” in relation to real life.

So many times we set a goal (“finish line”) for ourselves that may actually HINDER us. Our intentions are good: “once I get there I’ll be happy” or “once I get this job I’ll be set” or “once I see this doctor I will have peace of mind” (you get the idea). We set ourselves up to feel “something” that is “better” in the future. The reason this hinders us is that we can feel those things in our current moment REGARDLESS of if we have achieved our “finish line” or not. Let me share some of my own examples.

In Regards to Strength Training

The first time I ever deadlifted 500 lbs. I also deadlifted 515 about three minutes later. I had struggled for SO LONG to get to 500. I thought if I got to 500 I would be considered “strong”. I was essentially creating a mental block for myself. Any time I tried to deadlift 500 I would psyche myself out. Then when I finally got it I felt so relieved that I tried 515. I didn’t care because I had reached my “goal”. But then I pulled 515 as well. Was I magically stronger that day? I’m sure you could argue that I was potentially more “fresh” that day or my nervous system was “more prepared” or my periodization scheme was more “on point”. But in reality I had just set a restricting goal on myself. Imagine if my goal was 515 instead of 500 that whole time. I would have been so focused on getting to the heavier weight that I would have simply passed 500 on my way to 515. And why did I think 500 made me “strong”? Why couldn’t 455 be considered strong? It was an arbitrary goal that realistically meant nothing. This is the idea of running “through” the finish line, not “to” it. We need to have goals and ambitions to keep us focused and on the right path, but life still goes on once you hit that goal. My personal best deadlift is 575, which means 500 was just another “finish line” on the path.

In Regards to My Profession

Once I decided on being a strength and conditioning coach all I wanted to do was make it to the Big Leagues. I made my whole life revolve around it (to the point that when I proposed to Kerrin I told her I would put my career first and if she didn’t like it to not say yes). I have since learned my lesson, and obviously that makes me look like a horrible person/husband (and to be fair at times I definitely am), but the reality was I thought that once I got to the Big Leagues I’d be making enough money to be “financially secure”. I thought I’d have a job that was “worthwhile” and something to be proud of. I thought I’d ultimately be happy. And the reality is all of that turned out to be true. But I faced two harsh realities. First, every truth above had an opposite to it: although I was making good money, I was living in an expensive city. Although I was proud of my job, it left me wondering if I wanted something more (and put a major strain on my marriage and health). And even though I was happy, I was also sad/bored/tired. I had reached my “goal” and was left wondering “Now what?” It’s a scary place to find yourself, and I ultimately had to re-assess what my values were and what was truly important to me to make a meaningful life for myself (more on that in another article). I am not naïve to the fact that money makes the world go ‘round. All I’m saying is that there are other ways to make money for yourself and you don’t have to put all your eggs in only one basket (the same can be said of happiness and pride and anything else – your job is what you make of it).

In Regards to My Health (Physical and Mental)

I found myself in a spot where I had a terribly tragic health event without any answers. I had so many tests and doctors visits it left my head spinning (literally, at times). I kept thinking “once I see this doctor I’ll have an answer and some peace of mind” and “once I get this test done I’ll feel better about this” or “I just need to get back to work and all of this will go away”. Reality sucker-punched me in the face. I sat around waiting anxiously to see the doctors, to hear the results of my tests, to get the answers to explain what was happening to me, to put it all to the side and focus on work. And things only got worse. I passed all the tests (then took and passed even more tests). I saw specialists who had no answers and was referred to other specialists who had no answers. I went to work and tried to ignore it. Nothing worked, and I was left feeling frustrated, lonely, anxious, and depressed. My training went downhill with my mental health. It was a horrible spiral, and a big part of it was because I kept trying to get to this imaginary “finish line”. If I had to wait three weeks to see a doctor it was the only thing I would think about during that time. Then I’d see the doctor full of anticipation and nothing would change. My life would move on, I’d see the next doctor, and the cycle would continue. As sad as it is, there is a period of about seven months in my life where I cannot remember a SINGLE happy moment that I had. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t happy during that time. It means I was simply focused on an imaginary moment in time in the future when I was happy that all I could focus on in the current moment was how “horrible” everything was (and to be fair it was horrible, but even horrible times have enjoyable moments). Eventually I got to a point where I decided to just live my life the way I wanted to, be in the moment, and get back to training the way I had in the past. There are times I still feel uncertain, but with each victory I feel stronger and more secure in my health (physically and mentally).

The Lessons

This is the part of the article where we go into the application aspect of this concept. Remember, “run through it not to it”. If you put all your eggs in one future basket of “happiness” or “financial security” or “peace of mind”, you are running “to it” instead of “through it”, and ultimately 1) missing out on optimizing your current moment and 2) setting yourself up for major potential letdown once you get “there”. How do we avoid this?

1. Have goals for yourself AND use the current moment to maximize your chances of getting there. If you want to get a promotion, you are more likely to get it by doing something meaningful in the present moment instead of daydreaming about what it will be like when you get there. If you have expectations for a visit with a doctor in two weeks, write them down and then try to live your life as normal as you can. Just as the finish line will come eventually in a race, your visit with the doctor will come (and go) eventually. Spending all your time worrying on what the doctor may (or may not) find is setting you up to miss out on quality moments in the immediate picture and potentially setting you up for letdown once you get there (you have no real control over what the doctor will or will not find).
2. Understand that worrying is very normal. As is happiness, sadness, boredom, excitement, etc. Throughout a day you are sure to experience any number of feelings (both physically and mentally). How you interpret these feelings and what you focus on is really what determines “success” in the long-term. Spending all your time worrying about a competition that is two weeks away is a surefire way to ensure that your training leading up to the competition is subpar. Constantly being anxious about a big Chemistry test will certainly lead to bad study habits (and probably take you away from spending some much needed fun time with your friends). This is easier said than done, but taking time to appreciate the good moments in each day (by keeping a gratitude journal for instance) can help you to be present today AND help you realize that even in bad or unsettling times you will experience good moments.
3. Control what you can control. As cliché as this one is (and it’s VERY cliché), it is true and can be valuable. You do not control time. That “goal” or “destination” or “finish line” will come at some point. You will pass it and life will move on. You don’t get to control how fast it comes (two weeks will take two weeks). You can control how you react to your thoughts and feelings. You can control your work ethic and how much you put into trying to achieve your goal(s). And you can control how well you anchor yourself in the present moment. There are ways to help you with this (mainly meditation and journaling), and I’d advise you to look further into those.

Conclusion

I hope this article has been helpful to you in some way. Just like “running your best race” is a matter of sprinting and knowing that at some point you will pass the finish line (and not just trying to sprint to a set point), I believe that life should be viewed as simply being present in current moments and understanding that at some point you will reach those future goals or “destinations”. How you feel once you get there and how life ultimately progresses afterwards is largely determined by your approach to the current moment and the current day.