In March of this year, I had my first running session after almost two and a half years of no running at all.
And this one running session, or rather the preparation for it, was enough to teach me a valuable lesson.
Actually, running really provided me with a beautiful metaphor for a lesson I had already learned but had no other way to communicate than by telling it literally.
And one thing that I learned over the past year or so is that the truths of life stick with people much better when expressed through a metaphor or a story.
What is running?
In March of this year, when I decided to go for a run one day, I realized that I hadn’t run in more than 2 years.
"Am I really able to run?" was my thought.
I wasn’t worried about my conditioning. Because of my daily intense training, I knew that my heart and lungs were more than capable of getting me through a running session of both great length and high intensity. But my legs and feet weren’t.
Even when I was running regularly, I was aware that my running form was poor and I would always experience pain in my feet and right hip sooner than I would actually get tired.
So I decided to do what every modern human being does when unsure about the proper way to do something – watch YouTube videos about it.
I watched multiple videos on running technique for beginners and setting up proper posture for running. And on multiple different videos, I came across this beautiful explanation of what running is:
"Running is a continuous falling forward."
This was always accompanied by a running drill that is used to help one start running with proper posture:
"Stand tall. Eyes facing straight ahead. Lean your whole body forward until you start falling. Let your legs do the rest. Fall into running."
And really, what is running if not falling forward? You are putting one foot in front of the other to prevent falling flat on your face, and you just keep repeating that over and over again.
That was enough YouTube videos, enough preparation. It was time to actually do the thing.
I put on my shoes, which were definitely not meant for running, and got out of the house I was staying at.
I leaned forward. I was falling. I started running.
As I was putting one foot in front of the other to prevent falling flat on my face, I realized something: this is what I’ve been doing with my life. I’ve been falling forward.
Fall Forward
You have to lean forward to the point of falling, or failing.
Your legs will prevent the fall. You will start running. One foot in front of the other. One step at a time. Maybe not with the best form. Maybe not the fastest. But you will be running.
Lean into your life. Lean towards the person you want to be. Lean towards the life you want to live. Lean forward to the point of starting to fall. You will pick it up, one foot in front of the other. And even if you fall flat on your face, so what? Can’t you get up and lean forward again?
In life, it is often those who have actually put in the time and the effort into preparation that are scared to lean forward. They are standing on strong legs that would surely take them far once they started running, but they keep giving themselves the excuse that they need more preparation. Why? Mostly out of fear that they will fall flat on their face.
And it is often those who actually should do more preparation, those who are standing on weak legs, not yet prepared for running, that are not scared to lean forward. They lean forward, and in most cases, fall flat on their faces. Some of them stay down, but a lot of them get back up and lean forward again. And maybe they fall flat on their face again. But if they keep getting back up and leaning forward, they eventually start running.
If you have been following my work for a while, you probably know that I am the former of the two types of people I just described.
I am the one who has always spent too much time on preparation. I am the one who has always tried to analyze the situation from every angle before taking action. I am the one who was always afraid to lean forward.
And although I still believe that, in most cases, one shouldn’t lean forward with zero preparation, I eventually realized that even that is better than never leaning forward. It is better to be a reckless fool who is moving forward than it is to be a cautious and prudent fool who never moves from the starting point.
So one day, I finally leaned forward. I leaned into my life. And I started running. I’ve been running ever since. Not with the best form. Not at the fastest pace. But I’m running. I’m falling forward, There are many moments when I get scared that I will fall flat on my face, but one foot still goes in front of the other. I still haven’t fallen. That doesn’t mean I won’t fall eventually. But even when I do, so what? Now I know that, once that happens, the only thing for me to do is get up and lean forward again.
Will you come run with me?
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Mark Mansons do something principal comes close to this.
Mind blowing is that "running is falling forward"