5/24/25-I'll Start that Next Week

As a committed procrastinator this might be the #1 motto of my life.  I can't count the number of times I have said I'll start my diet next Monday or I will start spring cleaning in order to weed out things I don't need of want only to see the calendar change to summer with no progress made.

One of the big things that frustrates me is the fact I have never ran a marathon.  I have "completed" many marathons.  But every time I went into them with a plan to take walk breaks throughout the 26.2 miles or run to a certain point then walk as needed to finish.  I ended every marathon with a combination of elation for finishing and disappointment that I was forced to walk portions of the marathon.  I think the furthest I made it running before I had to start walking was 16miles.  On the drive home (once I was able to sit in the car) I would always say to myself, "Next time I'm going to get a plan that will allow me to run the full distance."

But boy does training to run a marathon take a lot of time and effort.  I would have to rehash my diet- to support the miles I would need to run.  I would go into every week with the best intentions to watch what I ate and to do the work required to get in the shape I needed to run the full distance.  By Wednesday, I had messed that up and my feeling always was that the current week was a lost cause but I would do better next Monday, only to repeat the cycle.  Then the planned marathon would come up and, again, I would have to revise my goal to run the whole 26.2 miles with planned walk breaks.

I would finish with the grand plan to work on my diet and come up with a training plan to do the race again next year as a runner without being forced to walk.

After all there will always be a next year, right?

Well, in actuality, there may not be a next year.  In my case running, especially a marathon, is something that is beyond what my body can handle.  And I've come to accept I will never "run" a marathon.

I guess the lesson learned is that everyone has tasks or goals they want to accomplish.  It doesn't have to be a marathon.  Maybe its to travel and see something amazing.  Maybe its to meet a individual who has inspired you.  Maybe its to write a book.  It really doesn't matter what you want to accomplish, just realize that time is finite, so it is best to figure out what is important and make it a priority-come up with a plan and stick to it.

Take it from a career procrastinator, at some point there won't be a next week to postpone starting to.

Remember-"Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it."