Twenty-five years ago, I wasn’t a runner and then, suddenly, I was. All it took was putting on running shoes and deciding I wanted to run. It was brutal starting.  I started on the treadmill at the gym and felt like I walked more than I ran.  I’ve stopped and restarted running many times over the years and I just restarted again a few weeks ago. I’m reminded of the life lessons that taking on running parallels with any difficult goal you want to attain.  The most important lesson I keep coming back to is: you have to run slow to run fast.

This lesson helped me build a company, become a board member, and recently publish a book.  All of these things and many more started very slowly and felt in the beginning or along the way that I was failing.  Every step I took no matter how imperfect contributed to momentum that led to achievement.

Start small
Start with small baby steps. Like just getting on shoes and leaving the house or writing for 15 minutes. Just get going. When you feel overwhelmed or that you are procrastinating, ask yourself what is the smallest step that you can take and then take it.

Set mini goals
Whether it’s running for one mile without stopping, or your first 4km in under 30 minutes, or writing one small four paragraph article we need all need small goals. To help us build up towards bigger achievements.  Like me, you may not have a goal to write a book or run a half-marathon at first.  But, you need a goal.  Set something to shoot for that is attainable and once you reach it you can set a next mini goal. 

Celebrate small successes
Take time to acknowledge your wins and, even better, share them with someone! I shared my first blog articles on social media, next I shared them in newsletters and eventually in publications like Forbes.  I also share my running successes big and small with my husband and a few close friends.  Sometimes my successes are finishing a 10km race and other times they are running my first 4km at a slow pace for the first time in a year.  All of these are successes worth celebrating.

Miles in matter
Consistency is more important than fast or perfect.  It takes time to practice and improve.  Doing it regularly and pushing through even when you feel less than perfect is key.  You improve by doing something often, not by doing it perfectly infrequently.  The more often you practice or take action to move forward the better you’ll get through doing.  You won’t get closer to your goal just thinking about it!

Character building days
It’s not about performance on tough days, its about showing up and keeping it going. Be kind to yourself.  Run slow. Put out less than your best writing.  Keep your commitment to yourself and give your best.  Your best may be half or less than an average day, accept that is enough.  It’s easy to get into your head and let the not good enough volume turn up.  Instead of saying no on tough days, say yes and do less than your best days and trust its enough to contribute to the momentum you’re developing.

Little by little, running slowly, consistently through good and bad days has allowed me to run many half marathons and 10km races.  Little by little, writing blog articles, magazine articles and publishing good and not so great writing has allowed me to write a book.  What will you start running slowly towards?