Marathon, Mindset, and The Power of Intention

If your actions are the boat, then intentions are the sail. Your intention sets the direction of your life and your actions. 

What is your intention? Why are you doing what you are doing? Pretty broad questions, I know, but stick with me because intention is the fundamental building block behind whether you succeed or fail. And I can tell you exactly what shit intent and failure looks like, so lemme tell you a story. 

In 2024, I completed my first marathon. That's an awesome accomplishment, right? 

WRONG - me right after I finished. 

Why? When I finished I felt that my performance was sub par. Why couldnt I feel content? Why did I feel like such a failure? 

Because, Immediately after completing the marathon, my initial thoughts were “okay, how can I improve? What's next?”  I did not take any time to appreciate what I had done, and the effort I made. Not just the effort of the race, but the 8 week train up I did. The research I did, the books I read, and the application of those principles into my training. 

Well, why did I do that? Why was the texture of my consciousness so…. Edgy?

Because my intentions behind the marathon were not to challenge myself to do something fun and difficult. My intentions came from a place of lack. I need to prove myself. I HAVE TO PROVE MYSELF kind of energy.

I put so much pressure on myself to perform. So much pressure. To the point where if I didn't get what I wanted, I would feel like a failure, and so I did.

My metrics for success and my intentions set me up to feel that way when objectively, what I did was something amazing. Let me tell you this is not the type of energy you want when you go after a goal. Coming from a place of desperation will never satisfy you. 

So what does? Chopping wood and carrying water. What? What do you mean? We’re talking about running and intention, not chopping wood and carrying water? What's this guy on about? 

Patience young grasshopper, I will explain

To clear the air, there are two avenues of approach we can take when it comes to the pursuit of whatever. So one of my pursuits right now is Ironman 70.3 in Wilmington NC, 2025. To get there, I need to pick one of these avenues. 

1. Outcome 

2. Process 

   
   

Alright, so what's the difference? The difference is where the feeling of success comes from. It is so cliché, you’ll hear people say stuff like “it's in the journey not the destination maaaan” or “just like, trust the process, dude. Take a chill pill, homie”.

What I have learned is that the people who can embody this type of energy are always successful in their endeavors. Why?

1, it's a vibe, but more importantly, for them, the joy and fulfillment comes from the fact that they have surrendered the outcome. No matter what happens on game day or recital day or whatever, the joy they have cultivated comes from the person they became during the journey. 

Their intention is simply to chop wood and carry water. That is, to work at their craft for them, not for some award or recognition. Showing up everyday and doing it because you want to. Not because you feel like you have to.

Yeah, some days it's gonna be hard. There's no way around that. It just is. But that’s ok. Those days are the most fun and often you learn the most about yourself during those sessions, whatever it may be for you. 

This scarcity mentality our society has adopted has brainwashed us into thinking we have to achieve NOW. We need to be successful NOW. NOW NOW NOW. No my guy, what we need to do is relax a little bit and return to that child-like energy we were born with. 

How I described my feelings after my marathon? That's from outcome orientation. When you take the outcome so seriously, you lose your enjoyment. It becomes less fun. Remember, fun is the reason we are doing what we do, right? 

If your intention is to be the best in the world at what you do? Great. I like that energy too. But remember, even if you do become the best, you reach the top, what happens next? What will you look back on? Will you look back? Or will you be stuck in the trap of only looking ahead, to the next thing, stuck in this achievement treadmill. 

OR 

Will you appreciate that process and chill out a little bit? Enjoy yourself. Enjoy what happens. Part of the reason I'm writing this is because I know I need to chill out a little bit. And I bet I'm not the only one. I think we could all stand to chill out a little bit.