MARATHON – A PERSPECTIVE I have been a regular runner and I keep on participating in various Marathons that are organized in the Pune City, apart from the the one in Mumbai, i.e. Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon – a Marathon best known for its’ organization and sheer number of people who participate in it ! Well, I was running today morning in the Wipro 2016 Marathon in Hinjewadi and suddenly I started to realize as to how many things this Marathon thing teaches a person. I started thinking and here is the account of the same :-
- It’s a challenge. You don’t go running for 21K or 42K every day. And when you go for it, you are taking a challenge of reaching the Finish Line, howsoever tired you may be or whether you had practiced or not. Similarly, Life offers various challenges in every day Life. Many times, you are not prepared nor has the past experience of similar situation. If you accept the challenge, you will be able to tide over the situation and may probably make the most of it. In fact, if you accept the challenge and face, you may not only come out unscathed but you may be able to turn it to your advantage in the end.
- It teaches you perseverance. When you are running a Marathon, you need perseverance. There are likely to be various difficulties that you may face like you might not got sound sleep the previous night, your leg muscles may develop pain while running, the whether may not be favorable, your shoes may start biting, the road may not be good, there may be too many climbs and slopes on the way which may exhaust you quickly, you may feel dehydrated, etc…etc. Despite all these difficulties, you need to keep your cool and reach your goal ( the Finish Line ) within the best time possible. Similarly, in Life, too, we face many difficulties on our way – there may be health issues, hospitalizations, financial crunches, disappointments during education, politics at work place, differences with close relatives and friends, heart breaks, etc….etc. But all said and done, we must keep our cool so as to be able to handle every situation without much of fuss or without complaints. If you are able to face the difficulties during a Marathon successfully, you may be expected to face the Life situations in a better way.
- During Marathon, there are many people who would be able to surpass you while running. There may be people who are better trained, people who have better stamina and energy level, etc. But you don’t grumble about it and accept it gracefully simply because you know there is no point in grumbling. If you wish that no one should surpass you, you will have to practice hard, take proper training, do exercise daily and with discipline, and take appropriate diet. Similarly, you would find many people doing better than you do in daily Life, although you may be better compared to them. But you have to accept the fact and carry on with your Life as it comes. You cannot grumble as to why the others are doing well and why you are not. If at all you wish to change the situation, you will have to learn new tricks, develop new skills, and may have to work hard and be focused on your goal.
- In Marathon, there are only few people who would get the 1st/2nd/3rd Prizes. Rest of hundreds and thousands of participants will only enjoy the joy of participating. When you reach the Finish Line and within the time you had decided, you feel very happy and satisfied. You feel very confident as you have completed a seemingly difficult task. What is important is participation. Similarly, in LIFE, you may or may not get rewarded for your efforts. You may or may not become successful or rich. But you have to keep up the efforts keeping a positive approach. What is important is to carry on with Life without grumbling or accusing our fate. We have to deal with every situation as it comes with a positive mindset so that when you are old and near the FINISH Line, you feel satisfied that you lived a full Life, in the best way possible.
- While running a Marathon, sometimes you would be able to surpass some of the participants. But instead of feeling great about yourself, you have to feel compassion for those who are left behind. They may be trying hard but may not be in pink of health or may not have got proper training or diet, etc…etc. Similarly in Life too, if you are able to reach greater heights, it should go to your head and you should feel compassion for your fellow friends, relatives and others who may not have got the opportunities that you got or may have faced difficulties that you did not face.
- When running in a Marathon, in spite of practice or the fact that you are a regular participant, you may sometimes get exhausted and may feel tired. You may feel it difficult to complete the Marathon. However, you remind yourself that it is a temporary phase and you will be alright after sometime. And you try to restore your energy and try to run again and complete the Marathon. Similarly, in our Life, in spite of our best efforts, our experience or our resources, we sometimes feel totally exhausted. We feel stagnated. We don’t feel like doing anything. We feel Let down on every front. At such time, we have to tell ourselves that this is a temporary phase and everything is alright. We have to push ourselves to think positively and try to boost our confidence ( despite difficulties ) so as to enable ourselves to be on track again.
- When running in a Marathon, a basic rule every runner follows or has to follow. He has to run in his own way, without disturbing any other runner. He has to ensure that he does not cross the path of any other runner and be an obstacle for other athletes. Similarly, in our Life, we should follow the same principle to enjoy a peaceful and happy Life. We have to ensure that we do not become an obstacle for anybody else or don’t become a cause for anybody else’s unhappiness.
By :- GOKUL RATHI M : 9850041311 Mail : gokulrathi007@yahoo.co.in Pune : 25/09/2016
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