8 Lessons in Career Management that I Learnt from the Delhi Half Marathon

Running Can Teach You Lessons for Life

Running is the easiest sport and athletic event that anyone can undertake at any place, without thinking too much. All it needs is running shoes and the right intent. 

I have been running for the past few years, but unfortunately I haven’t been consistent and hence, so far I had not participated in any running event till I decided to take the plunge in the Delhi Half Marathon and atleast do the Dream Run of 6 km. Nestlé being an Associate Sponsor further helped as there was enough motivation from people around the organization and the buzz couldn’t have been missed. 

As I was doing the Dream Run, there were various thoughts that came to my mind about how running can teach so many lessons on career management. Through this blog, I wanted to share those learnings with all of you.

1. Start from an advantageous position: I met a lot of people after the run who complained about how they were struggling at the beginning because of the huge number of people ahead of them. I did not face any such issue as I was standing right at the front and the minute the race began, I was off to a quick start. Same is true when you begin your career as well. Graduating from a good B-school or starting your career from a good company is the advantageous position that one can get, when beginning one’s career. 

2. Navigate your way through: There were some serious runners in the Dream Run, who did not get a good starting position, but after a few minutes, they were able to find openings and opportunities and were able to navigate their way through. This is another lesson in your career as well. Just because you did not begin with an advantageous position doesn’t mean that you cannot find opportunities and slowly navigate your way through to come to the position you want to be at. 

3. Overtaking is a part of the course: While you are running at your pace, there will be some people who will overtake you and some other people who, you will overtake. This is the reality and this reality holds true in your career as well. There will be times when you will get promoted or be given a better role before your peers and at times, the vice versa will happen. Embracing that reality is the best way to live with it. 

4. You will find friends on the way: As you run, there are volunteers who are standing and offering water to you so that you can continue on your run without feeling dehydrated. You need to find these volunteers and friends in your career who will be there to help you and support you so that you can move ahead. 

5. Consistency is the name of the game: There are many who start the race with great energy but a few kilometres down the line, they are panting for breath and are struggling to take the next step. Being consistent is one of the key requirements for running as well as for being stable and successful in your career. You have to keep performing and keep delivering regularly and consistently to climb the rungs of the corporate ladder. 

6. Set your own pace: At what speed and pace would you like to run is a choice that you and only you can make. While the atmosphere, the environment and the people around can encourage you, no one else can decide your pace. In your career graph as well, it is upto you on what pace you want to go at. All the other external paraphernalia is there to facilitate your pace but not decide your pace. 

7. Never think of Giving Up: There will be certain times in the race when you would be questioning yourself and asking ‘Why am I doing this?’, ‘When will this get over?’, ‘Should I just stop and give up?’. That is the moment when you need to let your will-power, your training and your motivation swipe away these thoughts with a great force because finishing the race is non-negotiable. Such thoughts will often come at various phases of your career as well, where you will feel like throwing in the towel. But that is the moment of truth and a moment of testing your mettle and you have to overcome these seeds of doubt and move forward to your goal, to your ambition and to your aspiration. 

8. In the end, the Race is only with yourself: You may think that with thousands of other people running with you, you are racing against them. Nothing can be further from truth than this. At the end of the race, you are only celebrating your own accomplishment, looking at your time and also checking whether you have beaten your previous best or not. While you may check on how others have done to get a sense of perspective, the truth is that the race is only for yourself. In your career, this is the biggest truth that you should acknowledge. You may think that you are competing with others, but in reality your career is your own individual race, which you run at your own pace and accomplish your own set goal. This is a mental game and your mind will decide what you can achieve. 

Running gave me such a wonderful perspective and lesson on my career and my life that I will continue running more and more. I hope that these thoughts helped you and resonated with you as well, and I am sure that the half-marathoners would have also gone through a similar experience and would be able to relate to this as well. 

What are some of the lessons that you picked up from running that you would like to share with me and others? Please drop in a comment and let me and others know.