I was up early this morning and had a few things on my mind I wanted to share, so I shot this video:
[If you’re reading this in email, click here to watch the video.]
Here are some highlights for you –
- :08 – Big Race Coming Up
- :30 – My annoying mental pattern
- 1:06 – The difference between the Impossible and the “not done yet”
- 1:40 – Why worry isn’t worth it
- 3:06 – Jump in.
The main thought I really want you to take away is:
Just because you haven’t done something before, doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
Step outside your comfort zone
Push your limits
Try something new
Do Something Impossible This Weekend
P.S. I’m trying out video again. Sorry for all the “ums” and jittery movements 🙂 Let me know what you think [good/bad] in the comments.
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I am super inspired by your video! I have been training for roller derby and it has been grueling. I don’t think I have ever sweat more or grunted more to get through it. Haven’t been on skates in years. I find myself pushing to do things and take chances, all the while in roller skates on a slick shiny concrete track.
“Just because you haven’t done something before doesn’t mean you can’t do it,” says Joel Runyon.
Thanks for the kind words Aimee. Best of luck with Roller Derby!
Athletics, sports, and physical challenges may quite possibly be the best life-teachers and life-indicators (of who we are, and what our strengths/weaknesses are). I love this Joel! I’ve felt much the same in past physical challenges.
I wonder how people that don’t participate in competitive challenges deal with life-training? Hmmmm…maybe a future blog post on this site?
Keep it up man! If you have somebody video recording your race, I’d love to see it when you’re done.
Good luck!
– Josh
I’ll try to get some footage. Most of the unedited stuff I’ll throw up on my facebook page – http://facebook.com/blogofimpossiblethings. I’m gonna start trying to edit some stuff together and put it up here though as well =). I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks for the link. I just “liked” it on FB 🙂
Sweet!
Good stuff Joel. I think the butterflies in the stomach are always a good thing, even if they don’t appear valuable on the surface.
To me, what can appear as “self doubt” often is a signal of importance. How can one become great without seeking greatness? We need to consistently seek to one-up ourselves. Self-doubt is merely the human instinct to comes with greatness.
Take note that self-doubt is also an assortment of emotions. So while in some senses it may cause a moment of pause, in others in hones your senses and increases your adrenaline. These latter two elements are essential to not only surviving but thriving in your “impossible” endeavors.
So to that end, kudos to you for pushing yourself further. There’s no doubt in my mind that you won’t succeed magnificently!
Now go smash that course! 🙂
Matt
Definitely.
I’m starting to hit that point that every time I start to doubt myself, I know something awesome is right around the corner. Just have to push through till then. Can’t wait for Sunday. Thanks for the support!
Dude you are awesome. Very inspirational stuff. You’re so right that if you don’t jump into new things then you will end up having a very limited range of skills. It’s important to always move forward, even if it’s a little scary and self-doubt is rising up. Self-doubt is a bitch, glad you know how to deal with it the right way.
And I know you’ll kill this triathlon.
Thanks Nate! I’m definitely going to try!
I needed this today Joel. To hear about what you go through as you prepare to do something you’ve never done before; to deal with the self doubt, you’ve really humanized it and made it real. What I mean is we all hear about all these great things that people do and we all have these dreams of what we want to be doing but when it comes down to crunch time I think everyone deals with the self doubts. It’s what we do when the doubts creep in that define the kind of person we are. Do we cave in and scamper back to our safe and comfortable world or do we become trail blazers and forge forth and kick ass on a daily basis. I love that you are kicking ass daily and that motivates me to do the same.
BTW…you look good on camera so you should probably do a few more video posts.
Haha, thanks Matt =) I was a little tired, so hopefully next time I’ll be more lively.
I’m glad I’m able to be a good example, but it’s people like you that keep pushing me onwards with constant encouragement. I honestly can’t say thanks enough. So thanks 🙂
I have that mental block at 0:30 all the time. I guess I’m just not completely confident in myself.
You never know if you can do something until you’ve tried it, and even if you can’t do it it doesn’t mean you won’t ever be able to do it.
Great vid 🙂
The key is to keep going and keep trying. Eventually you’ll get it. Thanks for the compliments 🙂
I love your attitude Joel. You ‘da man. Come Monday you’ll have a whole new benchmark for for qualifying “impossible”.
Thanks Lach. Gotta keep raising the bar :). The higher it goes, the more & more I realize how few things are actually “impossible.”
Hey Joel,
This is spot on, and I actually had a very similar realization before I lost 100 lbs in 8 months.
When people started asking me how I did it, I just told them that I finally realized I could.
Good video.
100 pounds in 8 months! Congrats Rick! Dang, that’s crazy impressive. Well done =)
Hey man, Love your site. I will be spending some more time looking around on here. i love all the videos. I need to do more of those. I am excited to see how your race goes. After the Marines I have not done long running but I understand the physical challenges. I like to go the woods for long periods of time for intense trips through the wilderness. I am heading up to northern Canada again next month for a 8 day trip in the woods. I can not wait.
I love the site man!
Thanks Tim 🙂 Where in Canada did you go? I’ve only been outside toronto and by Niagara. I’d love to go on some more extreme expeditions, but I haven’t done any quite yet…
Up in Ontario about 4 hours north of Toronto there is a Park called Algonquin. It is roughly half the size of New Hampshire and is used as a wilderness area. You pretty much need a canoe to get in and out of it and we go and wonder around it for about a week. Try to cover somewhere between 40 and 60 miles each time, depending on the group dynamic.
It is awesome!
Anyway, let me know if you are ever interested in going with me. I have one coming up that I am going on in Sept. If you are interested.
Either way it is a blast. I will talk with you soon. I am looking forward to connecting to you soon.
that sounds very cool. lets talk about it over skype.
I will be praying for you on Sunday. that is a long race, but I am sure that you can do it.
Thanks Tim 🙂
So, how did it go? The race I mean. You got to post something about it. I want to hear about it, and when do we get to see some of your video from it?
it’s coming =) i’ve needed a bit of time to recover 🙂
this reminds me of a twitter post I saw yesterday on my feed. Something like: the most successful people are the ones who are doing things they didn’t think they could do!
Really great take home. It’s so true that you shouldn’t be afraid to wear new hats!! I never thought I could be a traveler, or an expat.. And a bunch of things. All sorts of growth is happening right now. All sorts of possibilities and opportunities and I couldn’t be happier!
I’m really awkward on video and it’s always kind of an intimidating medium for me so props to you for the piece. Congrats on the race.. I know you finished 🙂
Still working on my video presentation. I like it, so I’ll probably try again. Thanks for the encouragement.
And yes, there’s all sorts of things that you’re able to do, but you just don’t know until you try. That’s one thing I love about your blog…how you keep stepping out and doing scary stuff. Keep it up 🙂
I don’t think I mentioned this to you yet, but I came up with the bright idea to do a sprint distance tri with 3 girlfriends this summer. None of us have ever done a tri and i don’t know what I was thinking. I haven’t been on a bike in a LONG time and I’m not a runner. WHAT?! Well this video was exactly the thing I needed to see…I could tell I had some of the mind chatter starting up and this video just stopped all that. Thank you!
So awesome!