A full Ironman Competition is made up of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.385-mile run ( a marathon). I stood at the finish line of The Mont-Tremblant Iron Man the year before Covid shut us all down. Each finisher heard the words ” You Are an Ironman” as they crossed that finish line anywhere from 7- 16 hours after they started. My eyes filled with tears each time I heard the words, each finisher had just done something very hard, proving anything is possible.
I have run marathons which are 26 miles 385 yards and I know what it takes to cross that line. It takes a lot and it takes knowing how to do hard things. And I know how good it feels to complete the hard thing.
This week I was struck by the courage of two of my clients doing hard things, very hard things. Both involved testing. One involved a big nerve-wracking test for work, in front of testers, all alone in order to demonstrate oral competency in a second language, you know the kind of thing that makes a root canal look like a cakewalk. The other client is facing health tests, arduous preparations, and a long journey to the hospital, and with the fear of possibly life-altering results!
With both of these two clients, not doing the hard thing was not even considered, they both just did it. Yes, they prepared, yes they got support, yes they got coaching, yes they did all the things to prepare for success and then they did it.
Some people don’t do the hard things. They get stuck. In fact, often coaching is about supporting clients to do the hard thing anyway. I have a client who came to coaching in order to prepare for a hard test. She did not want to get stuck, she wanted to move forward. The conversations with these two clients this week were very different than the ones with clients who get stuck and don’t do the hard thing. Doing the hard thing anyway leads to celebration, to increased confidence to an increased sense of self-worth to results that move life forward. Not doing the hard thing leads to frustration, fear, self-doubt, and icki-ness.
When I reflect on the main difference between my clients who do the hard thing and those who struggle, it is that doing the hard thing requires BELIEF that it can be done. The belief that they can do it. Yes, with support, yes with effort, and yes with pain, but they do it.
What would you need to believe to do the next hard thing on your list?
At the start of a marathon, a runner believes that they will be able to run the 40,000 or so steps to travel the 26 miles 385 yards.
Today, I celebrate my two clients doing the Hard Thing. I want to say to those clients, “You are an Ironman”.
I can help you do your next hard thing.
Click here to see how.
As always I hope this is helpful.
Coach Susy