Running Trails, Eating Plants, and Sharing What I Pick up Along the Way

Running Trails, Eating Plants, and Sharing What I Pick up Along the Way

Monday, September 8, 2014

006 Out of Control Intent



When creating Chasing Kale my goal wasn't to be overly personal, but I only know what I know; this post reflects my recent/current experiences.

I've made it no secret that I'm in a time of transition. I recently moved to a new city that I'm (re)acquainting myself with, I'm (re)establishing community here, I'm still not working (though I have been hired for an ideal position and I'm just waiting for the state send fingerprint results back), I'm seeking a new church home, I'm recovering from this Achilles injury, it looks like I'm going to be training for a new distance once I do return, and I'm experimenting with my diet trying to find what suits me best ethically, athletically, and practically (I'll probably share about this at some point).
I believe I've mentioned this before, but I'm a sucker for change.

Even so, having this much change happening at once leaves me wanting some resolution. I don't want everything to be resolved, because that's no fun, but I'd like some of it to be resolved.

I've been reading John Wooden's book, Wooden on Leadership, where he outlines his famed Pyramid of Success. Everything Coach Wooden says is golden, but two different concepts have struck a chord with me thus far. The first is to "control the controllables". Wooden didn't word it as such (in fact, I took this wording from Hall of Fame volleyball coach Judy Lovre from my time at Western Oregon University), but Wooden focuses on controlling what you can, and letting the score take care of itself. He never told his team to go out and win, rather he told them to go out and give their best effort.

They did, and Wooden has ten NCAA titles to show for it.

In my situation, I need to focus on what I can do rather than get upset with my Achilles, or with the state taking so long to process my fingerprints. What can I control here? Fortunately, not much. Yes, I do mean fortunately. Not having control relieves me of the stress of having to worry about getting stuff done.

It's not on me any longer; I've already done my part.

The second idea I'm stealing from Wooden is the idea of intentness. He uses this term to sum up diligence and determination, fortitude and resolve, or persistence. I'll add to this patience. Each of these are qualities I'm aiming for in each of my little transitions. At this point only one of seven of these current transitions have some resolution within sight-I'm starting work in the next few weeks. The other six have no end in sight, and this has left me frustrated, and discouraged at times. Even my watch was teasing me by trying to get me to run while I was intentionally taking a break in order to recover. This quality of intentness is one I can and need to show in a number of different ways towards my current challenges.

Intentness and controlling the controllables are not unrelated. Not even close. In my current situation I'm being intent to control what I can, giving my best effort and let the score take care of itself rather than waste my time worrying or feeling depressed.

I'm not going to try to connect these ideas to your running and/or veganism (which are, after all, the focual points of the blog); I'm sure you can do this yourself. I do, however, believe that these ideas can be encouraging to anybody in a transitional time, whether it involves running or not.

Feel free to share your thoughts on this topic; I'd love to hear them.


Quick note: the morning after I posted this, I received confirmation that I'll be starting work a week earlier than initially planned, and my schedule will be ideal to allow me to pursue a great coaching opportunity. Very excited about all of this. 

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