Run with your mind, not just your legs!

posted more than an year ago | category : Inspirational

Sometimes one single line can make a huge difference to your life. It could be something you’ve read somewhere. Or a line someone said to you. And it seems to stay on in your mind and become a guiding force. Has that happened to you? Just the other day, a dear friend of mine - a retired Brigadier - was narrating the story of how a line he heard many, many years ago impacted him deeply and shaped his life.

Here’s his story...

It was his first week in the army. He had just completed his engineering and amongst his colleagues in the army were a host of young men who had come through the National Defence Academy. Not engineers, but men exposed to the physical conditioning so essential for success in the armed forces It was a Sunday morning. The task ahead was rather simple. They had to run ten miles.

My friend recalls starting enthusiastically, and then quickly tiring out. After running half the distance, he felt he couldn’t continue any longer. He felt his legs would fold up and he’d collapse. And just as he was about to give up and stop, he heard his commanding officer say to him: “Come on, young man. Up till now you’ve been running with your legs. Now run with your mind!” And those words seemed to work like magic. While my friend doesn’t quite recall what happened thereafter, all he remembers is that he kept running. And finished the entire ten mile run. And to this day, he often hears the officer’s words echoing in his mind. ‘Don’t just run with your legs. Run with your mind.’ It’s been the motto that’s inspired him through everything he’s done in his life ever since.

And it’s a line we would all do well to remember. Success in life is not defined by talent and physical ability – but by the mental strength to stay the course, and run the extra mile. When you run with your legs, you allow the pressures to weigh you down. You allow obstacles to come in the way of your progress. You find yourself saying “I can’t!” But when you run with your mind, you become unstoppable. Your mind says “I can!”