Applying Trail Wisdom to Life

I've taken up trail running.?I don't know what that might mean to each reader from various parts of the country, but what it means to me, here in Glendale, Arizona is running rocky desert trails with elevation gains, extremes in heat, and with the chance for injury from the local cacti.?I run mostly in the Thunderbird Park trail system which consists of fifteen miles of trails, rated from easy to difficult, some with little elevation gain and two with gains of 980 and 1400 feet respectively.?

There are some things I've learned about trail running, (some learned the hard way), but most learned from the extended experience of running trails and learning by doing.?I'm not by any means a world-class athlete in this endeavor, but I've racked up some miles and experienced the many shades of climate options offered by the local Sonoran Desert, so I don't feel in any way inadequate to put forth my thoughts.?Besides, running in this fashion, as I imagine running in any fashion, allows one to contemplate all kinds of things, and this morning in the middle of my 4-mile epic, I equated a trail run to life in general, and these are the thoughts I share here.

I think each of these can be equated to life; to a special project in which we may be engaged, or to the running of a business.?So here goes:

Just do it. I don't think Nike got this one wrong.?When I started this trail running routine I would wake up and imagine being out there, and would really just prefer to stay in bed.?What I found was that I couldn't think about it as a whole, but to take one task at a time.?To be in a nice warm bed and imagine running up a craggy trail just wasn't productive.?So I'd start with the basics.?Stand up.?Do the necessaries. Get dressed. Grab a water bottle.?Get in the car.?Drive.

Before I knew it, I'd be at the trailhead and there was nothing to do but run.?By that time all the other mental obstacles were gone.?After a couple of weeks of that I found I looked forward to the runs and couldn't go without them, but I still use this technique from time to time.

Sometimes in life or business we look at a task as a mountain, when really we should be looking at it as a series of smaller actions.?Plan ahead??Yes!?Obsess over tasks 1 through 5? ?No!?Just do task 1, then move on to task 2.?Just do it.?That is of course, an oversimplification of many of life's challenges, but there is wisdom there.?When faced with cleaning the garage if I look at the whole thing it makes me weary.?But if I pick up one item and put it away or throw it out, that part is done.?Then I pick up the next item.?Before I know it, I'm enjoying the process and moving faster.?Sometimes you just have to start.?Like the man said, "If ya hafta swoller a frog, don't think about it too long."

?Start early. I like to get my workouts out of the way early in the day.?That usually means getting out on the trail by 7:30 or 8am during most of the year.?In the summer however, when it cools down at night to a low of 95?F (34?C), I start at dawn.?In the summer the sun comes up just after 5am, and it's already hot.?I opt for starting early.

For me, starting early can move into the way I take care of my clients.?When I book a project, whether a video, an edit, or directing an event I don't wait to start. Before I receive any materials from the client I'll do research on the company, I'll do a search of the location, read up on the show or the entertainers, whatever I can do get the project started and to embed the client's culture in my head.?It doesn't have to wait.?Client materials will come, the dates will arrive, but that upfront work goes a long way to make me more efficient with the project and more valuable to the client.

Set your own pace. On my morning runs I'm not in competition with anyone but myself, so I set a pace that's reachable.?That doesn't mean it's a pace that's easy and doesn't require some stretching.?My goal with this endeavor was to create a workout that would make me stronger and what I've found is that over time my pace has naturally increased.?Isn't that the way with anything we do??To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson: ?“That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the nature of the thing has changed?but our ability to do it has increased.”

Keep balance, set the pace according to the terrain. Sometimes you can go fast uphill or downhill and it's smooth and easy running.?Other times it can be rocky, up or down, and steep, so you have to adjust your pace accordingly.?I find that on most trails and in life, I move fast or slow depending on the surroundings, but I always keep moving.

?In everything we do we start with a desire and an objective, then as we acquire the experience our knowledge and ability improve.

Sometimes we find ourselves competing against others, and many times we only compete against ourselves, but either way, I like to set a pace that works for me, at my level, and then in the doing my ability improves and the pace becomes more competitive.

Never take your eyes off the trail. On a trail run you're constantly moving, uphill, downhill, the ground is uneven, loose, with cracks, large rock steps, and drops.?On some parts of a trail there may be a consistent surface: flat, smooth...nice.?For most of it however, every step requires a different tactic.?Snake! Leap over that!?Dodge this!?Oops–loose rock! Catch your feet! Step up here...slow down there.?Better walk this stretch.?It's a continuous navigational exercise. There's no room for a distracted look off into the countryside while running.

So my rule for a trail run, and life, is never take your eyes off the trail. You can look ahead at the goal occasionally but keep your eyes on where you're stepping and where your immediate attention is required.?On the trail, if you get distracted and look away, the ground will change under you and your feet will do something you don't want them to do.?If something comes up, an eagle overhead, a family vacation, or other unexpected development, if you must gaze off into the distance, stop for a moment, look in awe at the eagle, enjoy the fishing in Mexico, and then resume the run.

And don't lose sight of your humanity.?Being focused is not the same as being aloof.?Remember to always be friendly to the people you encounter or pass along the way.?One day they may pass you and you might need their help, and besides, it's more fun to be friendly, to say hello, and to greet the dogs and children.

Don't stop to rest. This one may not be for everyone, but I don't stop when I'm on the trail.?If I stop at all it's for a quick photo or to look at something that is interesting, but I never sit down to rest, and I don't hang out when I get to the top of the hill.?I may walk a little slower in places to enjoy the view, catch my breath, or to chat with a passing friend, but I don't stop.?Stopping for me upsets the cadence.?If I stop to rest, I'm telling my body it's time to go into recovery mode and I don't do that until the end of the run, so I keep moving to let it know we're still in the race.?I keep pushing until I reach the goal which is usually to complete the loop and return to the car.?

In life this could be equated to "don't pause in your goal, don't pause in the fight, don't stop to wait for that "other thing" to happen before you continue. I've found that it's easy to make excuses on why taking a next step should wait.?Most of them are bogus and are only created out of fear––usually fear of failure.?(If we don't try, we can't fail...right?)?Except not trying IS failure.?So, when it's time to take that next step, don't stop to rest, keep going and don't lose momentum.?If the next step IS a failure, you'll get to it quicker and the recovery will be faster.

Help others along the way. If I can pass through a place, whether a trail or a life pursuit and leave it a little better than the way I encountered it, that's a win!?It's a win for nature, for anyone I can assist, and a win for me.?Sometimes you have to stop on the trail and pick up some trash, carry out a doggy bag or sometimes just walk alongside somebody that might be struggling. Give them a few words of encouragement and leave them with a smile. It's always good to give back to the trail that is doing so much for you.

We will pass others and we will be passed by others.?Feel no pride in passing, their journey is different from yours.?They may just be starting out, as you did, not so long ago, so no judgement.?

Feel no shame in being passed, their journey is also different.?Let them enjoy their win, revel in it with them and enjoy the success of those that pass you––they may one day become an ally in your run to success.

Be ready to "go with the flow." I considered calling this point "Be prepared" but I think it's more than just that.?Yes!?Be prepared for dehydration, simple injuries, and other things that can "happen to you," but also be prepared in mind and body to be able to do the things required.?This also means the ability to change course as circumstance requires, to abort a direction when it becomes dangerous to continue, and to have the ability to rethink a plan and come up with a new direction when warranted... to "go with the flow."

On the trail if a wind comes up and thunder appears, lightning could be next.?Sometimes you must back away from a plan when new information requires a reevaluation and a change of direction.?That's not giving up.?That's not cowardice––it's wisdom. But check out the next point.

Always get back up. I could title this last one, "Don't fall," but that wouldn't be realistic.?Falls happen.?Try as we might not to fall, we still do.?Whether through the consequences of others' actions, our own decisions, unknown factors, or just dumb luck, we fall.?We fail, we strike out, we lose, we...aren't successful.?What I've learned, and we've all heard this, but it's true: it's not the fall that stops progress; what stops progress is not getting back up.?Which is why my last trail tip is "always get back up."

Getting back up is what sets a champion apart from all others.?The one's that can look failure square in the face and continue onward, those are the winners.?And even if the endeavor in which they are engaged is doomed to fail, due to whatever other factors may be present, the one's that get back up add to their character and their life stories in a way that can result in new knowledge, gained experience and wisdom, and usually becomes a lesson in how to proceed beyond the current failure.

In a field of 8 runners that run the race, do we remember the 6 that ran and just finished??We remember the one that finished first, of course, the record-breaker, the one that came from nothing to first place out of hard work and determination.?But who else do we remember, and who else inspires us the most??It's the 8th runner that fell after the last turn, sustaining an injury with all the reason to just stop, and yet, what does that person do??They get back up, or they crawl, and even if it takes them an hour to do it, they cross the finish line, usually to a standing ovation.?That's the power of getting back up.?They are the ones that write the book, that speak on the circuit, and the ones from whom we learn the most.

Happy Trails There could be many more little metaphors that could be applied here, but you get the idea.?As I work with clients or take on a large project there is an order I follow and techniques I use to get started, stay engaged, and deliver a final product that meets and exceeds all expectations.?

Sometimes all I need to do is apply a little trail wisdom.

Greg King is the President & CEO of King Media Group, an award-winning production company that specializes in creative storytelling through film, media, and events.