You Don't Need to Run the Race to Get a Gold Medal - Three Tricks to Seeing the Bigger Picture and Accomplishing Your Goal

A friend, Alex, sends you an email that he is running in a race to support a cherished charity - one that supports research for a cause near and dear to his heart.  You gladly click-through, read his story, and send a donation. 

Three weeks later, you learn that Alex is seeing a doctor to help with a mild foot injury as a result of his training.  He works with a physical therapist and gets back to his running, although the therapist suggests he will not be ready to run on race day.  Alex completes the race, albeit a bit slowly, relieved and hurting.  He has hurt his foot even more and now needs surgery.  Ouch.  

Let's take a closer look at what happened here.  Alex had it in his head that he was going to complete the race to raise money for an important cause.  He got hurt.  What did Alex do?  He got hurt, then "tweaked" his actions by looking for a solution to his foot problem.  

What if your friend had re-evaluated his situation when he was hurt the first time?  What were his choices at the time?  How did Alex's thinking or inertia limit his choices?

In business and in life, we often find ourselves getting a result with which we aren't satisfied.  What's our "go to"?  Our "go to" is spending time looking at our actions and then taking a different action.  

Instead... What If...

We look at the bigger picture?  Take a look at our objective and our newest information and determine what action to take - which could be in an entirely different direction from the action we started with.

1.  Stop!  (and Think!)

Our tendency is to keep moving, which means we don't stop and think.  We want to get to the finish line, so we keep moving forward instead of reassessing our (new) situation.  It's important to remember that our "failure" provides us with new information.  Let's stop, breathe, and use this new information to consider our options.  Our friend may not be destined to be a runner (maybe a swimmer instead?)  Did he have other options to reach his goal?

2.  Keep the Goal In Mind

If the goal is to raise money for the charity, Alex does not necessarily have to run the race.  If his goal is to raise money, perhaps his next best move is to listen to the doctors and go about it a different way.  Maybe an email out to

his supporters with a picture of his bandaged foot and a impassioned note for charitable donations would yield even greater results!  If Alex's goal is to get in shape, perhaps swimming would be his next move.  

3.  Move From a Position of Strength

Dwelling on the failure will not help your friend move forward.  Of course Alex needs to take care of his foot. While going to PT will take time, Alex can spend the time he had set aside for training to fundraise and feel good about the cause he is supporting.  Or if he is trying to get fit, maybe finding a master swim class that's compatible with his therapy will fit the bill.

Whatever your goal, you will start down a certain path. If that path doesn't lead you to the result you want, stop and reassess your situation, keep the ultimate goal in mind, and move from a position of strength.  

Said another way:  Instead of "tweaking" the action, "tweak" the observer.  

There are many ways to win the race. Don't let inertia or your initial path keep you from your gold medal.  

Photo credit:  Hot Pink Bandage Week Two, Stacey, Flickr