Last week I decided to get back into shape in the form of running. This wasn’t something I planned to just do for a week or month and let it fizzle out after some time.
I decided this is something I would do for the rest of my life.
I started slow and set a goal last week to be able to run one mile in less than 10 minutes without stopping.
I figured this was a really easy goal to help ease me into my decision to become a runner. Keep in mind I’m really out of shape so it did require some work.
The first day I only made it .35 miles before I had to stop. By the end of the week (on Saturday) I was able to reach my goal. I made it to the one mile mark without stopping in 9:07 minutes.
There’s a lot of principles I could pull out of this experience, particularly regarding goal setting. And someday I just might. But, today I want to share with you what happened today.
I only had 15 minutes before I had to leave work to pick you up from school. I knew if I didn’t go run right then I probably wouldn’t get out for a run that day. So, I jumped up immediately and went and ran.
I ran a quick mile that I now knew I could do in less than 10 minutes with 5 minutes to cool down.
Keep in mind my new goal is to run two 10-minute miles without stopping. I knew I didn’t have time to run two miles. I made my mile in 8 minutes and was able to go even a little further with time to cool down.
I didn’t make it two miles. But I did run today and it’s better to do something imperfectly than to not do it at all.
Next time you consider not doing something because you’re worried you won’t do it perfectly, remember that it’s better to do something imperfectly than to not do it at all.
I have a feeling that I’m going to reach my two mile mark faster because I ran today than I would if I didn’t. You will get better at what you’re doing if you do it imperfectly than if you don’t do it at all.
Do your best work. But, don’t let that get in the way of shipping your work, even your imperfect work. Done is better than perfect.