Reboot part 3 : The Beginning
When did my Reboot process start?
I would have to say that my marathon journey has certainly played a key role in the preparation for my Reboot journey and also my running experience and learnings have certainly helped to sustain my first 6 months in my new job.
I was 49 and perhaps at the height of my “mid-life crisis" then. I contemplated of what to do with my life, a new hobby perhaps? Marathon craze was just starting then and I finally succumbed to my friend Jerry Ng’s persistence that I should try marathon running. I applied for the New York marathon lottery thinking that if I did not get in then I am not destined to run marathons after all. But I was lucky to win the lottery and that was the start and beginning of my journey.
It is said that life is a marathon, and I can only agree having found many similarities and analogies between my marathon journey and my work/career journey.
Being a self proclaimed athlete, at first I honestly thought what’s so difficult about running? Only after 1 year of running on my own, it became clear that I had so much to learn : running form (centered, balanced and efficient) strides and running cadence, running drills, strength training, tempo runs, intervals and long runs, not withstanding how to overcome set backs to injuries. Now coming to Sampoerna and starting a new job and career at this huge and complex company? New people, systems, processes, ways of working, culture, politics? Learning how to run, learning a new skill again late in my stage of life has helped me to have the same mindset and prepare for learning in my new job and career.
Running the marathon itself is usually not the problem, the hype, excitement and spectators along the way to encourage you is a big boost to your morale and spirits and makes marathon a memorable and addictive hobby. But training for the marathon probably is the hardest thing. Day in day out, 5-6 days of disciplined training and increased workload. There are often days when you just don’t want to do train and run. Your mind says not today, but you just have to run even when you don’t feel like it. Mind over matter? Similarly early in my days in my new career, when there was just so much to learn and more downs than ups sometimes you just don’t feel like going to work. Every day of training is character building and the a small achievements is something to feel good about and to build upon. Similarly every day of working makes you better and is a reason to be grateful for the learnings and experiences to come.
Having a coach certainly helped. My coach Sandeep Bhandarkar showed me the way. It was also a new way of learning as he was in Mumbai, technology certainly is an enabler. Having an expert advice from a coach certainly has helped me not only how to run and train but more importantly to set higher goals for myself, after all in marathon you are competing against yourself. Being part of a community of runners also helps. Running together is a great motivator and a way of making new friends and discovering old friends and connections. Needless to say, early on in Sampoerna I also reached out to find mentors and coaches to help me navigate the company.
There are other benefits I also felt as a result of my marathon training. Running in the morning became my “me-time”, time to think about the day ahead, what to do, to meditate and think through issues. Feeling healthy and fit is a great feeling for any middle aged person and yes I feel good after running 20km in a mid week morning. We do need to have our “me time” and “self care” to keep sane in running in the gridiron’s of life. But perhaps the biggest bonus for me was about 2 years ago, when my wife (tired of my early sleep and early rises) decided that she wanted to run a marathon too, so we have been training together most days and she finally completed her first marathon in Berlin last September.
I am grateful for my marathon journey and how it has helped me in my daily work. My regrets? Not starting earlier and younger. There is just so much a 50+ old body can sustain but let’s see how far I can go. Tokyo March 2019 is next.
The original article was published in LinkedIn by Johannes Wardhana: Link