I have always admired athletes of long distance sports (e.g. running/ swimming marathons, cross-country runners, pentathlon). Well, I admire athletes on a whole but admire those who take part in long distance sports or those that require a very high endurance; especially the athletes who came back from major injuries. "Why?" most would ask. What makes such athletes different from the rest? Well, all (good) athletes would first require discipline. It takes a lot to become a good athlete and the most basic is discipline. No drinking, no junk food, getting to training on time, etc. All this require discipline which also requires a certain amount of determination. However, in long distance (or high endurance) sports, an athlete would require more determination as well as perseverance and patience.
One thing I realised from countless training (and seeing others exercising to lose weight), it is easier to train for power than it is for stamina. If you really want to train for stamina, you must be able to endure lots of pain and aches but still go on. Imagine running after a bus for 1 bus stop (700 meters) and compare it to running after that bus for 8 bus stops (5600 meters). By the time you reach the 3rd bus stop you would probably be suffering from stitch, feeling breathless, tired and the strains on your muscles. What makes some people stop at the 3rd bus stop and others to go on until they catch the bus at the 8th bus stop? You guessed it, determination. What are the odds of catching the bus if you have a 40 kg load on your back?
In this case, you would also require perseverance.
And why do you require patience, you ask. Patience, all athletes would require some of it. One thing I noted is that the results of stamina training, more often than not, shows much more slowly than that of power training. It is very easy to build up muscles and gain power (more easy to build up the muscles though) but much patience is required in training for stamina. One can get weary and drop out easily. If you were getting back from a major injury it would take you at least 2 times more determination and training time than when you initially started training (without injuries). You will just drop dead without perseverance and can get impatient very easily. Do not try it.
Throughout life, we go through many situations which resemble marathons. Some of them can be shorter than others. Sometimes we carry a load with us - responsibilities, maybe? These loads in life can really weigh down on us (if we let them). Even a 5 kg load and feel like it is 500 tonnes! When that happens, we can choose to let go, give up or carry on. It might be good to let go, or give up or go on depending on the timing and circumstances. Most importantly, it depends on yourself. The same goes for hope. You can choose to see it. Even in the darkest hour, you might catch a glimpse of it if you searched hard enough. You might be required to fight for it or even create it yourself. Hope can fuel perseverance too. All in all, it is the experience that counts. Learn from them and (hopefully) become wiser.
