Hello,
Welcome.
My name is Lew Redman.
Thank you so much for listening.
A few years ago,
I got serious about running.
While I was always a runner,
I never trained for a race.
That changed in 2023 when I ran the Philadelphia Marathon.
The experience was more rewarding than I imagined.
During the race,
There was a moment of complete absorption.
It was as if time slowed and my body moved effortlessly.
I was hooked.
Like any skill or art,
The more you do it,
The better you get.
The more I ran,
The more these moments of flow occurred.
I was excited to see where my running could ascend to.
That was until May 2024 when a case of Achilles tendonitis took me out of running for six months.
It was sad to see all my progress come to a halt.
But in my experience of challenges,
They take you a step back so that you can go two steps forward.
I rehabbed my Achilles stronger than it's ever been.
After six months off,
It was time to run again.
When I moved to Eugene,
Oregon,
I set a goal to run the Eugene Marathon at the end of April.
The first weeks back sucked.
My paces were down,
My heart rate was up,
And miles that once went by in a breeze became a slog.
It was humbling to be so out of shape.
I fought through moments of,
Why am I doing this?
Luckily,
I knew that getting back to where I was would be a process.
I adopted the Navy Seal mantra to embrace the suck.
I kept slogging through exhaustive runs for a month and then,
On a Saturday long run,
It clicked.
That feeling of flow and absorption was back.
It felt so good.
It makes me wonder how many people give up before receiving the fruits of their efforts,
Whether in athletics,
Art,
Parenting,
Or starting a new business.
Anything worthwhile takes patience,
Persistence,
And overcoming setbacks.
Weeks,
Months,
Maybe even years go by where there is nothing working.
It feels like a slog.
You question yourself constantly.
You face failure after failure.
If you do this long enough,
A day comes when it clicks.
Your running feels effortless.
You paint the colors exactly as you envisioned.
You witness your child turn into a mature young adult.
And if you are starting a business,
Maybe it's your email sequence brings in a new client,
Your group program sells out,
You get asked to speak to a community that lights you up.
Art,
Family,
Or business,
These moments are precious.
However,
They are not possible without moving through the hard parts.
Embrace the suck may be an out-of-touch mantra for us meditators,
But just as we can allow Sarah Blondin to burst our hearts into tears,
We could also use some David Goggins energy now and again.
Like running a marathon,
You want growing a family or a business to be hard.
If it were easy,
It wouldn't be half as rewarding.
So wherever you're at on your journey,
Whether you're just starting or fumbling your way through,
Keep running,
Keep creating,
Keep showing up to your work even when it's not getting anywhere.
Embrace the suck.
Embrace the hard.
One day it will click or click again and you'll know how worth it it was.
I am rooting for you so much.
Whatever you're pursuing,
Whatever you're working on,
Know that I am sending you so,
So much love and cheering you from the interwebs.
If you are feeling sluggish in your life or your work right now,
My Insight Timer course,
Five Principles to Build Confidence,
Create Momentum,
And Activate Your Soul's Work may be the boost of motivation you need.
Go check it out in the courses tab and I hope it gives you that momentum to create and get out there,
To stay in the game,
To embrace the hard,
To embrace the suck,
And continue moving forward on your journey.
Lots of love and chat soon.
