Back at the beginning of February, when we determined ~ 90 Days remained until we were debt free, I decided to set a secondary goal for myself. You see, I was feeling a bit sluggish from the holiday season even though I spent a good amount of time with Jillian in January.
So I decided to run 50 miles in February. It was a realistic goal even though I hadn’t run consistently since October. And thankfully even with a full 8 consecutive days out with bronchitis, I met that goal. In March, I’ve stepped things up again and am reaching toward a goal of running 70 miles (so far I’ve knocked out 50.5 miles and I have 9 days left to snag the last 19.5). All of my runs have been small; none have exceeded 6 miles. In April, I’m aiming for 80 miles. Which hopefully will mean that by the time we’re debt free, I will have added 200 miles to my running shoes (guess what one of my first debt free savings goals will be).
Anyway, since I’ve spent a lot of time running lately, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the similarities between paying off debt and pursuing running as a form of exercise.
1) It’s never too late to start. I didn’t start running until I was in my late 20s/early 30s. And honestly, it was something that I didn’t think that I could do. I cried when I crossed the finish line from my first mini marathon because I really didn’t know if I had it in me. Most of us are never too far gone, without the skills or ability, to put one foot in front of the other to run (or at least walk). Obviously check with a doctor before you begin any exercise program. I’m not a medical professional. But I think that many of us approach paying off debt the same way. Thoughts of “I could never do that.” “It’s just too hard.” “The total is insurmountable.” float through our heads. So we never even begin. We don’t even try.
2) You have to fix your eyes on something in the distance. When I’m running, I’m always looking ahead (and occasionally at my feet because I don’t want to wipe out on a sidewalk crack). I tend to find a focal point and visualize myself passing that goal line. I know it’s kind of stupid but it really does help. Sometimes my competitive nature slips in and I try to pass my mini finish line by the end of my song. With debt there’s obviously the big finish line looming 39 days from now for us. But there have been several mini finish lines before that one. We’ve celebrated several of them in a number of ways.
3) If you quit to walk, you’ll probably walk the rest of the way. If I stop even for a second to catch my breath, I’m going to end up walking home. I can slow my pace, but if I come to a complete walk or stop, I won’t finish my run. If you quit paying off debt, the odds of you starting back up again become slimmer. You might need to occasionally shift your focus. i.e. A car breaks down and you have to repair it and then rebuild your $1000 emergency fund. But if you stop completely, you’re probably not going to pick things up again (or at least it will be a very long time). Just keep moving even if the pace is slower than you’d like to run.
I have a few more observations but I’ll give it a break for today and continue them tomorrow (yes, paying off debt and running both require a shower and a good stretch, too).
39 Days Remain. We can do this thing.
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