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DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY
CHANGING PATHS WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING IN CIRCLES:
REFLECTIONS OF A RECOVERING ROUTINER
By Tom Terez
This is a story about jogging, but it's mostly about
living.
It's about falling into ruts, but it's mostly about getting out of them.
And it's about me, but it's mostly about you.
My life as a jogger began at my 39th birthday party
three years ago. After inhaling three pieces of scrumptious pistachio cake, and feeling
the painful bloat that greets any fool who consumes 1,800 calories in ten minutes,
I vowed to make some big changes for the good of my health.
The very next morning, I dug out my tennis shoes and hit the road for a fun run through
the neighborhood. At least, I thought it would be fun. It turned out to be the canter
from hell. After 15 minutes of hopeful jogging, I was heaving and quaking with all
the subtlety of an 1890s steam locomotive. Every cell in my body begged me to stop.
But I stuck with my resolution. With advice from a fitness friend, I eased into a
beginning runner's regimen and came to enjoy those morning jogs.
Everything was going great until I hit my first full year of running. Just in time
for my 40th birthday, I came down with a nasty case of plantar fasciitis in my right
foot. The medical description sounds painful ("a partial or complete tear in
the fibrous connective tissue of the bottom of the foot") because it is painful.
The cause? I had been running with worn-out shoes that lacked arch support -- and
neglecting the need to stretch before putting my muscles to serious work.
I skipped my morning runs for the next three months, giving my foot a chance to heal.
And when I finally laced up my new shoes for an inaugural return run, I decided to
skip the hard pavement in favor of a nearby high-school track. The quarter-mile loop
was slightly cushioned, perfect for getting my sensitive foot back into shape.
Over the next few months, I ran lap after lap after lap at that track. I got to know
every quarter inch of its surface. I got to know exactly how the sun would be hitting
the track at certain times of the day. I got to know some of the other runners. The
track became my own little comfort zone.
My foot healed, and I slipped into a routine of running three miles at a time. I'd
thoroughly stretch, then run six laps in one direction, then run six laps in the
other direction, then stretch again, and then go home. This went on every other day
for months, 2,190 laps per year. It got to the point where I could switch myself
onto autopilot and complete the three-mile run with virtually no strain and no mental
effort whatsover. I had reached a plateau, apparently content to spend the rest of
my life looping my away around that cushioned track.
The fact is, my comfort zone had turned into a quarter-mile rut. It dawned on me
one bright morning when I started thinking again and realized that my endurance hadn't
improved one whit over the past six months. I had been going around in circles literally
and figuratively -- engaging in action but making no meaningful progress.
On the third lap that day, I decided to ditch the track and head out onto the streets.
But on the fourth lap, I began to reconsider, worrying that the hard pavement would
re-injure my foot. On the fifth lap, I convinced myself that my foot would be fine.
But on the sixth lap, I began to wonder whether my running shoes were new enough
to handle a harder surface.
Then came the seventh lap, and finally, I yanked myself from the track's gravitational
pull. I jogged up one street, down another, and up a third. I saw new people and
said hello. I laughed when running past a front lawn jammed with 40 pink flamingos
in teasing honor of someone's 40th birthday. I made a mental note of a sign advertising
an upcoming town festival. I headed for a nearby farm and ran along an adjacent road
to see peacefully grazing cows.
Without the built-in lap-counting of the quarter-mile loop, I lost track of time
and distance. My watch said that I had been running for 50 minutes -- about 20 minutes
longer than usual. But the time had flown by. What was going on here? I kept running
for 10 more easy minutes, and by the time I reached home, I was downright refreshed
and completely befuddled. How could a run that was twice as long as usual be twice
as enjoyable?
I've had plenty of time to think about it now that I've nearly doubled my running
regimen. What's clear is that a routine can easily turn into a rut -- and a rut can
shut down our thinking, close us off to the rest of the world, constrain our actions,
and keep us far short of our potential. And it can happen so easily. Those leisurely
loops around the track convinced me that I was doing myself good, and I was. But
they had a lulling effect that made me too satisfied with the status quo and too
comfortable with mediocrity. Now that I'm taking different paths, I'm having more
fun and getting more benefits.
All of this applies to our routines at work. Try taking your own different path and
see what happens.
Let's say you start every workday by opening and answering e-mail. Change the routine.
Leave the e-mail for later in the day, and start with an activity that links to the
absolute core of your mission. Or let's say you have a habit of calling customers
each week to check in and get feedback. That's great, but raise your standard by
replacing the calls with face-to-face visits. Perhaps you lead regular staff meetings
that are marked by rut-like repetition. Scrap the old routine and try something completely
different. If you're the one who always sets the agenda, invite others to add their
own agenda items. If you tend to do all the talking, try holding back while getting
round-robin input from everyone. If you always meet at the same place and time, pick
a different location and time slot.
Of course, there are reasons not to do this. You might never get to the e-mail if
you leave it for later in the day. Those customers might feel put out. The meeting
participants might quietly com- plain about a new format and location. But you'll
never know all the benefits, or your additional abilities, unless you take a deep
breath and break away from your well-worn path.
One thing's for sure: It's a lot better than running in circles.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tom Terez is the founder of InnerBest.com, BetterWorkplaceNow.com,
and TomTerez.com. His talks and workshops are all about helping individuals
and organizations achieve their very best. Click here to send Tom a note.
Copyright 2005 Tom Terez.
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