Hi Kana,
One of the great gifts of hosting Life Examined is that I get to speak with the most brilliant minds about how to lead a fulfilling life. Most recently, I chatted with the writer Brad Stulberg, who has spent a decade researching, reporting, and writing about sustainable excellence.
The reason his writing struck such a personal chord with me is because in 2022 I completed my first Ironman triathlon — an audacious undertaking for me. The lessons I learned in crossing the finish line dovetailed almost perfectly with what he writes about. For those unfamiliar with the event, it’s a 2.4-mile swim, a-112 mile bike, and a 26.2-mile run. You can read more about my experience here.
My hope is that sharing a few of Stulberg’s ideas, accompanied with my firsthand experiences, will provide some helpful tips for achieving YOUR goals in 2023. So, here we go:
Stulberg rule #1: Outcomes matter, but you've got to enjoy the process if you are to have meaningful longevity.
In total, I logged thousands of hours in training over a single year to prepare for the Ironman. And yet, the race itself took me 13 hours total. In other words, to achieve something big, the VAST majority of your time will be spent training/working/studying/etc. That’s the real journey. The race is just a fleeting experience. So you’ve gotta enjoy the process of whatever you’re trying to accomplish. Or, as my coach, Matt Ison once told me: “The only people who stick with triathlons are those who love the training.” He’s right.
Stulberg rule #2: Community is everything. Nobody reaches the top alone. The people around you shape you. Surround yourself wisely.
Not following this rule was perhaps my biggest mistake. Like a good American, I thought I could go it alone. The result was bouts of punishing burnout and loneliness. And yet whenever I did meet up with a swim group, or go for a bike ride with friends, I was happier, stronger, and more content. If I ever do an Ironman again, the first thing I’ll ask myself is: how can I accomplish this with a community that shares the same goal?
Stulberg rule #3: Consistency is way more important than intensity.
I don’t know about you, but growing up as a competitive athlete in the US, I was taught to be a warrior, to always go 100%, to “leave it all on the field.” It’s an appealing ethos, and one we see all around us. But, in my experience, it was not a helpful mentality in completing an Ironman. More than anything, what I had to do was learn to slow down. Some of the most compelling science in endurance sports is the 80-20 model: 80% of your training should be chill, low-intensity work, and only 20% should be high-intensity. My early error was flipping these numbers around, and in the process, injuring myself. For big goals, it is better to be the tortoise than the hare.
I hope these three rules are helpful as you plan for 2023!
Good luck,
Jonathan Bastian
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