Hi, Have you ever heard of the "Marathon Monks" of central Japan? Lived there for many years worked for NTT as consultant for bell labs' Lucent Tech now Nokia. If you haven't, you're in for one crazy story (and two lessons I'll be sharing right after)... So, in central Japan on a mountain top called Mt. Hiei, there's this group of monks called the 'Tendai Buddhist Monks'. And these monks believe that extreme self–denial and physical exertion leads to enlightenment... So for hundreds of years, they have been running a marathon challenge called the "Kaihogyo" (which literally means in Japanese: "circling the mountain")... But this isn't like any marathon challenge you've EVER heard of. It's a 1,000 day challenge that takes place over 7 years... And if you fail the challenge - you actually have to end your own life ( at especial forest for that) . Yes. It's that serious. Here's what awaits monks that accept this challenge: Year 1: Run 30 km per day (about 18 miles) for 100 straight days. Year 2: Run 30 km per day for 100 straight days. Year 3: Run 30 km per day for 100 straight days. Year 4: Run 30 km per day for 200 straight days. Year 5: Run 30 km per day for 200 straight days. After completing the fifth year of running, the monk must go for 9 straight days without any food, water, or rest. (Two monks actually stand beside him and watch him so he doesn't fall asleep). Year 6: Run 60 km (about 37 miles) per day for 100 straight days. Year 7: Run 84 km (about 52 miles) per day for 100 straight days. And then, for the final 100 days of year 7, he must run another 30 km per day. This amount of running is actually insane, and is the equivalent of running around the entire Earth! But there is one part of the challenge that makes The Kaihogyo unlike anything else ever… Do you know what it is? The monk can quit The Kaihogyo for the first 100 days. But from Day 101 onwards, there is no quitting... The monk will either successfully complete EVERY SINGLE DAY of the Kaihogyo … or take his own life. No second chances... So when these monks go running - they actually carry a length of rope and a small sword at all times on their journey. Just in case... And in the last 400+ years, only 46 have actually completed this challenge. 3 Lessons on Mental Toughness and CommitmentThe mental toughness
of the Marathon Monks is incredible and their feats are unlike most
challenges that you and I will face. But, there are still many lessons
we can learn from them. 1. “Complete or Kill.” The Marathon Monks are an extreme version of the “complete or kill”
mentality. But you can take the same approach to your goals, projects,
and work. If something is important to you, complete it. If not, kill it. If you’re anything like me, then you probably have a bunch of
half–finished, half–completed projects and ideas. You don’t need all of
those loose ends. Either something is important enough to you to complete, or it’s time
to kill it. Fill your life with goals that are worth finishing and eliminate the rest. 2. If you commit to nothing, you’re distracted by everything. Most of us never face a challenge with the true possibility of death,
but we can learn a lot from the monk’s sense of commitment and
conviction. They have clarified exactly what they are working toward and
for seven years they organize their life around the goal of completing
the Kaihogyo. Every possible distraction is rendered unimportant. Do you think the monks get distracted by TV, movies, the internet,
celebrity gossip, or any of the other things that we so often waste time
on? Of course not. If you choose, you can make a similar decision in your life. Sure,
your daily goals may not carry the same sense of urgency as the
Kaihogyo, but that doesn’t mean you can’t approach them with the same
sense of conviction. We all have things that we say are important to us. You might say
that you want to lose weight or be a better parent or create work that
matters or build a successful business or write a book — but do you make
time for these goals above all else? Do your organize your day around
accomplishing them? If you commit to nothing, then you’ll find that it’s easy to be distracted by everything.
3. It doesn’t matter how long your goal will take, just get started.
On Day 101, the Tendai monks are thousands of miles and 900 days from
their goal. They are setting out on a journey that is so long and so
arduous that it’s almost impossible for you and I to imagine. And yet,
they still accept the full challenge. Day after day, year after year,
they work. And seven years later, they finish. Don’t let the length of your goals prevent you from starting on them. Never give up on a dream just because of the length of time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.
—H. Jackson Brown
What Makes You Different From the Marathon MonksThere is one very fortunate difference between you and the Tendai monks. You won’t die if you don’t reach your goal! In the words of Seth Godin, you literally have the “privilege of being wrong.” You won’t die if you fail, you’ll only learn. Furthermore, you can always change your mind. If you commit to a
goal, work on it for a year, and decide that this isn’t actually what
you wanted … guess what? You’re free to choose something else.
This should take a burden off of your shoulders! You don’t have to
worry about committing to the right thing. If you’re debating between
choices, just choose one. You can always adjust later on.
You have the opportunity to choose a goal that is important to you
and the privilege of failing with very little consequence. Don’t waste
that privilege. Where to Go From HereThe biggest lesson that the Tendai monks offer for everyday people like you and me is the lesson of commitment and conviction. Imagine the sense of commitment that the monk feels on Day 101.
Imagine what it feels like to embrace the final 900 days of that
challenge. Imagine what it feels like to accept a goal that is so
important to you that you tell yourself, “I’m going to finish this or I
will die trying.” If you have something that is important to you, then eliminate the
unrelated and unimportant tasks, get started no matter how big the
challenge, and commit to your goal.
Every big challenge has a turning point. Today could be your Day 101. Today could be your Day of Commitment.
Now, what does all that, have to do with you? Well, if you want to KILL your procrastination for good - here are two lessons we can learn from these Marathon Monks. A Task Expands Into The Size Of Its Deadline "Hey, go run 36,000 kilometers, good luck." If this was what the Marathon Monks were told on Day 1 - how many people would actually start the challenge, and complete it within just 7 years? Probably no one. So Marathon Monks don't approach the Kaihogyo like this, they approach it in bite sizes. They make non negotiable daily deadlines. And that's what you should do too. Many people set a goal for themselves but only reevaluate at the end of the year. They make a goal in January, and then in December they ask themselves: "Did I hit my goal?" Instead of doing this, break what you want to do into daily pieces. This way, you'll very quickly know if you're on track or not. And this way, you're actually training your mind to get something done within a time period. And the second part to this is... Set 'Do Or Die' Deadlines Marathon Monks take what they have to do seriously. And if they don't get done what they say they're going to get done in the day… ...they have pretty devastating consequences... Now, you don't have to carry a knife with you to work to make sure you finish a project. But you can give yourself consequences for not finishing things on time... For example: "If I don't finish X by 6 PM, I have to do 20 pushups." "If I don't finish X by 6 PM, I have to tell my friend that was keeping me accountable that I failed." "Or if I don't finish X by 6 PM, I have to give my friend 100 bucks." Whatever it is you decide for consequences, they need to be more painful than procrastinating. We usually procrastinate because we think it's LESS painful to procrastinate. But when the consequences of procrastination are even MORE painful than getting it done - then it's a LOT easier to do. Keep going... And remember: Kill procrastination, or procrastination will kill you. Joao
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