I know what I want when I start a marathon: to win! But what do you want? Make sure you're clear in advance and don't go out too fast.
Haile GebrselassieRead
I will always listen to my coaches. But first I listen to my body. If what they tell me suits my body, great. If my body doesn't feel good with what they say, then always my body comes first.
Interpretation
Prioritizing your own well-being over external advice is crucial for success.
Haile Gebrselassie's quote emphasizes the importance of listening to one's own body and instincts in the context of coaching and advice. While it is valuable to seek guidance from coaches, ultimately one's health and personal experience should take precedence, as they can provide critical insight into what is best for individual performance and well-being.
In practice
In a motivational speech about athletes prioritizing self-care.
I know what I want when I start a marathon: to win! But what do you want? Make sure you're clear in advance and don't go out too fast.
You must do as your people do. If my people are poor, I must be poor. People ask me, 'Why don't you find a personal coach or a private car?' I can't. Then I won't be part of my people.
You know the marathon in my country is just exceptional. It's like soccer in England. If England win the world cup and Ethiopia win the marathon - it's the same.
Once you have commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there.
The marathon always starts after 30K. That's where the problems start. You start without any problems, without any pain. All the pain comes after 30K. Sometimes, it's possible to have pain even in the finger.
First, do enough training. Then believe in yourself and say: I can do it. Tomorrow is my day. And then say: the person in front of me, he is just a human being as well; he has two legs, I have two legs, that is all. That is mentally how you prepare.
When I came to New York in 1978, I was a full-time school teacher and track runner, and determined to retire from competitive running. But winning the New York City Marathon kept me running for another decade.
Expect the best; convert problems into opportunities; be dissatisfied with the status quo; focus on where you want to go, instead of where you're coming from; and most importantly, decide to be happy, knowing it's an attitude, a habit gained from daily practice, and not a result or payoff.
People think retiring is fun. Well, maybe, but if you have a certain kind of fire inside, there is no end in sight.
I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that's how you grow.
Now, everything I do, I do because I want to. And I believe the best is yet to come.
I constantly felt (as I suppose many an ambitious girl has felt) a thumping from within unanswered by any beckoning from without.
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