Leadership: Setting Goals without the Tricky Treadmills

11.5 seconds. That's about how long it took me to run 100 meters in high school.
55 Seconds. That was a 400 meter (1/4 mile)
6.5 minutes. Could run a mile.
3 miles....? Not a clue. Why would I ever want to run 3 miles?

Fast forward 4 years. I am having the time of my life in Yellowstone National Park. Diet hadn't changed much. I didn't work out every day in college like I did in high school, but climbing giant rocks, going on 20 mile hikes, and walking almost everywhere certainly did have it's perks of keeping me in shape. At age 21, I still could get crazy sunburns from wearing a backpack without a shirt (pictured).

Now let's fast forward another 4 years. Bye bye high metabolism. See ya later college days of ultimate frisbee and flag football. Hello Chick-fil-a sandwiches 5 days a week. Needless to say, I certainly lost a lot of my athleticism and all of a sudden there's a chubby little man standing next to a giant cobra outside of Disneyland's Indiana Jones' ride. Not a good thing. Isn't everyone glad that this picture isn't topless?

After this vacation, I stepped on the scale at home. 199.6. Not the number a 5'8" guy needs to be seeing. Somehow I had managed to put on about 30 pounds in 4 years. It was definitely time for a change. I have sworn to myself to never see 200 pounds on a scale with me on it. And I came 1/2 pound away from doing it.

Huffing and puffing my way to a mile in August, it took me over 16 minutes to run 1.19 miles. I ran it on a treadmill, and thought myself pretty pathetic. I can't really say how accurate treadmills are, but I figured they're close and a lot better option than running outside on a Phoenix summer day. By October, the same distance was taking me 11 minutes - cutting my time by almost a third.

But then the cool fall nights came. Finally a night to run outside. I seized the moment to attempt my goal - running a 5k in under 30 minutes. I ran the same 3.2 mile route 3 nights in a row. My best time was 29 minutes - an average of 9 minutes a mile. So I ran faster, and I did it for longer. I realized what I had always expected - I run faster, and longer outside. But why? On the surface it doesn't make sense -

The treadmill has more shock absorption - less pain.
The treadmill is in an air conditioned room - less fatigue.
The treadmill has a TV with ESPN - more distraction so I can run longer.
There is no wind. There are no hills (at least I rarely did an incline).
The treadmill is the "perfect" environment for running.

But it dawned on me. Every time I ran on a treadmill, I was always running towards the front of the treadmill. That bar with the buttons and fancy screen are right in front of my stomach. I had 6 feet of runway to run on, but I chose the front 2 feet to stay put. Whether I was walking 3 mph, or running 7 mph. It didn't matter. If I upped the speed or pushed it down, I would walk right up next to the bar - as close as I could get.

That bar held me back. That bar was my limit. And that limit is what kept me from achieving what I am truly capable of. It's a mental and physical barrier.

Running outside, there is no bar. You can run as fast as you want, and nothing is stopping you.
Running outside, there is no button. You can't hit "cool down" whenever you feel a little tired.
Running outside, there is no limit. The rest of this endless world cannot stop your feet from moving further.
Running outside, challenges like hills, wind, sidewalks, & cars only enhance your focus and determination. There is no "cool down" button. It's a "I have no choice but to get home, I need to keep running" button.

It really made me question the way that I lead others. As a leader, my goal is to develop people - specifically other leaders. But I suppose I should ask myself how many times I've put that bar on people. I am so proud because I feel like I created this "perfect learning environment" for them. Sure, I may turn their speed from time to time. I might give them an incline every now and then as a token challenge. But the problem is that I need to get them off the treadmill. I need to give them no limits. They're not succeeding because they can't. They're not succeeding because I won't let them. I am keeping them in a box called a gym when their real growth will come in the real world with the hills and bugs and sun.

It would have taken me a lot longer to meet my 5k under 30 minutes had I not gotten off the treadmill. Now that I met that one, I can move on to my next ones - run 5 miles without walking and get down to 185 pounds.

I've got to learn how to better develop people by getting them off the treadmill.