FEATURE STORY
GOBI DESERT
Most of us don’ t make bold decisions until we are pushed to the wall.
After the severe economic crash of October 2008, I had to find
a project to regain my health physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Ideally, I would support the community around me, which was also struggling with the same challenges. I was seeking a breakthrough and zeroed in on a project well outside my comfort zone: attempting to finish the 2009 Gobi Desert Ultra-Marathon in China. So just like that, I started running.
I had never run a marathon before. This race involved running six marathons in five days in some of the world’ s least hospitable terrain as part of a small team, carrying all our food and survival supplies on our backs. The desert was my metaphor for what all unemployed people might be facing— loneliness and humility with no end in sight, albeit living in a world of insights to uncover if I could just live in the moment.
Five months later, I anxiously showed up at the starting line. My hypothesis was that if I could complete this journey, it would get me in the best shape of my life, transform my level of emotional resilience, and raise funds to help some of the 300,000 Canadians who had just lost their jobs, a cause dear to me given my job as CEO of a headhunting and career transition firm.
I returned stronger and more spirited, fitter than I had been in twenty-five years, and having exceeded my fundraising goals. What was originally an idea to achieve my own breakthrough turned into a book( Gobi Runner), a TEDx Talk that I’ ve since presented in fifteen countries, and a humanitarian award. Most important, I continued to share my Gobi story to encourage others to pursue their own dreams and“ just go for it.” Below, I deconstruct thirteen defining moments that may help you step out of your own comfort zone in 2017. In effect, I challenge you to find your own Gobi.
1. CHOOSE UNREASONABLENESS Life hands all of us opportunities yet we perceive most of them as outside our comfort zone. As we age, it becomes even more difficult to take advantage of these possibilities as our risk tolerance decreases and our decision making hovers between protecting ourselves and avoiding the sting of potential failure. When faced with that opportunity next time, however, try being unreasonable.
When the Gobi project first presented itself, my immediate response was,“ I have no experience!” And even if I thought I could run that far, I didn’ t have enough time to get ready. I had so many reasons not to do it. Once I told myself to be unreasonable, however, my thought process completely changed. From that point on, I stopped listening to the negative voices and decided to move forward.
Reasonableness is a standard by which we make most decisions. Being unreasonable gives us the option of playing to win while expanding our comfort zone to what is possible. Try listing an unreasonable goal and then think of all the reasons to succeed and avoid failure.
2. MAKE YOUR GOAL A PROMISE When faced with a challenge, wanting to overcome it is a great start towards meeting it head on. The next and more difficult step is committing to that want. We have a way of falling short of private goals we have set for ourselves, turning our goals into little more than good intentions. As the initial excitement wears off, we can become apathetic and less willing to“ just go for it.” By then, we may have tuned into our own self-doubt, highlighting all the risks and reasons why not to do something. Ultimately, we give in to hesitation and our minds rationalize the decision.
When I first shared my decision to run the Gobi, I heard a few dissonant voices, but overall I was greeted with support and encouragement. Making such a public statement was, in effect, a declaration— the highest form of promise. For most people, giving their word still means something and breaking a promise is unacceptable. In setting tough goals, appoint someone as your own accountability partner to whom you will regularly report your progress. Not only will having an accountability partner help you succeed, but it will also allow for useful feedback and support should you veer off course.
3. THINK BIG, ONE SMALL STEP AT A TIME Projects often loom larger than they really are. Often, we get overwhelmed by what needs to be done, bury our heads, and do nothing at all. This isn’ t because we don’ t want to work out a solution; rather, it’ s because we can’ t figure out where to start. What we need to do is break down the problem into bite-size chunks.
When I left the starting line in the Gobi, I wasn’ t thinking about how I was going to run six marathons in five days. I focused on one race at a time. When that got to be too much, I thought about making it to the next ten-kilometer checkpoint, then to just the next flag. When I had no steam left, I concentrated on taking just one more step. To avoid being overwhelmed when you face your next >
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