Have you ever wondered how the smallest steps could lead you down a path of extraordinary transformation?
My metamorphosis from panting through a single mile to crossing the finish line at 25 half marathons is a testament to the power of incremental goals. In the heart of The MindBody Project, I, Aaron Degler, take you through this personal odyssey, sharing a wealth of lessons on perseverance and the unexpected joys of joining the vibrant tapestry that is the running community. Each stride tells a unique tale, and as we lace up together, we'll unearth how embracing those at our pace can shift our perspective and propel us forward in every race of life.
As we navigate through the chapters of this episode, we uncover the universal thread of continuous growth. Whether refining your run, elevating your professional drive, or nurturing relationships, continuous self-improvement is within your reach. I'll guide you through the power of learning from the best, the courage to step into new 'corrals', and the importance of adapting along the way.
As we wrap up, I extend a cordial invitation to join the conversation beyond the podcast—connect with me on my website and social media, where our collective strides towards betterment continue. Your support through ratings and reviews fuels our journey together, ensuring the story of The MindBody Project is one we keep writing with every step we take.
Have you ever wondered how the smallest steps could lead you down a path of extraordinary transformation?
My metamorphosis from panting through a single mile to crossing the finish line at 25 half marathons is a testament to the power of incremental goals. In the heart of The MindBody Project, I, Aaron Degler, take you through this personal odyssey, sharing a wealth of lessons on perseverance and the unexpected joys of joining the vibrant tapestry that is the running community. Each stride tells a unique tale, and as we lace up together, we'll unearth how embracing those at our pace can shift our perspective and propel us forward in every race of life.
As we navigate through the chapters of this episode, we uncover the universal thread of continuous growth. Whether refining your run, elevating your professional drive, or nurturing relationships, continuous self-improvement is within your reach. I'll guide you through the power of learning from the best, the courage to step into new 'corrals', and the importance of adapting along the way.
As we wrap up, I extend a cordial invitation to join the conversation beyond the podcast—connect with me on my website and social media, where our collective strides towards betterment continue. Your support through ratings and reviews fuels our journey together, ensuring the story of The MindBody Project is one we keep writing with every step we take.
Welcome to the MindBody Project podcast. After over a decade in the health and wellness industry, erin realized that our bodies change only short-term, unless our mindset changes for long-term success.
Speaker 1:Both our mind and body are forever linked. We are continually building up new ideas and tearing down old ones in our construction zone. We call our mind. After this podcast is over, make sure you give it a like and a share, and please subscribe and review this podcast. I would now like to introduce you to your host, the man connecting your mind and body to create a limitless life Erin Zegler.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to the MindBody Project. Thanks for taking the time to join me today. Over the last 16 years 17 years I've ran. I didn't start running until about 17 years ago. I ran my first mile ever. I started out at a quarter mile. Then thought I can do a quarter mile so I did a half mile. I did a half mile so that I can do it a little further, so got my first mile in ever to run in my entire life at the age of my early 30s. And from there I just became like I wanted to do more. Okay, if I did a mile, can I do two, do a three. And that turned into can I do a half marathon? 13.1 miles, and I did one. And I think I can do it a little bit different, a little bit better. So I did another one and I did another one. We fast forward in between obstacle races and road races. I've done well over 20, probably close to 25 half marathons. I only couldn't even run a mile 16, 17 years ago. Just recently I just finished my 15th or 16th road half marathon. In other words, it wasn't obstacles or anything, it was just straight out on the road.
Speaker 2:And if you've ever done a half marathon or if you haven't. Typically when you sign up, you sign up and you put your time, your estimated mile, how long it's going to take you to run a mile, and so then then, depending on how big the race is, they'll assign you to a corral based on your speed, and typically you know I'll put that in there and this time a little slower, so I put in a little slower pace, got in a corral I think it was corral six. So I get in corral six and I'm getting ready for the event. And you know, when you're that far back, the race starts at seven o'clock. It's going to take a little time before you just get to the start line because I have to let corral one go, corral two go, so it takes a while. This race had, you know, probably close to oh, seven, eight thousand people at it. So it was a big race, big event, and it takes time to get to the start line.
Speaker 2:And so I'm looking around my corral and I'm thinking you know the kind of, you know it kind of all looked like me. You know, we're probably going to do some running, we're going to do some walking, and then on the course you see people of all different, varying athletic ability, all sorts of people running, walking, all the different things. And so you know, get in the crowd, we get started, we're going, and I'm through the whole race, I'm looking around and I'm thinking, you know, we're all pretty similar. You know you can't you know what does a runner look like? And I'm looking around and all the people I'm around and all different shapes and sizes and abilities, and always at the finish line is my wife. She's waiting there, she's cheering me on, she watches the finishers.
Speaker 2:And so we were talking about this after the race and we were talking about it at a dinner. And I said, you know, I said it's just crazy. When I look around, I think anybody can do this because it's all shapes and sizes and athletic abilities. And she said because that's, that's what's in your corral, that's you know what the pace you put. I said what do you mean? She said, well, I'm at the finish line.
Speaker 2:She said I see people coming from the one corral, the two corral, the three corral. She said they're all running, running hard at the finish. She said they all look a certain way. She said, typically they're all pretty lean. Look. I mean we all had to say look like runners. But when I say look like runners, you, you know what I mean. You know when we say of look like a runner, we all have that image in our mind. I do not look like a runner. So you know, if they saw me coming across first place they'd be like what's going on? He must have cut corners. But she said you have. She was telling me. She said you have a different perspective than I do. She said I see all the people coming through, finishing in those corrals.
Speaker 2:And then she said I see your corral. That you know the people we've kind of been running back and forth with, because in any race, if you've ever done one, you kind of catch up to people, they pass you and just kind of goes back and forth. And and I had joked earlier, we had a friend that was in corral four and I joked that morning. I said hey, I said let's go down see him and see what the fast corral looks like. And I was just joking around, never really dawned on me.
Speaker 2:And then, as her and I were talking, I realized that the corral I was in, I was surrounding myself and that crowd based on my time with people that were the same ability per se as me. They. They said you know, this is my time, so this is what I put down. This is my ability. And in those early corrals was one, two, three and fours. Those were faster times. So with faster times per mile, used to start to see different people and it never dawned on me I was. I was honestly thinking that everybody in my corral is what everybody in the entire race looked like. That was, that was what everybody looked like, from from corral one to corral eight. That's what they looked like.
Speaker 2:But then as Kim our talking and she was sharing about those that finish, you know, with fast times, you know over half the time that it took me there they're finishing and I started to think about that and I thought, you know, it's interesting, because her perspective was different than mine. Her perspective was at the finish line, seeing all those come through. Mine was in this big corral of hundreds of people surrounding me. We're all similar, all same ability. So for some reason I assumed that everybody was like that.
Speaker 2:But as her and I were talking, I was like, why didn't I think of that, that's? I mean, that's obvious that there's going to be different types and different abilities that are in those faster corrals, those corrals that they put a faster time, that they're finishing quicker, and it really made me think that, you know, I'm in corral six, and I think everybody's a corral six, but if I want to get better, I need to step into a corral four, a corral three, a corral two, a corral one. Because what happens then? I may still be a corral six, I may still be that ability, but what happens when I get in to corral four, three, two? I start to see different people, I start to be around a different mindset. And that was that was a light bulb moment for me. It was why and for me it was why am I not striving?
Speaker 2:There's other things in my life that I want to be around, people that maybe it's they're doing better in business than I am. So I want to be around them, I want to learn, I want to see what they're doing. Maybe they're, maybe they're doing better marketing and I say, hey, I want to hang out with your own or talk to you, want to see what are you doing? How are you getting better in in all different areas we find those people that we want to. I want to get better. I want to get better in that area, so I'm gonna talk to him or I'm gonna talk to her.
Speaker 2:But it never dawned on me that if I want to become a better runner, a faster runner, why would I not get around those people that are in the other corrals, that are going faster, doing the things I want to do? Why am I not scooting up? Why am I not asking? Why am I not talking to those early crowds, those one, two, three, fours, to see what they're doing? Why did I? Why did I ask my friend, the crowd, for hey, what's your training schedule been like? How fast have you been running? What have your splits been? You know, how have you been training? Why did I not ask all that? Because maybe did I think I knew it all, and maybe that's it. Maybe I thought you know, this is my 15th road, a half marathon, 25 half marathon. Surely I know it all. Maybe that was in my subconscious, maybe I was thinking that. And then, when Kim pointed out that, hey, you're surrounding yourself with the people just like you and we'd even gone talk to him. So why wouldn't I ask and say, hey, what are you doing? Sure, haven't we all aren't? We all found ourselves in that position of I've been doing this for 20 years, 25 years. I've been doing this for 15 years. What is this person that? And that was his first half marathon. What is he going to teach me? What is was this person's only been working here a couple of years? What are they going to teach me? Well, obviously, there was something I could learn from him, because he was in crowd four. I was in crowd six, so there is something that I could have learned from them.
Speaker 2:My daughter, my oldest daughter, she was working at a store and they moved her up to manager and she hadn't been there for very long and there had been other people that had been there, you know, two, three, four times as long as she had, and they hadn't moved them up to manager. And instead of looking and saying, hey, what is she doing? Right that she's only been here a short time. And she got moved into a managerial position and I've been here twice, three, four times as long and haven't. What's going on? Because I don't think we ask ourselves those enough, because we think, oh, I've been here long enough. I should, just because of the time I've been here, I should get that position because of the amount of time I've put in training for 25 half marathons, I should just be in a better crowd. No, it takes work and sometimes it's learning from somebody that has it's their first or second time or it's a new manager. How did you get that position For her?
Speaker 2:It was, you know, she showed responsibility, she showed being on time and early and going above and beyond and doing those things that the others were saying, oh, that's not my job I'm doing. You know, this is what I was told to do and I'm not going above and beyond. So sometimes it's just watching those that maybe have only been there a short time to see what they're doing. Maybe I should have asked him hey, what are you doing? And I could have learned. It could be something new that I wasn't aware of, something that he stumbled across or found, or something that worked really well. And that's how we get better.
Speaker 2:And I'm sharing this because it really kind of blindsided me that I hadn't realized that I hadn't realized that I was in the corral and I couldn't see past the corral, because you can't see corral three, you can't see corral two, you definitely can't see corral one, because we're talking about thousands of thousands of people between you, between me and corral one. So all I can see is the people right in my vision, because I can't see over them. So I'm looking around thinking, oh, they're all like me, we're all the same. We're all the same but different. You know, we might have some varying athletic ability, but you know, we're all the same. We're going to be about the same speed. We're probably trained about the same. And how many times have have maybe you been guilty of that, of not being able to look over the crowd and just seeing what is around me and go, yeah, I'm doing pretty good, I'm doing better than those people just right around me. But when I compare myself, maybe to crowd one, I go, oh, my goodness, you know I might be running 11 minute mile, they're running six minute mile, eight minute mile. I'm like, oh, wow, now Maybe I don't have a desire to hit an eight minute mile, but could I learn something from them that would make me faster, make me maybe a 1050, a 1045?
Speaker 2:Sure, there's something that could make it a little better for me. And the same is true for each of us, whether it's our job, our, our relationships. We can learn something and apply it. We may not need all of that. I may not need to go three minutes faster per mile, but maybe I could do 15 seconds. Maybe I could make a little adjustment and make my attitude a little bit better at work. Maybe I could make my attitude a little bit better.
Speaker 2:Relationship Maybe I could connect better with others just by making a tweak. I don't, maybe I don't need to connect with thousands of people, but I need to connect with some family, some friends. How can I do that a little bit better? Maybe somebody's really good at connecting. So you know I see what they're doing. Maybe I have a business Another small business owner Like myself that you know it's doing really good, and maybe I don't go to their scale, or maybe it's a totally different business than mine, but maybe they're doing something that I can emulate and go. I can take that one little thing and apply it to my business and it can make a little bit of a difference. I Don't need to scale it, maybe to their size, but I can apply it and make a little difference.
Speaker 2:And so Through a Kim and I's conversation, it really dawned on me that Sometimes you have to step out of your corral, sometimes you have to just go hang out in corral one or corral two. See who's around me, who can I, who can I strive to be better? Who can I learn from? They don't think. Often enough and I'm guilty of this too often enough we don't look past the corral, we don't look past the people To see where we need to grow, where we need to get better and sometimes we don't need because we're surrounded by all those people in our corral we don't even know we need to get better. There's always a way to get better. There's always something we can do to be a little bit better Prepared, a little bit better educated, have a little bit more knowledge, have a little bit more understanding, have a little bit more communication. There's always something we can do to be a little better, and we and the only way we get to do that Is by looking beyond our corral, looking beyond the people that were around.
Speaker 2:You know they're saying if, if you're the smartest person in the room, it's time to get out of the room. What's that mean? If? That means if you're the smartest person, you need to get in a in a room that is even smarter than you, so you can learn that. You're always learning of what can I do different? You know, if somebody's killing in business, doing great, sometimes we we want to Tear them down, say, oh, they're doing this, they're doing that, but maybe there's something we can learn from them. They're doing great in their Fitness journey and and we want to knock them down. We go, but maybe there's something we can learn.
Speaker 2:I hear a lot of times People are are intimidated about coming into the gym, coming through the front door, and and I and I get that I do that because it's very intimidating, it's very scary to walk through that door. But when we think about it, on the other side of that door in any gym Is people we want to be like it's. We go into a gym Because why we want to become Healthier and fitter, and on the other side of that door Is healthier and fitter people we might. We might have family that we grew up with, that we live with that, you know, living on healthy lifestyle, and we think that's just the way it is. And then we decide I want to get healthy and live a fit lifestyle, but man, I sure am I'm scared to go to the gym.
Speaker 2:You know for me, maybe I'm intimidated to go to to corral one, because they're gonna look at me and go you don't look like a runner, what are you doing? And and I might go, I didn't know you're supposed to do that, I didn't know you're supposed to to, to train like that or or fuel like that, or do Do those drills, and then I might feel dumb. But if we just go into it going, you know what I want to get on the other side of the door. I want to become healthier, I want to become fit, and somebody on the other side of that door is doing the things I want to do, and so I can ask I can watch. Hey, that's a good exercise for core. Hey, that's a good exercise to increase some arm size. Oh, that is a great exercise for legs. We don't sometimes even have to ask, we can just watch. I bet if I switch places with Kim and I was at the finish line and I watched those finishers from Corral 1, corral 2, I'd go ah, I see what they're doing at the finish line. That's what I need to do. That's something I need to start working on On the other side of the door that we walk through is what we want to be, is that how we want to get better, and the 1, 2, and 3, and 4 Corral is where the people are that I can learn from.
Speaker 2:I can get better, but for me just like me Kim had to point it out I teach and I talk about all these things, about stepping out of your comfort zone and doing all these things, but in that moment I was caught up in just what was around me, the people I could see. I'm like, I'm just like everybody else, I'm cool, I'm good. Instead of thinking what's going on in Corral 1, or 2, or 4, what's going on? How can I get better? And so I challenge you to look above the crowd, look on the other side of the door, walk through the door, because through the door is where the change you want to make is already happening. You have to maybe connect with those people that are there.
Speaker 2:I need to connect with those people. I need to go to my friends and say, hey, in Corral 4, what are you doing? How can I get better? So I challenge you whatever area in the life you want to get better, who's doing it better? Go ask, say, hey, man, I really like how you're doing this. Can you give me a few tips and you may just take a small nugget and apply it to your situation and it's still better. And then you may see somebody else doing it better and you go I'm going to take a little nugget from them, a little nugget from them, and then you start compiling all these nuggets and they start making up your difference. You're better and you get better and you get better and it's a culmination of all these nuggets that you've grown up and I see that person. I see that person. I'm going to ask. I don't know what to do. Let me find out. So I challenge you to look above the crowd, go through the door, go to the crowd one or two, three or four. Be around those people that are already doing what you want to do. I'd love to connect with you and through you can go to my website, erendeglercom. We connect via text.
Speaker 2:I have several different programs, from coaching programs to one-on-one programs, to my weekly email that goes out every week, just a short little personal story that I also always share every week, with a lesson on how we can take that and grow from it, similar as what I did today, just from a simple race, a simple corral, looking around and having a discussion with my wife and coming to a realization that sometimes I don't look beyond the crowd. Sometimes I settle for where I'm at. Sometimes it takes somebody else to point out that don't settle. What can you do to be a little bit better? So I challenge you what can you do to be a little bit better today than you were yesterday? And sometimes it means stepping out of your corral, going through the door and being different and being a little scared and a little nervous to ask those questions. Thank you so much for joining me today and as a time of my wife came every night before I go to bed it's bomb of the night double A out.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to today's podcast. If you would like to connect with Aaron, you can do so by going to erendeglercom or find him on social media as Aaron Degler on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Once again, we greatly appreciate you tuning in. If you've enjoyed the show, please feel free to rate, subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We greatly appreciate that effort and we'll catch you in the next episode of the MindBody Project podcast.