AM I FIT FOR THIS RACE?

It is that time of the year where many people are getting reading to embark on a certain journey in their lives. Some have been on this journey for a long time, yet the finish line still seems so far while others are just beginning their journey.

Any person who has taken part in a marathon or written some sort of an exam will tell you that the most important part of your race is not the actual race but how you prepare leading towards that race. This is that time of the year where many students and athletes are gearing up to showcase what they have been preparing themselves for, even though for many this might just be the halfway mark to their final destination.

As I mentioned, the most important thing about any race is not the actual race but how you prepare for that race. If you know that you will be taking part in the Comrades Marathon your training program will not be the same as that of a 100m sprinter. You will need to do a lot of long distance running and your diet will consist of mainly carbohydrates.

If you are preparing to write a mathematics exam your study method will basically be based on practice as opposed to reading and narrating your works.

Most people often wonder if they are ready to face a certain challenge in their lives; it might be quitting your job to pursue your passion in music, it might be asking your long-term girlfriend to marry you or moving out of your parent’s house. So how do you know if you are ready to work that path in your life, how do you know if you are fit enough for this race? The honest truth is as long as you never try you will never know if you are ready or not. Just like any race you might train and prepare yourself as much as you like but if you don’t show up for the actual event, if you don’t take that chance then you will never know if you were ever ready. It is better to try and fail than to not even show up.

This might sound a bit easier said than done, which it’s not. Nothing in life is ever easy. Ask anyone you has completed their degree, released a music album or run an 80km race and they will tell you how hard they had to work to get where they are. They will tell you of the moments when they lost hope, when they asked themselves why on earth they were doing what they were doing or how far they still had to go before they could reach their ultimate goal. A marathon runner will show you the blisters on their feet, yet they will do it with a smile because the pain they would have endured through the entire race would have been replaced by the joy of them crossing that finish line and receiving their medal.

Most people start their race, but along the line decide to give up. Some give up because they never trained enough, some give up because the road seems long and hard and some give up because that’s how much they had to give, but will always look back and say IF ONLY I had taken that extra I might have finished my race.

In 2006 I enrolled for a Bachelor of Accounting degree at one of the best commercial colleges in South Africa. After spending three years at the institution I was faced with a very important decision of my life. I only needed to complete one more course in order for me to graduate, and I must admit for a period for a year I had quit. I had told myself that Accounting was not for me and I was going to pursue something else instead. It took me an entire year to realize that by quitting I will have been throwing away all the hard work I had put in all those years, and let's not forget the amount of money I would need to pay back for my student loan.

In 2011 I decided to go back and finish my course, I took all the money I had saved for my job and paid my tuition fees,including new text books. I attended every single lecture and wrote every single exam. I was determine to get my degree and I wasn't going to let anything get in my way, until I got tripped in my stride. 

I was left with only three exams until I could see the fruits of my labor; I failed the first one, badly. In all my studying career I had never received 18% percent for a test. I had failed many tests before in my life, but this was lowest mark ever and at the stage I was in I felt my heart sink. In order to make it into the exam I would need an A, which seemed impossible from where I was standing. At that moment I saw that as a sign that I need to give up, until I realized the power of surrounding yourself with positive people. From that day fourth I worked even harder and I am proud to say I finally graduated and got that degree I hard worked so hard for.

It is important to note that in life we all have a different race to run in life; it is not a group thing. Along the way you will find people who cheer you on as you go by and those who will tell you to give up when they see how worn you become. But at the end of the day it is you who crosses that finish line, it is you who receives that degree and it is you whom you will have to face in the mirror for the rest of your life.

Run your race and run it to the fullest and whenever you feel like giving up, remind yourself why you are doing it in the first place.