I'm having trouble coming to terms with this line of thinking. I want to believe it, I'm just not sure it's true. Is this idea simplifying things too much? Can anyone run a marathon?
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If I can run a marathon, anyone can run a marathon. Really. It may not be fast, and it may not be pretty... but yes, I think anyone can.
It's more than want... it's actually getting off the couch that's difficult and making the sacrifices to get there.
I think anyone CAN do anything as long as they want it badly enough... but that kind of passion comes around only once, maybe twice in a lifetime. The drive to do something you otherwise may not be capable of.
Some people are blessed in not needing that kind of passion to accomplish certain feats, such as running a marathon or writing a book. For others - their mountain was someone else's small hill.
That being said - take a look at how success is defined. Perhaps it is not that you won the race but that you finished, or ran at all. In that sense anything is possible.
I feel like anything (even remotely realistic - so, a marathon in 6 months, not a marathon tomorrow) is possible given sufficient time, effort, resources, and sacrifice. If you want something badly enough, you'll put more of each of those factors into accomplishing your goal.
Wanting something badly provides the required inspiration, but reaching a goal is a function of the actions you take.
Baby steps to begin maybe, but big changes only happen if you actually make them.
I think it is all part of the old saying “Where attention goes, energy flows”. It really does work.
I think it's the inspiration and the motivation that is the hard part- the "why?" that needs to be defined before a challenge is undertaken- but yes, I do think that anyone can do anything they want to do.
It may take time, and a realistic set of goals along the way, but anything is possible.
I don't know that I agree with this.
I think that losing weight and running/walking a marathon are both goals that a person could likely achieve as long as they are willing and able to put forth the necessary effort.
But...
What if I want to win Ms. America? Or win American/Canadian Idol? I really am not a beauty queen, and I definitely cannot sing.
What if I would like to be an astronaut or a neurosurgeon? Not everyone has the right aptitudes to do these things.
I agree with WANNABEMOMERIN. No matter how hard I try, I will not be the Prime Minister or conduct the NAC Orchestra. There are limits.
Ok, well, I have to agree that I will also never be conductor of the NAC orchestra or Ms. Canada. But maybe we should just look at the examples in the post. Do you think anyone can run a marathon?
I think anyone barring some severe physical disability can run a marathon. Hey, some universities in the US offer credit courses on how to run a marathon:
http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/02/12/marathon-training-for-college-credit/
If we are just looking at the examples in the post in particular 'can anyone run a marathon' I say absolutely.
I disagree that anyone is capable of anything.
I think that there is so much of our own minds, our own psyche that we don't understand, and that we have limited ability to control that saying that 'anyone can do anything is, as you suggest, over simplifying.
Depending on what emotional and cognitive barriers we face, how deeply seeded, where the roots are and whether we can access them with our limited human capacity for self awareness and change, affects what we are able to achieve.
It's not fatalistic, and not a failing, just that we use such a limited amount of our brains we can't possible comprehend all of what goes on up there.
Evolution will be telling... :)
It seems to stand to reason that, coming from the same base line (i.e no previous running experience) I find a task more difficult that you (we train the same, but I take longer to complete the marathon) that some will be still further down the scale and find it impossible.
(or so I think today..... ;)
I ran a marathon without training for it, on a bet with a bunch of jocks. Mind you I was in Grade 11 at the time and even though I was decidedly non-athletic, it is easier to do at that age.
I'd like to think so because the idea seems, on the surface at least, to be so empowering. In reality I have a lot of motivation but limited time & energy even though I'm pretty good at prioritizing.
You can argue that if you want something "badly enough" you will make the time and find the energy and if you don't you just weren't motivated enough. This is the flip side of the empowerment, i.e you failed because you didn't try hard enough.
I guess I do think that this idea is too simplistic. Motivation is a huge component in success but you have to make allowances for other factors influencing your life at any given moment.
Work towards your goal, enjoy the journey and if you never actually get to the destination don't beat yourself up about it :)
I think using running a marathon is a bit simplified example, all you have to do to run a marathon is sign up pay your money train for an appropriate amount of time, show up and run. Now if I wanted to become a millionaire THAT would be a different story, I know that some people believe you can think something, want something focus on something etc. and it will happen, like in the book The Secret. I don't believe that is the case.
Anyone can run a marathon. Not everyone can WIN a marathon.
But, I'll be back in a minute with a few links to a speaker I heard at a seminar yesterday, that might be relevant.
I would be very interesting in doing that. Did they supplu the ashtrays?
I agree with Marla - yes, anyone can probably run a marathon (I have been watching the London Marathon today and, hoo boy, if some of the people I've seen out there can finish, then ANYONE can. But as she says, not everyone can win one.
Just as everyone can learn to cook but not everyone can be a Michelin starred chef.
And everyone can lose weight but not everyone can keep it off or be a size 8.
Heart and desire and willpower can go a long way - but to suggest that anyone is capable of absolutely ANYTHING seems foolish.
There is an experiment right now in England that is related to this idea: they've taken a 29 year old 'average Jane' who has never competed in sports before and are training her to try to the make the 2012 Olympics in modern pentathlon. http://www.the2012londonolympics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13828
I think I slightly overspoke when I used the word "anything."
And I also didn't mention winning a marathon, just completing one. :) There is a difference! And you're right Hillary, heart and desire does go a long way.
The "can" or "can't" of a situation seems to depend upon age a lot, doesn't it? Although a 55 year old auto worker could train to finish a marathon, that same guy isn't likely going to ever become the conductor of an orchestra... but couldn't a five year old work hard enough to become a conductor some day? How does time and resources factor into this? Which kinds of things CAN people do if they work hard enough, and which CAN'T they do?
Hmmm.
i think wanting something badly can be thwarted by a sub-conscious (or conscious, I suppose) fear of success.
Okay, here's the link to the articles:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/atkinson2009
This was a great series. I heard Allana Mitchell speak on Friday, and to (badly) summarize as I think it pertains to your question:
There are many myths that have only recently been disproved about the human brain and learning based on neuroscience. Once it was believed our brains did most of their learning by age 3 - based on a study of rats. Now we know from MRIs that it's the synapses and how we make those connections between neurons that make the differences more than anything, and that we can learn new things our whole life long. There's a huge window between the ages of 13 and 24 where biological imperative starts working with social identity and puts all of those formerly abstract concepts into synapse growth. Myth: Girl brains and boy brains are not different - they're socially conditioned differently - we have a species brain. Myth: that the "Ford Assembly Line" standardization way of imparting information in education is the best way, when knowledge depends on emotional tagging for retrieving info and executive function has a large role too, and so only something like 50% of kids learn well with the old teaching model. Myth: we only use part of our brain, when we use it all.
So, what I'm saying is, that anyone can learn to do anything, and it doesn't even depend on age - but they need to be able to put together the process by which they need to do what they wish to accomplish by training or re-training their brain first. Because apparently, one of the biggest myths is mindset - that you're only as smart as you think you are. Actually, most people are smarter, but need to deal more with how their attitude and societal prejudices affect their capability and response. So yes, at any age anyone can do anything like complete a marathon (but not necessarily win it) , but to achieve something like conducting an orchestra would also mean changing societal prejudices - though once again, it would depend on specificities. He might just conduct a school orchestra, or a small local one - not the Boston Pops.
There are probably hundreds of stories out there about people who accomplished things late in life, like an eighty year old woman who learned to fly a plane or a little boy who started a charity for building wells in Africa... and a bajillion untold ones.
If you want examples of this, try posting it to ask.metafilter and they'll likely be provided. Or, it's a good chatfilter one for "the blue".
I do not agree with Ms. D that anyone can do anything.
But as for the specific marathon question ... sure, anyone can run a marathon -- if you're not a single mother and don't have to work 2 jobs to feed 5 kids, then oversee their homework and prep their lunches and clothes for the next day before collapsing in bed for a 4-hour sleep each night. Or in this same situation, if you're willing to ignore your kids, live off welfare and spend your time training. Like most things in life, it's easier with economic and social status. Do-able, yes. But much easier if you have a supportive spouse, can pay for a trainer, have friends interested in the same goal, etc. In this same vein, it's easier to become an NAC conductor or an astronaut too if you have parents who encourage your study habits, help to pay your years of post-secondary study. Just the very goal of a marathon is something, I would think, would only occur to someone of a fairly priviledged status.
Okay, I'm blabbing on here. But you get my drift -- in theory, anyone can run a marathon, but in practice, it is not such a simple equation.
P.S. Does Ms. D know about this blog? If yes, "Hi, Ms. D! Can't wait to find out who you are ... I'm fascinated!"
You need to see the movie Ratatouille where they address the key question of "can anyone cook?"
Anyway, in theory, yes, if you are physically able than anyone could to anything. In theory, anyone could become Prime Minister so long as they become the leader of a national party, which garners the most votes in an election.
Could anyone run a marathon? Sure, I suppose so if you give them enough time.
Flip the question, what if the answer was no, that even if you have the right tools and abilities, there are still some things you absolutely cannot do (even if done badly.) That seems counter intuitive (if you have the "ability" then you should be able to do something.) That would also impose a theoretical limit on what could be accomplished, which , when you think about it would have a profound impact on how humans view their place in the universe.
What is the exact issue you hope to explore in your book?
I'm curious why Ms. D feels this is an important belief ("anyone is capable of anything"). Because whether I believe this or not, the only thing that really matters to ME is whether I am capable of doing the things I want to do.
If I want to run a half-marathon (and I have!) all I care about is whether I can do it, not whether anyone can do it.
Is Ms. D. trying to convince herself/us that she is nothing special? Or that other people should stop underestimating themselves? Not judging, just curious why it is important to her to frame this as "Anyone can do it" rather than just "I can do it."
Fascinating question, thanks for opening it up to us.
Hi Alison -
I've been thinking about your comment all week. I haven't known how to approach it.
Of course it matters if you think you can run a marathon - it's great that you actually did it! Ms.D believes you can too - that anyone can. She's not trying to convince herself, she's trying to inspire others to believe in themselves, and to challenge themselves to pursue the things they are passionate about - whether it's running a marathon or climbing a mountain... whatever!
That's part of the reason behind this project: to motivate and remind women that THEY CAN.
In terms of how this idea forms the concept of a book, well, it's something I've struggled with a little bit. She told me outright that this is not a self-help book (but it sort of is) and it's also not a memoir (but it sort of is that too).
I have a better idea now, because I was at a workshop the other day at which Ms. D was the guest speaker. I get where she's coming from. And now it's a matter of ironing out and organizing her ideas.
Regardless, I think (as does Ms.D) that too many of us are stuck in a rut, and give up too easily, and don't know what we're truly capable of.
Ultimately I do think that anyone can run a marathon, if they are (a) physically capable and (b) want it bad enough.