Marc Estes

There is something unusual about an Ironman triathlete.  This are of the very special sort unlike a typical triathlete. The Ironman competition, famous for being the ultimate test of endurance, challenges each participant to their limit. In one race they will swim 2.4 miles,  bike 112 miles and if that is not enough to give most a massive heart attack, they tack on a  26.2 mile run (yes, a marathon).

What is more fascinating about these athletes is the disciplined training and diet they must follow in order to make sure that each muscle group is strengthened and prepared for each event. Their diet must consist of heavy amounts of liquid, complex carbohydrates and anything else to fuel their body for each training and the race itself.

Life is very similar to an Ironman race.  Each of us wake up every day with the great possibility of facing tests, trials, challenges and set backs. These pressure points hit at different levels of our being; body, soul and spirit. How we prepare each of these three areas of our lives will determine the outcome of our race.

You are a triathlete. Great skill and discipline is required to strengthen your body, your soul and your spirit. It is imperative that you understand the things that drain each of these areas of your life and what replenishes them.  Let’s consider the three.

BODY – What is it that drains your body? Lack of sleep, lack of exercise, or bad diet? Now ask yourself, “What is it that replenishes me?” How is your eating and exercise discipline? Are you taking care of the body God has entrusted to your care? You only get one body in this life, you ought to make taking care of it your utmost priority. No one can eat good for you or exercise for you. If you are feeling weary and tired, you might consider making some course adjustments to strengthen your body.

SOUL – How are your emotions lately? Do you know what drains  you? Are you feeling stress, worry, fear, anxiety, discouragement, anger, unforgiveness? If this is the case, chances are you are focused on the wrong thing. These are all indicators that something is out of balance in your life. God uses this gauge to help you realize that there is a course adjustment needed. Find out what you need to do to replenish yourself. It might be a date with your spouse (or a just a date for your single folk), a night at the movies, sleeping in and enjoying a day, a round of golf or even sky diving. Whatever floats your boat, find it and practice it often.

SPIRIT – There are obvious ways in which to replenish your spirit. A daily diet of prayer, bible and worship is a great start. The greater the pressure the greater the intake.  If you are hitting your pillow and barely making it through the day, chances are it is time to dial up the spiritual diet.  And don’t forget active involvement and attendance in your local church family.

As you look forward to the days ahead, put together a strategy that will allow you to finish the race with joy. Paul  says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes’ race. Everyone runs; one wins. RUN TO WIN. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally. I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.”

Run your race to win. Train hard, make it your aim to succeed not just survive!

One of my favorite authors is John Maxwell. He has a unique way of packaging complex truths into simplistic formulas. One of his classic books, Developing the Leader Around You (see below), mention this idea of training people and the process that should be followed to maximize your time and energy.  Here are some principles to consider:

The best type of training takes advantage of the way people learn. Researchers tell us that we remember 10 percent of what we hear, 50 percent of what we see, 70 percent of what we say, and 90 percent of what we hear, see, say and do. Knowing that to be the case, we have to develop an approach to how we will train. Here is a five step process to follow:

1. Model It – The process begins with doing the tasks you desire to reproduce while the people you are training can watch. Allow them to observe the entire process, if possible.  As you walk through the process, take the time to explain not just what you are doing, but also why you are doing it and how you are doing it.

2. Mentor Them – As they watch you ‘do’, you need to then move them next to you and ask them to assist in the process.  This will give you a chance to observe them in the elementary steps of the process while still maintaining control.

3. Monitor Them – You then need to move to a place where they begin to take charge of the process and you stand along side of them.  It is important to allow them room to grow, learn and fail. Be an encouragement and use their failures as training opportunities and not a time to rebuke them in any way. Work with them until they develop consistency.  You might even ask them to verbally explain the what, why and how to you to insure that they thoroughly understand the entire process.

4. Motivate Them – The next step is to allow them to fly solo.  Once they take the responsibility as their own, your role now becomes the role of a motivator. The trainee must move from sustaining the process to excelling in the process. Allow them to make changes to the process giving them some ownership as long as the changes produce a better end result.

5. Multiply Them – You will never be truly successful in raising leaders until you have taught them to do likewise. Mastering a skill is not enough. Teaching others to master the skill is truly the end goal.  They will find that the best way to learn a skill as well as to reap fulfillment is to teach others to fulfill the tasks at hand.

Try applying these principles practically to what you are currently doing. Find a potential leader for each of your tasks and begin the process of reproducing yourself today.