Break It Down – So YOU Don’t Break Down!

By Shlomo Maital

Dave Scott

Dave Scott

Dave Scott won the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon six times!   And at age 40, he came a close second! Nearly winning for a record 7th time.

How do you complete this near-impossible event: 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22-mile (42.20 km) run, raced in that order and without a break.   Hours and hours of non-stop effort?  

   Dave Scott has a recipe.

   Break it down. So that YOU don’t break down.

   Don’t think about the 8 or 10 or more hours of effort, some of it very painful, all of it utterly exhausting.

   Think about the next mile. I’m going to get to that next bend in the road. Break it down into pieces.  

   I think this is great wisdom for life. Tackle really big challenges. Don’t be afraid. Then break them down into pieces. And tackle them, and achieve them, piece by piece. If you think about 26 miles, 2.4 miles, 112 miles, well…it’s daunting. Arouses fear.

   But if you think about one more mile, …. One more step. You can do it. Writing a book? 100,000 words!! Impossible. But, one page a day, 3 hours a day? Do-able. I know of a crime writer who has written 52 books… by writing for 3 hours a day, EVERY day…

   Suppose you’re a careful writer, and you do only 500 words, or two pages, in those 3 hours.   Over a year, that adds up to 500 x   365 or    187,500 words – roughly two books worth.  

   Break it down. One step at a time. One page at a time. And… it’s done! I did it! I’m crossing the finish line.