knowItAll wrote:
So you run a sub-3 marathon? You love running! Have you read her articles? She hates running. And she does it anyway because she has a bigger goal, of completing an Ironman. And doing something you hate, in order to get somewhere you dream of going, is something to be admired. It shows character. And she's out there doing it every week. Maybe she sucks. Maybe she makes stupid mistakes. But she persists.
What you should do is find something you suck at, and go do it over and over again, week after week. And have people laugh at you and tell you you suck, but keep doing it. You wouldn't last a month.
That's possibly the most stupid thing I've read on here yet, and I've read some pretty awful things on Letsrun before. OF COURSE we run because we love running or love some aspect of running. If I truly hated running (not just felt like I hated it after a bad race), I would stop and find something that I loved doing. Persistance isn't a virtue if you're persisting in stupidity.
For most of us here running is an option and not our main income. If our pastimes aren't supposed to be an enjoyable part of life, what is? Persistance in something you hate can be admirable if it's all that's putting food on your table- but even with jobs, you always have the opportunity to be looking for something better.
I suck at swimming and I hate it. I think it would be awesome to do an Ironman. But I have a life full of things that I love doing and goals that center around those activities, some big goals and some small. So how does it show more character to pick a goal in an activity that I hate? Obviously I'm going to choose to pursue goals that I'm going to enjoy.
I didn't mean to make this such a long post. Basically, we all have a limited amount of things that we're naturally good at and enjoy, and we have a limited amount of time in which to do things. So why not spend that time doing one of the things you're good at and enjoy instead of busting your ass over something you hate?