Consistency & Commitment
Reflections on Words, Running, and Podcasts
Once more, it is the launch of a new collection with my running brand, Willpower, that inspires me to reflect and write. I assure you that this is not an attempt to blatantly shell you with advertising, but an honest and heartfelt invitation to my thoughts and observations of the following two words:
Consistency & Commitment
Although both words have been widely used by myself and others in various contexts, it was my friend and fellow runner, Mat Grills from Australia, who put them in relation to one another. In fact, “Consistency & Commitment” is his life and his running motto. Mat is known for inspiring hundreds of runners around the world as an experienced ultrarunner, coach, friend and very approachable person. Find out more about his work and passion at www.adventuresandactivism.com.
Commitment
Commitment seems to be the easy part. At least for me. I’ve always been very dedicated to my life projects. For me, the trick is to also be very undedicated to countless other things. Although I am a quite interested person, I am very picky regarding where to pour my heart into completely. And if I do, I stick to my passion for many years, if not decades.
I can count the projects, ideas, and relationships I devoted my life to on two hands. For these, it feels total naturally to me to spend all my time and energy. However, I am not speaking of self-sacrifice here. I find it so much more enjoyable and fulfilling, when I do things wholeheartedly instead of doing it half-assed. I regularly enter a state of flow and being so committed, gives my life meaning. At least it feels like this.
As for running, my passion, and commitment remains unbroken since day one. I recently celebrated my 10th anniversary. Not a long time for someone who grew up with track & field and sports club memberships. However, for a late-bloomer like me, who kicked off an entirely new life-chapter with running at the age of 34, this is undoubtedly something special.
Consistency
With consistency, I do struggle occasionally. Obviously not because I lack a long breath or commitment, as explained above. My problem is that I search for meaning and purpose in everything I do. While doing so, I often get lost on a day-to-day basis. More simply put: doing the same thing, day after day, without really knowing why, is incredibly tough for me.
But the solution to this is obvious. Every once in a while, I need to step back from my daily routines and take a look at my life a couple of months or years ago. The trick is to take a different perspective. A wider view, to be more precise.
In running, consistency is key. Yes, I know, you have heard this a lot. But it’s true. No matter if you want to improve your 10k PB by another few seconds or finish your first ultramarathon, the only way to get there is to continuously go out and run. For weeks, for months and for years.
Everything not Running
“What podcasts do you listen to?”
I get this question a lot, but often don’t have the perfect answer present. I must also admit that I joined the podcast game rather late. My first experiences with this media format were very frustrating. Bad audio-quality, meaningless babble, uninspired interview-guests and background noises like at a railroad station.
Fortunately, podcasts have improved drastically over the past few years and slowly and steadily became an integral part of my daily routines. I listen to podcasts during morning walks, while doing housework or cooking and when I’m running. Why? Because they are more mentally captivating than listening to music, but less demanding than audiobooks.
Enough beating around the bush. Here’s a selection of my favorite podcasts.
Lage der Nation
This is by far the best German political podcast out there. The two hosts, Philip Banse and Ulf Buermeyer invest a tremendous amount of time in researching their topics, discuss them thoroughly and then boil them down to the very essence. Every week, I look forward very much to a new episode of “Lager der Nation”.
Was jetzt?
Much shorter and less of a deep dive is the “Was Jetzt?” podcast by Zeit Online. But it is exactly this easily digestible format, that makes “Was Jetzt” so entertaining. Each story is only 2-3 minutes long, but well presented. With a short news block in the beginning, it is also a great overview of the day.
Darwin gefällt das
This podcast ist complete and utter nonsense. Each week, the two hosts present the most epic fails of mankind. Like the guy who wanted to drain the Mediterranean Sea. Or dilettantish skydiving pioneers, who never stood a chance. My favorite story was the one about David Hahn, who tried to build a nuclear reactor in his mum’s garage. My friend Henning Lenertz hates the hosts, but I find them absolutely hilarious.
Moreno+1
Interview-Podcasts are a tricky thing. If your invited guest is not a good speaker, the host can’t do much about it. Juan Moreno is an expert, though. His questions are extraordinarily smart and dig deep into the stories of his guests. He’s always extremely well-prepared, and he gets his interview partners to really open up.
Cui Bono: Wer hat Angst vorm Drachenlord?
Of all the investigation podcasts I have listend to, this one is the best. Khesrau Behroz’s series on Ken Jebsen was already mind-blowing, but his story tracing of the tragic internet phenomenon Drachenlord was done so extremely well, that I listened to it twice. I can’t even put into words how many cultural, social and political topics this podcast series touched, but let me tell you that it bluntly reveals the most ugly grimace of our modern society. Trust me and listen to it.
Vom Laufen
You might have noticed that I haven’t listed any running podcasts among my favorites. This is because it’s very hard for me to favor one over the other. I do listen to them all. To name a few in no particular order:
Science of Ultra (R.I.P.)
The one that I pick for my podcast recommendation list is “Vom Laufen”, though. Why? Because it is real. Christian and Juliane Bruneß are runners like you and me. They struggle with the same things in life and running like most of us, and honestly share their hopes, worries, successes, disputes, and questions they ask themselves. “Vom Laufen” is not the loudest running podcast and not the most visible one. But that’s precisely why I like it so much. I do, however, worry about the hosts’ marriage sometimes. Their standpoints on certain topics could not be further away from each other, and their battles are real ;-)