As a running coach and fan, there’s something I see in many new runners’ first races: they slow down right before the finish line.
I don’t think it’s conscious. But it looks as though their body anticipates the end, and they slow down without realizing it. Sometimes they even stop running several steps before they cross.
As a competitor, it drives me nuts because slowing down costs them time, and often a higher finishing place. I watch and wonder, “Why’d you let that guy beat you?” But I know that asking that isn’t helpful. What I do is coach them to “Run through the tape. Not just TO the line – run THROUGH it.” The finish line isn’t the end of your effort. It’s just a marker you pass while still running hard.
I’ve been thinking about this lately because I’m noticing a similar pattern in myself – just not on the track.
When I’m out of relationship with myself – when I’m upset about something or avoiding something – I create my own finish lines. Barriers to connection that I slow down before crossing.
That might look like someone asking how I’m doing and I give a reply that shuts down conversation. Or a someone sends me a text, and I tell myself I’ll respond later, then don’t.
I’m slowing down before the tape. Treating connection as a barrier to get to rather than something to move through.
I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been procrastinating on things that matter. Avoiding conversations I need to have. Putting off work projects. And I think it’s the same pattern; I’m anticipating discomfort and decelerating before I even reach the tape.
My middle school runners learn this lesson on the track. Some of them get it immediately, others take a few races. But once they understand it, they don’t usually do it again.
I’m not sure barrier effects in personal psychology are the same as a track race. But I’m still trying to learn the same lesson. When I notice myself slowing down, pulling back, procrastinating, I’m trying to figure out what I’m treating as a barrier instead of just a marker to pass through.
is there a finish line you’ve been slowing down before? A conversation you’re avoiding? A call you need to make? An apology you owe? Pick one. Run through it today. The discomfort you’re anticipating is probably worse than the actual moment of crossing the line.
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