Kipling Knew.....

In "IF", Kipling wrote,"If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two imposters just the same."

That's it. Right there. He was right. When Disaster strikes, we need to chill.... not take it so seriously or so personally. When Triumph hits, we need to do the same. It's the steady, even keel that counts. We're never as awesome as we're hyped up to be, and never as terrible as we sometimes think (or are told).

And so it is with MY life.

I ran over 2000 miles this year. That, according to me, is the measure of serious running. So, is that a Triumph? I'm unsure because there was nothing serious or triumphant about my running in 2025.

In my professional life, I had 57 invoiceable gigs. That's my worst year in the last five. Does that make it a Disaster? I had connected better and had more fun this year than I can remember.

What does this mean?

It means that Kipling was right. If we understand both Triumph and Disaster as "imposters" we'll be okay. It's never as good or bad as we think.

Runners know this instinctively. We don't run, necessarily, for the medal, we run because we're runners.

This year reminded me of that the same is true professionally.

I don't teach because the calendar is full,

I teach because it's who I am.

Triumph and Disaster are just mile markers.

The real work is staying on your feet - and moving forward.

Run on.