Lessons from The Marathon Monks - How to Achieve the Impossible
I’m big on goal setting. While I don’t always reach my goal, I know that I get a lot further toward it than I ever would had I never set the goal in the first place. Some of the goals I set are quite difficult and there are definitely times that I want to give up on them, but more times than not, I reach down inside and keep moving toward the goal. Whenever I want to give up, I think about the Marathon Monks.
The Marathon Monks are a group of Japanese Buddhist monks that are part of the Tendai sect located in the mountains looking over the ancient capital of Kyoto and have a quest called Hieizan Sennichi Kaihogyo (Mt. Hiei 1000 Day Journey) that would seem impossible. Yet over 45 have completed it, the last being Genshin Fujinami in late 2003. The goal is to run the equivalent of the entire equator - or once around the world over an 8 year period. Here are the details of the journey for those that try:
The first three years the monk will run approximately 18 miles a day along narrow paths in the mountains in nothing more than a pair if straw sandals and a robe (sorry, no state of the art running shoes or other gear). He must do this up and down trek along the mountains paths for 100 straight days during each of the three years. He starts at 1:30 in the morning each day and he needs to return by 9:00 AM because he is not excused from his regular daily chores which he also must complete each day.
In years four and five, the monk will travel the same narrow mountain path in the early morning hours, but increase the time to 200 straight days no matter what the weather - come rain, come snow, even come hurricanes.
In year six, he will increase the distance to 37 miles a day, or more than a full marathon each and every day for 100 consecutive days. He must return each day to do his normal, everyday chores just as all the other monks are required to do.
When he has completed the sixth year, he will endure the doiri: seven days and nights - 168 straight hours - (this is actually a recent relaxation of the rule because too many monks were dying when the doiri used to be 9 days and nights) sitting in a proper prayer position without any food, water or sleep. There will be two monks watching over him at all times to make sure he doesn’t sleep and he keeps the proper prayer position.
In year seven, the monk will increase the 100 consecutive day run to 52 miles a day, or the equivalent of 2 full marathons. While the daily chores he is required to do will be reduced during this time, they will not be eliminated.
The final year he will go back to where he began and run the original 18 mile course for 100 straight days.
Oh, and lest the monk decides somewhere along this stretch of eight years that it’s too difficult and he wants to give up, each and every day that he runs, he carries a rope and a knife with him. If he should fail to complete the course, the monk is ready to use one of these to either hang or disembowel himself.
Whenever I think about this story, the obstacles that I am facing with my goals seem pretty minor in comparison and the story gives me the motivation to keep going after my own goals. Here are some of the lessons that I come away with from this story:
Consistency pays off: While I wouldn’t exactly call starting off by running 18 miles a day for 100 straight days as taking baby steps, it does show that getting into a routine and consistently moving toward your goal on a daily basis will eventually get you to your goal no matter how impossible it may seem. As I have mentioned previously, 90% of game is not quitting. There will be times that you want to, but if you can come up with ways to motivate yourself to keep going during these times, you will eventually reach your goals.
Make the consequences of failing worse than to keep going: Being expected to kill yourself if you decide to quit is a pretty good motivating factor to keep going even at the lowest points. While I would never suggest that you make quite this drastic a consequence if you should give up on your goal, I know that putting in place consequences that make it more difficult to give up is important when I set up my goals. If I keep my goal to myself, then it is much easier for me to quit because nobody but me knows that I didn’t accomplish it. This is not the case if I tell everyone I know about the goal since I know many of them will hold me to it. Be willing to make consequences for not reaching goals and you will work much harder at achieving them.
Continue to do your regular daily stuff even when pursuing your goals: There are a lot of people that believe that they should give up everything else to concentrate entirely on one specific goal. While this may be appropriate in certain circumstances, I think it is a bad idea most of the time. Even during this impossible journey, the marathon monk is required to do the same daily chores as the rest of the monks.
When I started the sites and blogs, it was in my free time. While I did work a lot of hours each week on them, it was after finishing up my regular job. Had I quit my job and tried to build the income from day one, I would have failed. The income that I was earning at the time allowed me to live while putting in all my extra time into the sites and blogs. That’s not to say that you don’t have to make major decisions on time allocation, but in most cases you can reach your goals while still maintaining the daily necessities. Disregarding your daily tasks will often lead to failure.
Plough through obstacles: There are going to be a lot of obstacles no matter what your goals are and you are going to have to fight through them. Just as the Marathon Monk has to run no matter what the weather conditions, you are going to have to face the obstacles that are put in front of you and plough through them. While it would certainly be easier to wake up in the morning, look at the crappy weather and say that you were not going to work toward the goal that day, being able to get yourself out of bed and face the obstacle will get you closer to your goal.
The impossible is possible when you set your mind to it: Take a minute and reread what the Marathons Monks do over an eight year period. If you asked anyone if they thought it is possible, I would guess that most people would simply laugh in your face. Having run a marathon and being able to barely walk the next three days after finishing (this despite training extensively for it), it boggles my mind that 1 person has completed it, let alone more than 45. It goes to show that when you set your mind to reach a goal and if you are determined to reach it, the impossible often becomes possible.
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Posted: May 1st, 2008 under Entrepreneurship, Goals, Lifehack.
Comments: 29
Comments
Comment from yael
Time: January 1, 2008, 9:39 am
Damn, that is amazing although I would never want to do it. Maybe I’ve been underestimating what I can really do.
Comment from henry
Time: January 1, 2008, 10:23 am
That is totally screwed up. Why would anyone ever want to do something like that? I’d rather be a failure in my nice warm home in fron of my TV that go through that.
Comment from gwen
Time: January 1, 2008, 10:53 am
7 days in the same position with no eating, drinking or sleeping!?!
Comment from William Bennett
Time: January 1, 2008, 11:31 am
The problem with this system is that during it the monk accomplishes absolutely nothing whatsoever, and spends his time miserable.
Myself, I prefer not to be inspired by the practices of fanatical death cults, and in life I have found far more success than any of those crazy monks.
Comment from Stormy
Time: January 1, 2008, 1:35 pm
Makes me think that you should re-examine your goals before you kill yourself trying to accomplish it. Do you really want to be able to run two marathons in one day? Why? Do you really want to get up at 5am every day? Why? 
Comment from Nicole
Time: January 1, 2008, 2:06 pm
Yesterday I read “The Little Engine That Could” to a 3 year old.
I think I can, I think I can…
We’ve known it since we were three, yet it still inspired me.
As did this. Great post.
Nicole from makeitbetter.
Pingback from ILoveBonnie.net » Blog Archive » Never Give Up… Never Surrender
Time: January 1, 2008, 2:29 pm
[…] about the new year, I came across a very interesting post from Financial Hack. The post is entitled Lessons from The Marathon Monks - How to Achieve the Impossible and it is quite amazing. The post illustrates the life of a certain group of Japanese Buddhist […]
Comment from alyson
Time: January 1, 2008, 3:57 pm
Some people could call running in lush mountains, meditating daily, as being with God. Sounds better than ‘commuting and running on treadmills in front of TVs with food cooked in a microwave.’
The point of the story is achieving the impossible.
Have you ever achieved your goals? Then what do you do?
You have to dream something impossible. Then make it come true
Comment from Mike
Time: January 1, 2008, 5:37 pm
Very interesting. I had never heard of this. I think a few commentors missed your point of the story. I feel motivated by it and will think back to it when I can’t be bothered doing something.
Comment from Lawrence Tureaud
Time: January 1, 2008, 6:56 pm
I once stayed up drinking for 36 hours straight.
Comment from Jonny
Time: January 1, 2008, 8:00 pm
36 Hours? Pfff. I’ve been drinking straight for the last 12 years. It’s my own personal gin-a-thon.
Comment from Victor
Time: January 1, 2008, 8:12 pm
That is a story to motivate !!, I feel lazy compared with this amazing monks, we truly can achieve whatever we can, the only problem is that the majority of the time we don’t believe in ourselves, thanks for sharing
Comment from bill gates
Time: January 1, 2008, 9:00 pm
what would michael jackson do?
Comment from steve jobs
Time: January 1, 2008, 9:05 pm
That is nothing!! Most people work 35 years, give a good portion of the money they earn to the government, watch TV for 4 hours a day. In year 36 they run out of money and have to live in a trailer.
Comment from tracy
Time: January 1, 2008, 9:57 pm
I think the point that many people commenting fail to see is that discipline, consistency and hard work can get you to goal far beyond what you imagine. It doesn’t matter if you think about what the monks are doing - it is their choice and what they want to be doing. You should concentrate on what you want to be doing. What you should take away from this is that if you have goals, you can achieve them if you too use discipline, consistency and hard work.
Pingback from uglychart.com: a blog about stocks » Blog Archive » links for 2008-01-02
Time: January 1, 2008, 10:20 pm
[…] Lessons from The Marathon Monks - How to Achieve the Impossible - Financial Hack (tags: running motivation kungfu japan buddhism) […]
Comment from Steve Button
Time: January 2, 2008, 4:47 am
This is complete nonsense! Why would you want to put yourself through such torture as these monks do, and to achieve what? I’d much prefer to be happy and achieve what I realistically can achieve without beating myself up about it.
http://www.43folders.com/2007/12/31/death-and-underachievement-guide-happiness-work
This is a much better post.
Steve
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Time: January 2, 2008, 5:31 pm
[…] Lessons from The Marathon Monks - How to Achieve the Impossible - Financial Hack (tags: motivation inspiration psychology running buddhism culture goals lifehacks ** todo) […]
Comment from Writer
Time: January 2, 2008, 7:34 pm
Well written post! It’s great to know that there are still awe-inspiring things in this world that seems to be growing smaller and smaller every day.
It was my pleasure to look into this fascinating group of people after reading your post. Thanks!
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Time: January 4, 2008, 8:08 pm
[…] Lessons from the Marathon Monks - via Financial Hack, a discussion about a group of Japanese monks with a goal to run the equivalent of the entire equator - or once around the world over an 8 year period. Amazing. […]
Pingback from Carnival of Personal Finance 134: Building on the Basics | Mrs. Micah: Finance for a Freelance Life
Time: January 7, 2008, 2:36 am
[…] Financial Hack finds Lessons from The Marathon Monks - How to Achieve the Impossible. […]
Pingback from The Honest Dollar | Carnival of Personal Finance #134 at Mrs. Micah’s
Time: January 7, 2008, 7:04 pm
[…] “Lessons from The Marathon Monks – How to Achieve the Impossibleâ€? at Financial Hack. This article tells the story of Japanese monks who run a distance equivalent to the length of the equator over an 8-year period. There are definitely personal finance and life lessons to be learned from these monks. […]
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Time: January 7, 2008, 9:25 pm
[…] Sales. Of course, your odds of finding a Picasso are a little low….still, you never know. Financial Hack finds Lessons from The Marathon Monks - How to Achieve the […]
Comment from Chandana
Time: January 24, 2008, 10:09 am
Guys do not please pick on silly little illustrations on the story look at the massage coming through.
Comment from Chandana
Time: January 24, 2008, 10:12 am
Tracy are you from Canada????
Comment from Richard
Time: February 8, 2008, 2:15 pm
Monk = no wife, no kids, no job, no responsibility.
Their freedom depends on other people busting their gut not thinking of themselves.
Comment from R.J.
Time: February 11, 2008, 1:04 pm
I don’t feel lazy or unmotivated compared to them. I feel like I have some common sense. I get up about the same time every day to work a second job, without dropping any of my normal duties or chores. Believe me, I’d much rather be running! Anyhow, this does prove what you can do if you set your mind to it, which is the idea behind this. I just question the point of what they are doing….
Comment from HH
Time: April 7, 2008, 9:26 am
Gosh. This is the greatest story I’ve ever heard in my entire life. So inspiring. I don’t give a damn with what have the monk accomplished even though that it may take his life away.
What I care is the mentality and the persistence that the monk has shown us in the story.
Just imagine what we can achieve if we just got 50% of the monk’s spirit?
Guys who saw the negative aspect of this story is just another so-so person.
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Time: July 4, 2008, 4:57 pm
[…] not forget the Marathon Monks of Japan. And the consequences of giving up? Hanging or […]
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