The Benefits of the Solitude of Running
It’s true what they say: you can’t buy experience. However, you can learn from the experiences of others and avoid their mistakes. Since starting GTY Performance, I believe the best thing we've done is become sponges, soaking up knowledge from those around us. Running offers so many benefits, but one of the greatest is the hours of solitude it provides each week. If you're anything like me, listening to the same music on every run can get boring fast. That’s why I quickly fell in love with podcasts and audiobooks—they’ve transformed my runs into opportunities for growth and learning.
But we'll get to what we listen to momentarily; first, let me provide some background and context.
It always feels great when we run into family, friends, or followers on social media and receive compliments about how well the business is doing, the strides we’ve made, and the improvements in our gym results and content quality. But like most things, what you see on the surface often doesn’t reflect the hard work happening behind the scenes. Even growing a business with your best friend can strain your relationship. I mean, think about it: even though Sean and I share 95% of the same vision for what we want GTY Performance to become, we sometimes have different ideas about how we want to get there.
The biggest lesson Sean and I have learned from navigating these differences is the importance of trust and communication. Just like in a relationship with a significant other, business partnerships rely on open dialogue and faith in each other’s judgment. For example, when I propose achieving a task by doing ‘x’ and Sean suggests ‘y,’ we face the challenge of deciding whose approach to take. This would be straightforward if there were a clear right answer, like in a math equation (e.g., 2 + 2 = 4). But what if a task can be accomplished in multiple ways? GTY Performance operates as a single entity with one voice, so we often can’t pursue both ideas—we have to choose one. So, whose choice do we go with?
The first lesson we learned was to trust that the other person always has the best intentions at heart. When Sean suggests ‘y’ in response to my ‘x,’ I know it’s not about wanting to undermine my decision; he genuinely believes that ‘y’ is the best approach to achieve our goals. It’s my responsibility to put myself in his shoes and understand his perspective. Have I overlooked something? Is there a crucial factor I didn’t consider? Does Sean have past experiences that inform his viewpoint? Next, we focus on maintaining an open and transparent dialogue about our differing opinions. Instead of immediately dismissing his idea and pointing out all the reasons I think it’s flawed, it’s more effective to first acknowledge his choice and highlight what I appreciate about his approach. This not only shows him that I’m not rejecting his idea outright but also creates a better opportunity for me to explain my reasoning. This usually gives us the ability to dissect the task at hand and provides better insight into whose approach would be best, often resulting in a hybrid idea that combines both of our perspectives.
Now, this decision-making process wasn’t something we arrived at overnight. It took some pretty intense arguments for both of us to realize that there had to be a better way to handle our differences. This brings me back to the benefits of solitude in running. Some of our biggest struggles—whether GTY-focused or personal—have been analyzed and resolved during our runs. How often in our busy lives do we get the chance to simply think for hours on end? It allows us to replay conversations or problems in our minds, contemplating whether there might have been a better approach. Plus, the tension from a previous heated discussion often fades away, replaced by the endorphins flooding our brains.
That’s why, instead of just listening to books and podcasts about growing a business or the fitness and supplements industry, we actively seek out content that enhances our communication skills. We dive into resources that explain decision-making processes, share stories of others who have faced similar challenges and found solutions, and discuss topics like not seeking external validation, accepting embarrassment as part of success, and tuning out the “haters.” If you want to build something that is truly bigger than yourself, you first have to accept that you are far from perfect and that there are a lot of people who are much smarter than you. Once you do that, you’ve opened the door to the road of success.
Have a great week!
-GTY Performance
