In response to my yesterday’s entry on being mentally exhausted from grinding at work, I found an interesting article by Mr Tim Denning on the 85% rule.
In the article, he talks about how Carl Lewis, the legendary sprinter who won gold 9 times for track and field used the 85% rule. He noted on how the Olympian trained himself to run steadily on the 100m sprint track.
Other people that competed with Lewis would run at their max capacity throughout the run. When reaching the end, his competitors would be tense and tried to push themselves beyond their limit at the final segment in the hopes of winning the race. They would be overclock and try to push through their boundaries.
On the contrary, Lewis would be zooming through the whole race steadily. The sports casters would observe that Lewis was behind other sprinters in the beginning and middle segment of the race. However, almost miraculously, the legendary runner would always end up chasing and finishing first – and he did it while staying cool and composed. Winning like a true victor. He made it look easy.
This is because, Denning explains, that Lewis had trained to perform at 85% of his capacity. This allowed him to perform at his best throughout the race. He did not have to overextend his abilities, nor overuse his tools to win. He went the distance, at his best.
The lesson from this anecdote is that if I am to do my best consistently in a long term journey, then I should not push myself to my fullest all the time. I need to pace myself at 85% of my limit so that I can continue the race. So that I can go the distance, at my best.
Breathe. Stay cool. Win step by step with composure. And I will chase up to the others and beat them to the finish line.
Hustle, and keep hustlin’.
Ruiz