“You’re mad, bonkers, completely off your head. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.” – Lewis Carroll

This week is Running of the Bulls.

A few years ago, I tried it and learned an unexpected lesson.

The best ideas come from the strangest places .

Pamplona, Spain:

6:00pm night before Running with the Bulls

We had no clue what we were doing and no clue what to expect.

My idea, like most in life: Find someone who does.

8:00pm : Nerves kick in. 12 Hours to go.

“You kind of know what we’re doing right”: that was my wife.

“Nope”: that was me.

“So what’s the plan?”

“Let’s get to the town square at 6:00am, plenty of time to settle in and find someone who does.”

8:01pm : My wife was not happy. For the next 10 hours straight, there were celebrations outside of our hotel non-stop. Apparently, people stay up all night fueled by sangria and unshakeable confidence. That was not us. Lights out. Better luck in the morning.

5:30am : The day has arrived. We dress in the traditional attire and plan to be one of the firsts to arrive at the town square.

6:00am : We arrive….along with almost 100,000 other people. Great. They also had no clue what they are doing. Even worse.

7:00am : 1 Hour away. The crowd gets bigger. Complete chaos.

7:30am : Everyone begins to spread out along the 1 mile route that ends in the arena. Still no insights.

7:45am : I see a group from Australia. They were laughing, jumping, stretching. Are we supposed to be laughing? Are we supposed to be jumping?

7:50am : After 5 minutes of watching them, they looked the most confident. Surely they would know. Surely I should ask.

7:55am : Hey guys, it’s our 1st time Running with the Bulls, any advice? “Yeah mate, there’s only 1 Rule: “Once you start running, Don’t Look Back.”

8:00am: BOOM, a sound goes off in the distance that the Bulls are coming. And it happens in a flash.

It turns out the most dangerous part of Running with the Bulls is not the Bulls. It’s the people…when they look back. The Bulls will go around you, but the people cause the pileups, when they look back.

Dash of Courage

The same thing happens in life. When we look back we don’t truly give ourselves a chance to succeed. If we always second guess and hesitate, we lack clarity, and courage, and it creates pileups. With Bulls and Life.

Looking back is natural, but it’s not productive.

The only path forward is ahead. Once you know where you want to go and  what you want to do, there’s only one thing left….

Don’t Look Back.

Courage over comfort,

Garrett

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