Thursday, October 12, 2017

Lessons learned from 100,000 miles of running

David Horton, EdDLiberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM) welcomed David Horton, EdD, professor of Health Sciences and Kinesiology at Liberty University (LU), to convocation on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

Dr. Horton spent over 31 years running ultra-marathons and in his lifetime, has run more than 113,000 miles. Offering a message of encouragement and motivation, Dr. Horton said, “You are preparing to enter a field in which you will have the opportunity to improve the quality of life for a lot of people…but how can you encourage someone to exercise if you yourself do not exercise? The answer is, you can’t.”

During his message, he stressed the importance of improving the quality of life for each other, so one day, they can improve their patients. “Think about the affect you can have on the lives of others, and your goal ought to be to help and maintain their quality of life, both physically and spiritually,” he added.

Dr. Horton shared several similarities such as: preparation, perseverance, confidence, mental discipline to finish the task, self-discipline, pain tolerance, and pursuit of excellence, that medical school students and ultra-marathon runners have in common. He also challenged LUCOM faculty to make the most of the opportunity they have been given.

“The people that admitted you here want you to finish, they expect you to finish and they know you have the ability to finish, but it is up to you,” he said.

Dr. Horton’s Lessons after 100,000 miles of Running

  1. This too shall pass.
  2. Run don’t think.
  3. It never always gets worse.
  4. Nothing happens by accident.
  5. Take one day at a time.
  6. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
  7. The journey is more important than the destination.
  8. Accept the day as it comes.
  9. Keep making forward progress.
  10. You can do more than you think you can.
  11. What goes up must come down.
  12. Nothing worthwhile ever comes without hard work.
  13. When things are easy a person doesn’t really learn about themselves.
  14. It’s what a person does at the moment of his greatest struggle that shows him who he really is.
  15. Those who think they can and those who think they can’t are both right.
  16. Man can only enjoy that which he acquires with hard work and toil.
  17. One of God’s greatest miracles is to enable ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
  18. Lord grant that I might always desire more than I can accomplish.
  19. Life demands before it rewards.
  20. The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot.
  21. Surround yourself with challenging people and ideas.
  22. You must act as if it is impossible to fail.

 


 

Liberty University Cinematic Arts, Zaki Gordon Center and Working Title Agency recently  produced and released Extraordinary, a film based on the life story of Dr. Horton with the prominent theme to finish the race of marriage. Extraordinary will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 19, watch the trailer.