After graduating from college, I worked at a business consulting firm filled with the top MBA programs in the country. One of the consultants was a Harvard graduate who, over lunch, was proudly telling us that she had recently finished the Boston Marathon.

“Running a marathon is not hard! Either is achieving a Boston Qualifying time. It is simply a matter of time,” were my thoughts as an early twenty-year-old full of insecurity and self-centeredness. It was simply a matter of time, of which I had none to dedicate because I was too busy with my career.

Simply a matter of time.

Running a marathon and qualifying for Boston is simply a matter of time. But not in the way, my pompous, overinflated younger self believed. I simplified her achievement. I was scared because I knew I could not dedicate myself to achieving such an audacious goal. I feared the time it would take – not over a training cycle but over many years to become a runner.  Twenty years later, I remember this moment because that conversation sparked my interest and desire to run a marathon.

I know I was dismissive of her achievement because I longed to do the same. I was jealous because she was something my soul was telling me I needed to be. The metamorphosis would be long, painful, and full of setbacks, and our brains are programmed to keep us away from the struggle. Yet, the soul is persistent and endlessly seeks to overrule the mind to help us become a truer version of ourselves. It’s simply a matter of time.