Taken in any context everyone’s goal in to live the life as they want. When you do what you love, you love what you do. Frankly,not many people can do what they love.Because many times what we love doing is not much help in running your daily show. Most of the time what we want to achieve is in direct conflict with what we are achieving.

Take my example, I want to exercise every morning, l get up and plonk myself on a chair and enjoy my morning coffee. It would require an AK47 pointed directly at my bum to move me out of my seat to go out and exercise. We live our dreams on the bed and in real life do nothing. And then frustration sets in.

The result is you get agitated at everything.The lucky few who are able to translate their dreams to reality, become heroes and inspiration for others. One such person is in Sydney. Shika Rajan daughter of Robin Rajan,Practising Accountant. Shika took a risk in her life. She left a six figure salaried job with Transport NSW. In 2013, she took voluntary redundancy to pursue her long term goal of becoming a clinical psychologist. Shika was never a sport oriented person.

Initially she took to running on the treadmill and one day while waiting for a friend at the Centennial Park in Sydney, she did a few laps of the park and that triggered her passion to run.In February 2013 a friend invited her to run with the Sydney Striders. From then on therenwas no looking back. She gradually increased her long distance non-stop running to 35 km.Next she set her ambitions on running for a marathon. She trained hard. I asked her a few questions on her approach and training. Here are excerpts :

Harnath Sithamraju : What was your approach towards training and how did you overcome any shortcomings.

Shika Rajan: I learned the valuable lesson of persistence, discipline and commitment – the training not only revealed my strengths and weakness but it gave me an avenue to turn my weakness into strengths and take accountability for my own actions. There is no excuse, short cuts or blame factor – my performance in the marathon was solely dependent on how much I invested in my training. Many people had doubts that I could not complete a marathon due to my limited running experience or my limited exposure to races many even suggested that I start with a small race or compete in half a marathon however I was determined to run a marathon not to prove everyone wrong but to prove myself that I am capable of achieving anything. During the difficult period of my training I always referred to quotes in the Bhagavad Gita for inspiration and empowerment. \

The more I progressed in my running the further I progressed in the other areas of my life and I started noticing a change in my persona and character.” After training hard she decided to participate in the Sydney Marathon an annual event in Sydney.HS : Can you describe your feelings on the day when you were waiting to start your Marathon Run.

SR : On the day of the race, I knew I would complete the race but I didn’t know how hard it would be – at 35km I hit the wall, my legs felt like jelly and I couldn’t comprehend what was happening century Saint from Bengal- Lahari Mahasaya.

He meant :however I knew that it was not the time to give up, I tapped into every single mental power and kept running – it was the battle of the mind over body. After crossing the finish line, I realised the power of the mind and how we can change our thought processes to accomplish anything in life.

Shika ran the marathon non-stop for 4 hrs 12 mins 10 secs and crossed the finish line without any hiccups. And because of passing this endurance test, has been chosen to run the Paris Marathon 6th April 2014.

HS How was it possible to achieve this mental toughness.

SR : I am very lucky to be raised by parents who taught me the meaning of persistence and determination, my parents gave me the skills and tools to overcome any obstacles in life and to never shy away from fearful situations or tasks.

HS : What message would you like to give people beset with cynical and hesitant approach towards achieving their life’s goal?

SR : We as individuals have all the tools and strengths to reach our greatest potentials but we need to train our minds to overcome negativity and start taking responsibility for our own actions. We should not be the victim of our past actions, self-doubt, age or gender – anyone can complete a marathon regardless of age or gender The confidence I gained from my first marathon helped me to secure my current employment with NSW Ministry of Health.

HS : What are your future goals?

SR : Prior to completing my first marathon, I had reservations about pursuing a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology because I didn’t believe in myself but now I am confident that I can accomplish a doctorate. I hope my actions will encourage people of all ages and gender to start running or get involved in physical sports not only for physical health but psychological and personal transformation.

My second marathon will be in Paris on 6 April 2014 We wish her all the luck at the Paris Marathon. Run Shika Run!

  Doctorate, Psychology, pursuing, reservations