As one of the youngest members of the Gripfast team, I used to place constant pressure on myself to prove my worth – whether by outperforming the previous week or delivering flawless results on every task, all while balancing the demands of my university studies and personal life. Before I realised it, I reach the final weeks of 2025 feeling exhausted and overly self-critical. Reflecting on the year I recognised that continuing with this mindset would limit my ability to grow valuable skills, gain experience, and ultimately grow professionally.
Most would assume the logical response would be to take a break, but instead I chose the opposite – I signed up for a marathon. Although I was a regular runner, I had no experience with racing or endurance training, logically it doesn’t seem like the best decision on my part. Committing to a marathon required disciple, structure, and resilience. Initially, I viewed it as an outlet to push myself physically rather than mentally at work. However much like in my professional life, I found myself constantly chasing faster times, longer distances, and stronger performance.
It wasn’t until my Person Trainer insisted that I slowdown that I began to understand marathon training isn’t about pushing yourself to extreme limits – it’s about steadily building your strength, prioritising recovery, and turning what once felt unattainable into achievable performance. Signing up for a marathon became an opportunity to reshape how I measure progress. Instead of chasing a personal best every run, I learned to focus on technique, build endurance, and – most importantly – recovery. I started the journey of laying the foundation before chasing speed.
This same lesson applies to my career in Project Management. Striving for perfection on every task or constantly trying to outperform myself only lead to mistakes and burnout. Instead of seeing 5:00pm as the finish line, each day became a training session, the goal is to build on what I learnt yesterday, prioritising lunch breaks, and building practical experience. Each day my foundation grows stronger in technical skills, knowledge, and experience, every day becomes a win – even when the lesson comes from mistakes.
Just as in marathon training, having the right coaches makes all the difference. I am incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by the Gripfast team – mentors with diverse skills and experience – who are not only guide and support my career development but also encourage me to keep moving forward toward my goals.
By taking a measured, growth focused approach, I know I am building a stronger foundation – one that will not only support my long-term career progression but also help me recognise when I am approaching burnout and need to recalibrate. Reflecting on the amount of growth I feel as though I have made since changing this mindset it is clear that whether you’re training for a marathon or managing complex projects, consistent effort and mindful progress matter more than constant perfection.
Georgia Dingle
