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(567) Marathon vs 100m run [thought]

(1) Life is a marathon, so what's the use of coming in first for just 100 meters?

I often hear of similar quotes, and this reminds me of a Japanese phrase 一生懸命. I understand it as working hard for a lifetime.

マラソン s.jpg
My question is whether life is a marathon for everybody. The answer is no. Because I've found the next quote from a web site, Marathon Quotes.

(2) Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.
長い間懸命に努力し、その間に最高のパフォーマンスを発揮できる瞬間がある

  Who said this? Michael Johnson did. Who is he? He is an American retired sprinter who won four Olympic gold medals and 8 World Championships gold medals in the span of his career. He worked very hard for being a sprint. This reminds me another Japanese phrase, 一所懸命. This originally means "Work hard in one place," and means work hard for one thing.

短距離走s.jpg

These two quotes (1) and (2) say about opposite things, the marathon and the sprint. Which is more important for people to win a marathon or a 100m sprint? We cannot compare these two different kinds of races. Both are equally important at last.

  By the way, who said the quote (1)?
Taizo Ishizaka (1886-1975) did. He is a Japanese who served as chairman of Keidanren [Japan Business Federation] for 12 years.
人生はマラソンなんだから、100メートルで一等をもらったってしょうがない。
石坂泰三(1886-1975) 経団連
His quote can be rephrased like this, "I want to aim for victory at my life's goal, not be happy or sad about immediate success." He wanted to aim for victory at his life's goal.
What is life's goal?
一所懸命s.jpg
It varies from person to person. For Michael Johson, being a sprinter was his life's goal. Then being a sprinter is as important as life is a marathon. Because importance doesn't depend on the length of races and lifetime. And Japanese 一所懸命 and 一生懸命 are now used in the same way, as work hard.
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