Newsletter No. 9

It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.

Paris, 7 January 2026

Hi Friend,

Happy New Year!

(I'm glad I'm writing this newsletter today as in a couple of days, we'll enter that odd time when we're not sure whether wishing people a happy new year is still appropriate, but we still do it, but then add a comment about it getting too late for that... so none of that for now.)

Whether or not you're one for new year's resolutions, stocktaking, planning, recharging or, on the contrary, just being depressed in January, I bet you're in some sort of a weird place now, feeling the need (or even buzzing) for productivity but still just trying to get out of bed.

Now, I don't know about you, but when I'm in a weird place, I need a beacon – or a mantra to get me out of there.

So here's one that's been taking me to places recently.

Yes, you've guessed, it's this one:

It's not a sprint, it's a marathon.

And before you just dismiss it as a cliché, or as something I force on you just because now I'm constantly thinking in running metaphors, let me reassure you that i) it's not, and ii) it's not just me.

There's just a lot in common between life, work and long-distance running – and if you don't believe me, just read Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (which I had the pleasure of reading recently – a kind present from Baby Jesus, aka the Hungarian Santa).

But I digress, slightly.

The point is: if that the new year is giving you extra stress of having to get it all right, now, then please pause and tell yourself that you don't actually have to do it all, right now.

You just need to take the first step.

Or just plan to do the first step.

If all you achieve today is to come up with a plan for tomorrow, you're already ahead of everyone who hasn't even done that.

You'll have time for the rest.

Once again – and for one last time – Happy New Year!

András

András Sztrókay
Founder and International Educational Consultant

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