Balancing Sprints and Marathons: How Consistency and Intensity Drive

Years ago, I was faced with a daunting realization: every Jewish man has the obligation to learn the entire Torah.

For someone like me, who wasn’t the strongest learner growing up, this felt like trying to scale a mountain without training.

But what if I told you that sometimes the biggest accomplishments come not from giant leaps but from small, consistent steps?

Then I came across a book called The Meister Plan by Rabbi Tuvia Meister. Rabbi Meister had a 20-year plan to cover the entire Torah, breaking it down into manageable, bite-sized steps. While I wasn’t ready to follow his plan exactly, the idea that learning the whole Torah was achievable lit a fire inside me.

Slowly, I began tracking my own learning. Over time, seeing that progress build up was exciting. I began making siyumim (celebrations for completing sections of learning) along the way, marking each small milestone as a victory.

My Torah knowledge has increased tremendously since then, and the lesson I learned was clear: consistent, small steps lead to tremendous growth over time.

But there’s more to the story than just slow and steady progress. Sometimes, life also demands a sprint.

Small and Consistent vs. Grand Gestures

In life, we tend to glorify the big, intense efforts—the grand gestures that feel like they make a splash. Crash diets, intense workout programs like P90X, or massive spiritual goals can give us quick wins, but they often come at a cost: burnout and frustration.

We’ve all been there—after an initial rush of success, we’re left struggling to maintain even the basics. The excitement fades, and we’re left wondering if we’ve really grown at all.

On the other hand, there’s something immensely powerful about small, consistent actions. The Rambam teaches that if you have $100 to give to charity, it’s better to give $1 to 100 people rather than $100 to one person.

Why? Because it turns you into a giver. Small, repeated acts build habits. Over time, they change who we are.

It’s the same with our spiritual growth. While grand gestures are exciting, it’s the everyday, quiet moments that build lasting transformation.

Think about your kids or your childhood: there were the big events and vacations, but the most cherished are the small, consistent things like nightly tuck-ins, the songs at the Shabbat table, and the loving moments that create the foundation of a memorable life.

The Power of Intervals: Combining Consistency and Sprints

That being said, life is not just about the slow and steady. There are moments in life when we need to sprint. The Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe) are one of those moments. Elul, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur are times of intense spiritual opportunity.

It’s like spiritual interval training, where we balance our regular “walking” pace with bursts of intense effort.

In a race, you can’t go from 0 to 60 in an instant. You need to keep your muscles warmed up, maintain a steady rhythm, and when the time comes, push with everything you’ve got.

Elul is that warm-up period before the sprint. If you’ve been taking small, consistent steps throughout the year—praying, learning, and growing—you’re already warmed up and can pick up the pace in Elul.

But if you’ve been a little cold, Elul is a gift from Hashem, an opportunity to get yourself into shape for the sprint of the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah and Yom Kippur.

My Journey with Two Mishnayot a Day

Before I started tracking my Torah learning, I was in a post-high school yeshiva, and I learned that the Gemara tells us that when a person leaves this world, they are asked six key questions.

One of them is, “Did you have a set time for learning?” At the time, I didn’t have a daily set time to learn, and it weighed on me. So I asked my rabbi, “What’s the minimum amount of time I need to set aside each day for learning?”

His answer surprised me: “There’s no minimum. It’s about consistency.”

That’s when I made a decision. I committed to learning two mishnayot a day. At first, it was small, but slowly, I started completing chapters and then masechtot. As the days passed, I realized that the slow, steady rhythm of learning two mishnayot a day wasn’t just increasing my knowledge—it was transforming my mindset.

I found myself anticipating that quiet moment of study each day, and I could sense how it grounded me, even when life felt chaotic.

When my oldest son turned three, we celebrated his upsherin, and I realized I was just a few perakim away from completing an entire seder of Mishnayot. I locked myself in a room and sprinted to finish those last few perakim in time to make a siyum at his upsherin.

That day, the birthday party turned into a seudat mitzvah, and it was an incredible feeling of accomplishment. But it was more than just a personal milestone—it was a powerful moment of connecting my learning to my family’s spiritual journey.

Here’s the thing: I couldn’t sustain that kind of intense sprint every day. If I tried, I’d burn out. It was because of the slow, consistent two mishnayot a day that I was able to sprint when it mattered.

And it was because of that siyum and the sense of achievement that I stayed motivated to keep going.

The Balance

This experience taught me the beauty of balancing marathon pace and sprinting. You need the steady progress to keep growing over time, but every once in a while, it’s the sprint that propels you forward and gives you the energy to keep going.

Our life is like a marathon, where we run the track over and over, passing familiar checkpoints each year.

Just like a marathon runner carefully manages nutrition, hydration, and energy, we have to balance our responsibilities— making a living, nurturing our families, and being part of a community.

But when Elul comes, it’s time to pick up the pace. The Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, with its balance of intensity and endurance, is like a middle-distance race.

And Yom Kippur is our spiritual sprint—where everything else fades away, and we focus solely on pouring every ounce of our energy into reaching the finish line.

As we approach the Yamim Noraim, this concept of combining consistency with sprints becomes even more relevant.

Elul is the warm-up, where we get ready for the intense spiritual sprint of Rosh Hashanah, the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, and Yom Kippur. The combination of small, daily actions and the moments when we push ourselves with all we’ve got is what leads to true spiritual growth.

Sprint with Me!

This year, I want to help you make the most of this incredible opportunity.

Think back on your own spiritual journey—what are the small, consistent steps you’ve been taking? And where can you push yourself a little harder?

Join me in the FREE 7-Day Sprint Course to Get Ready for the Yamim Noraim, where we’ll reflect on our past year, connect with gratitude and bitachon, and prepare for the intense spiritual sprint ahead. You’ll receive one email each day for seven days, each with thought-provoking ideas and exercises that will prepare you for the Yamim Noraim.

Together, we’ll tap into the power of Elul and make this new year truly transformational.

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