Extraordinarily Ordinary Abilities
Letter Zero 45
Dear friend,
Winning endurance athletes have an extraordinarily ordinary ability. I’ll tell you what it is in a second. But first I have to admit...
I cringe when I hear the prevailing opinion about the coming new year. It seems like most people agree that 2021 can’t get here soon enough. It bothers me because it’s bad self talk. Here’s what I mean...
Anyone who goes into 2021 expecting forces beyond their control to dictate how they feel is setting themselves up for another rough year. I hesitate to minimize the suffering that so many people shared this year, that’s not my intention, but you have more control of the future than you realize and it starts with self talk.
Many people go their whole life not even realizing that the voice in their head is something they can control. It makes you wonder if maybe a mental tool is missing. Was there a fundamental skill that was skipped when they taught us how to be alive? Because of this gap, instead of continually improving ourselves, we go into each year hoping that life will get better. We confuse time with something that happens to us instead of something we participate in. Resolutions are thrown like dice and abandoned at the first friction. We tiptoe into January with uncertainty, hoping that it will be better, waiting for circumstance to control us. We think we are rolling a dice when we are actually holding a stacked deck.
That’s the skill that endurance athletes have. They go into the race knowing the pain they have signed up for. They volunteered for the suffering. And when it comes, when the pain is at its worst it is the self talk that is going to make or break their performance. It sounds like this...
This is going to be the best race of my life. I’ve trained for this. There will be challenges that will be out of my control. I expect them, am curious about them, and will overcome them. My success today is guaranteed because I am unshakeably committed to showing up, to doing my best, to enduring the pain and learning from the result - whatever it ends up being. I’ve trained for this, so bring it on.
I’m not great at this either but I am getting better. Every mile, every day is a chance to exercise that mental muscle. I’ll write again next Sunday. Stay creative.
Your friend,
Adrian