Mindset Matters
Recently upon traveling one of my own journeys along the rare disease path I was inspired by a number of individuals who stepped up to a challenge I set forth. My request was take a week to ten days and attempt an individual challenge that you have never attempted before. Often times that presents itself in the form of a physical challenge of some nature. Several former athletes and coaches I have worked with were quick to jump on board. Keeping tabs on the process during this time it was exciting, enlightening, humbling and inspiring to hear their own stories of pain and suffering along the way. In chatting with them afterwards it was a learning process for me to hear so many similarities in each person’s recount of their adventures. One former athlete said to me and I quote, “Thank you, That was the hardest F**king thing I ever did!”
That right there says it all. He obviously went to a different place that he has never been before. Maybe it was in the terms of being tired, or so sick to the stomach you cannot eat, cold, maybe hot, muscles so fatigued they didn’t function, whatever but it takes changing your mindset to get over that.
Another coach that I have had the pleasure to work on occasion over the years contacted me after the fact and said, “Jack, I have seen your posts and I have been quietly doing my own challenge”, which was to see if he could run an average of a half marathon (13.1 mi) for 10 days. “I’ve run that distance before but not (until now) run that distance on consecutive days for a sustained period.” By the time he was done he had covered 137 miles of dirt, rocks, roots, wood planks, grass and hard pavement.
And yet another fellow coach, former athlete, power lifter, and current strong man, decided on lifting 29,029 pounds of weight through a certain front squatting method over the 10 day period. That averaged out to be 130 repetitions with 225 pounds on the bar. WOW! Folks, you are all amazing!! And I cannot tell you how humbled and proud I am to know you.
Best jb