Four lessons from an endurance event.
This past weekend I participated in a 4x4x48 challenge. Along with my husband and best friend, I ran 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. We also raised more than ten thousand dollars for a non-profit in the process.
The challenge was invented by David Goggins, a former Navy SEAL, elite ultra athlete, and world record holder. His book, "Can't Hurt Me," chronicles his tales of getting through the toughest military training and most challenging races, but has lessons on mental toughness that can be applied to regular life. I recommend the audio version of the book, which includes extra interviews and stories that don't appear in the printed version.
The weekend was tough on the body. It hurt. But moreso, it was a mental challenge. How do you make yourself run again at midnight? At 4am? How do you keep going when you haven't slept? How do you make yourself eat when you feel sick? I knew it was going to be hard, but going in I had zero doubt that we would finish. Why?
I thought about this as I ran. What made it possible to complete this seemingly impossible task with relative ease? And how can it be applied to other areas in life? How can I attack other goals with the same grit and confidence?
We had mental toughness, yes. But how? I think for me it came down to four key things: Preparation, Decision, Accountability, and Support.
Preparation
First off, we were prepared for the event. We trained. Running four miles at a time sounded relatively easy since our bodies were used to running much longer distances. We certainly could have done more to make the last few laps less painful, but we trained enough to put the goal within the realm of possibility. We knew that it would hurt, but also that we could do it.
Apply this same logic to other goals. Don't set out to publish a novel if you haven't written anything since your last highschool or college homework assignment! You must train. You must prepare. Develop a writing habit. Write a short story. Publish something - even just on the internet. Bring the big goal into the realm of possibility, before setting it and chasing it.
There is no way a couch potato who hasn't run more than a mile at a time in years could do what we just did. Their physical condition completely aside, at some point their mental toughness would break down. It's too easy to start to think "I can't do this," if you really don't feel prepared for the challenge. So, prepare!
Decision
The next most important factor in our success was that we made a real decision. We decided and agreed that we would complete this challenge. There was no going back from there. We didn't agree to try it. We didn't decide to start it and see how it goes. We decided that we would finish. It's that simple.
Try the same technique with other life goals. It's a small distinction, but so important. Feel the difference between thinking you should probably work out three times each week, and deciding to work out three times per week. Notice the shift in urgency and power between wanting to have a decluttered space and deciding to have a decluttered space. Make a decision. Write it down. Say it out loud. Feel it in your bones.
Accountability
One thing that really helped keep us moving during the low times was the massive amount of accountability we felt to everyone else. We had been talking up the event for a long time and promised to go "live" on Facebook before and after every single leg. At 3:30 in the morning it might have been easy to mosey around slowly and get to our 4:00am run at 4:30 or later. Who cares right? We're still getting the miles. But that would have really put us behind timeline and impacted the rest of the event. Luckily, since we had told people ahead of time that we'd be checking in before and after each leg, we had a fire under our asses to get moving and get there on time as promised. Being accountable to others really helped keep us on track and allowed us to finish.
Use accountability to your advantage in your own life. Find people who are working towards the same or similar goals. If you don't have anyone like that in your life, find them online. There are online forums and groups on social media for practically every interest. Find some like-minded folks and form an accountability group. I've been "meeting" with the same small group of people on Zoom for almost a year now. Every week we meet just to go over what we're working on that week, and what we accomplished the week before, in relation to our shared goal. All of us swear, sometimes the group is the only reason we get anything done. We don't want to show up to the call and report that we didn't accomplish that week's tasks. All too often we humans are willing to let ourselves down, but much more reluctant to let others down. Use that.
Support
Having support during our event was a huge morale boost. We got a lot of engagement on social media. Lots of likes and comments and shares. But I also got lots of text messages and voicemails of support and encouragement. We even had a group of friends meet us between runs for a bonfire on the beach. That really changed our energy from low and depleted to totally amped up again. Support can go a long way in helping us achieve our goals - so how do you get it? Ask.
Tell your spouse, friends, or family what you are working on and why it's important. Support doesn't have to come from people who are working toward the same or similar goals. It just comes from people who care about you achieving yours. Find a tribe of people who care enough to check in and ask you how it's going and offer help when needed. Knowing they are on your side can mean a lot when you start to doubt yourself. Getting support requires us first to be brave and vulnerable - by stating the goal out loud to someone else. But that in itself can be empowering. Bring your goal outside your head and into the real world by stating, "This is what I want to achieve. This is what I have decided to accomplish. Your support in this endeavor would mean a lot."
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