SKY and RUNNING: Mental Resilience

Today I would like to write about the importance of having mental reslience. As life, running  comes with unexpected ups and downs, and especially for the latter, we need to be prepared. Physical training is what occupies most if not all our training plan:  speed, uphills, strength, endurance, tempo, mobility... all make our body fitter and hence more resilient for what our adventures and races will bring. But how do we make our minds ready too?

First, let's take the time to review the meaning of the word resilience:

"the ability to be happy, successful, etc. again after something difficult or bad has happened

Such a pretty word! that's why mental resilience, together with physical reslience, makes a person and a athlete in general well rounded!

Notice that no matter how well we sleep, eat and train, bad luck can place in, and the unexpected could put us out of the path we were willing to hold. Hard and good training is necessary but far from sufficient to achieve success, or just maintain a certain degree of fullfilment in the long run.

In order to overcome those times where injury, stress, personal crisis or other problems arise, it is important to be prepared with a solid base. Here are some pilars I can think of:

Pilar one: A strong mind

As the famous buddist monk Mattieu Ricard states: " control of the external world is temporal or illusionary". I cannot put it in better words. Acknowledge the fact that we do not have control of the events that we live, but rather how we manage our emotions in that time, is critical to achieve mental resilience, as we go through those tough times. We need to train our mind, mainly via meditation, to gain control over our emotional flow in challenging situations.

Practicing meditation, focus and building a headspace that allow us to manage  those moments of anxiety, loss of control or depletion, are not only energy saving, but are probably a defining factor in the quality of our life. 

Despite the current crisis, we may not find the need to work on that as we are having a decent time. That is indeed the best moment to invest in your mind. We all accept that training our body is important, but we deprioritize the main muscle governing how we experience life, our brain.

Pilar two: Process versus outcome

Races, mountain peaks , deliveries, holydays, events, will bring us great moments, but their outcome is hardly predictable, and they represent only a small proportion of our time. We spend most of our time in the process to achieve such goals, in building the blocks or taking steps towards them. If we do not enjoy the process, of see the process as a simple procedure towards a state of happiness, chances are that we will be dissapointed, or at least empty after the target is achieved. 

If we dare to reverse the engineering towards a process focus instead of outcome based development, we will appreciate more every little moment, and probably be more successful at the end. It is a excellent process that brings great outcomes, and they will come sometime, maybe sooner or later that desired or expected.

An open mindset towards outcomes, and limit how much the defined the worth of our efforts is critical to stay for the long run.  See your plans as mere steps and not the final destination, and see them more as a celebration of your health and capabilities, rather than a test of your self worth.

Pilar three: getting growth mindset right

When we train we expect to improve linerarly, like machines or algorithms, but we need to remember that human beings evolve organically, and in very complex ways. Your past you do not define your future you, and the stimulae you put into your life can create amazing development, but do not force development to show  up according to a fix set of "deadlines". The body follows their own paths and we cannot impose timmings. Be aware that consistency, and a scientific approach for training that is fun will bring growth, but be open to what it will bring, since it will surprse you.

Speed is overated, and believe me, WE cannot care less about how fast your are. Moving in general is such a pretty thing, that limiting success to a number is not only terrible science but also missing the celebration of life that running means. Look at kids and wild animals...they move freely with joy and beauty... Don't you think we can learn from them?

Bring joy and love to your movement, and you will become your best. Have boundless energy, forget about numbers and comparisons...You are enough and you are great how you are. Most of people who love you will do it unconditionally whether you outpace Kilian or you run like a dizzy Hippo (that the first animal that came to my mind apologies my dearest hipps). 

Compasion to ourselves is such a nice word, managing us lovingly through tough times to really take of us honestly, letting the nature flow of things settle if something go wrong.

How do you build your mental resilience?

Did you learn something about it today?

Thanks for taking the time!