It sucks when you get something started only to get derailed. I have been running for years being quite happy with my slow and steady pace finding my inner motivation with no need for a finish line. But one of my 2022 resolutions was to set a multi-year goal to run a half marathon in all 50 states. After running my first race in Daufuskie Island, SC, I got the bug to do more and to improve my speed. What can I say? I learned I actually enjoyed the thrill of competition. It comes as no surprise to me that pushing mileage and skimping on rest resulted in an injury. The culprit is over-training syndrome: too much running and too little rest. I hear I am in good company. It hits about 65 percent of runners at some point. I feel this is common; whenever we head in a new direction pursuing new goals, we will encounter roadblocks and hit a wall.
While my first instinct was to wallow in self-pity, fortunately on second thought, I was able to formulate a better coping strategy: what if instead of trying to push my way through the wall, I leaned against it? It’s easy to look at the wall as a negative experience, but it might hold important life lessons. A big part of successfully achieving goals is identifying our own personal walls and figuring out a way to get to the other side. And the first step is to know when to push and when to stop and pull back. It’s a valuable lesson for all runners and for all goal-getters. When you are the type of person who pushes yourself to the point of pain, injury, or burnout, it takes a huge mind shift to learn to focus on rest and recovery.
So, when is it good to push the limits and when is it necessary to pull back? When we think of physical strength, we think of running longer or faster, lifting more, or doing more reps. When we think of goal-achievement, we think of grit, determination, and persistence. But the truth is that when taking on an ambitious goal requiring long-term diligence and effort, we need to find the balance managing opposite energies: push and pull, and movement and stillness. These qualities are known as yin and yang. As my Yin Yoga teacher says, Yin is a soft, still energy whereas yang is a powerful and dynamic energy. But they are not mutually exclusive, or opposing qualities. They are two sides of the same coin, an expression of the same thing, working in conjunction. You cannot have one without the other. Our vulnerability will reveal the path to our greatest strength. When hitting a wall, we need to give ourselves permission to embrace vulnerability, our softer energy, and gracefully yield to the obstacle instead of forcefully resist or desperately fight it. This will allow us to create the space needed to make progress.
Rest originates from effort. Finding the strength in softness means observing in a clam and open-minded way what is happening in order to recognize the possibilities within reach. Softness can be more powerful than having power and using force. Softness is the ability to flow, to move effortlessly and in harmony and balance. Softness is difficult for me. I am working on reclaiming “staying soft” as the new “staying strong.” But here’s a secret I am learning about strength and softness: they are both always there deep inside. But I need to be willing to access it and trust myself to apply it in order to courageously and patiently navigate the way through roadblocks.
Follow these five steps re-direct your mental energy:
Feel the pain: allow yourself to be vulnerable, to effectively “metabolize” the pain. Then let go in order to move forward.
Accept the things you cannot change: some things cannot be undone. Embrace the unchangeable. Remove yourself from the unacceptable.
Shift your focus to the things you can change: identify the things you are willing, able, and ready to change. It may take time for the possibilities to come into view. Brainstorm ideas for action.
Outline your options to redefine your action plan: think about the big picture of what you want to achieve and determine a sequence of steps to take in order to start moving again, even if slowly.
Be kind to yourself: treat yourself the way you would someone you care about. Let go of impossible perfection, harsh self-criticism, and self-flagellation. Appreciate all your efforts.
When you are facing a challenge, it will test you physically and mentally. Our emotions stem from our thoughts. Thus, you can reframe your mindset to start your upward spiral. When you feel overwhelmed thinking “I can’t do this,” you learn to “see” that there’s a way forward. Try a new program. Find new resources. Explore your options to chart a new path. Find a way to do what you can regardless of the web of conspiring circumstances. Believe at the deepest level possible that you can transcend apparent limits, that while you may be down, you are not out. Yes, have felt the pain. But you can get up, shake it off, and rise up. You are not defeated. As painful and unpleasant as the experience of hitting a wall may be at the present time, it’s nothing but a momentary blip on your journey.
No matter what the challenge is, you can prevail. Just Be REAL:
Release what was.
Embrace what is.
Accept the profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life.
Look at what you’ve got & make the best of it.
コメント