Speaking notes
Your default response to anything unpleasant or painful is to get away from it.
You leaned this early in life when you first touched a hot stove.
In my case it was a hairpin in an electrical outlet at 18 months.
But you will put up with pain and suffering
- If you think the reward it big enough.
- If you think change will be too hard.
Ultramarathon runners.
Most of the US stuck in jobs, or life events they hate.
Other parts of the world: same situation – This is a human behavior.
If you are going to put up with pain and suffering, you have three choices. Two are unhealthy. One is both healthy and effective.
I know several ultramarathon runners who have finished their 100 mile race with a fractured bone in their leg.
And not just a few miles: 20 or 30.
Those of us who run ultramarathons know we are going to deal with pain at some point. Blisters, chaffing, muscle cramps, tripping and falling, these are a normal part of what we deal with.
Why do we do it?
The reward is worth it.
Everyone is different. =====>> Knowing you did something that you once thought was impossible.
Strategies to manage the pain:
Block it out.
Your mind is powerful. It can block the sensation of intense pain.
There is an internet famous runner who does this and wrote a book teaching others.
“Mental toughness” to make your body tough and strong.
It works. But it’s not healthy and actually dangerous. Pain has a purpose.
Distract yourself.
You think about something else and dull the pain.
This is more common and easier to do.
Runners who listen to music.
Physical pain. Pain of boredom.
Accept and embrace it.
The first two methods are a form of resistance.
What you resist will intensify.
When you acknowledge the pain and accept it, the power of it will diffuse.
Maybe not right away. But it will pass.
If you are willing to let the pain be what it is you free yourself from it.
If you’ve listened to stories of runners here on the show, you’ve heard these stories.
If you’re new, my next guest, Nita Sweeney, talks about the relationship she has with running and meditation.
Meditation is one way to manage your thoughts and emotions.
That is how you run an ultramarathon. Manage thoughts and emotions.
That is how you have success in life. Manage thoughts and emotions.
Block them.
Distract yourself.
Be willing to feel it and let it pass.
Life:
Block: Emotional robot.
Distractions: Drugs, sex (porn), eating, shopping, sports, news.
Acceptance: Identity & goals ====>> you let the pain come and then pass.
NOTE: This is not a strategy to use in order to stay stuck.
This is a part of the mindset you need to become the best version of yourself you can be.
Soul-sucking job, friends who drag you down: these are things to endure while you make a plan to be who you want to be.
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