Belief and Goggins (Mental Tools for Hard Things)
A few weeks ago, while browsing around the internet, I came across the question; “What do you believe that most people don’t?” Hmmm. I thought about it, and then made a list of things I believe. But each of those things were ideas I got from other people- podcasts, blog posts, books- rather than something unique that most people don’t believe. Ever since then I’ve been thinking about it- there must be SOMETHING! While getting ready for my race, I decided my answer- for now (I hope I can come up with something else as time goes by)- is that I believe I can complete a 50 mile race. Of course, I’m not the only one who believes this- people are running 50 miles, and much farther, all the time. But almost always, when I mention it to someone, the response it “How can you do that? I could never do that! I can’t even imagine running that far!” The truth is, most of us could do it. It’s just that most people don’t want to (and that’s completely understandable.) It’s not like I’m a gifted athlete. And it’s not like I have an invincible body. I’ve mentioned many times that after my daughter was born, I was plagued by one injury after another. But I’ve always wanted to run ultra marathons, and I believe I can do it, so I found a way to make it happen. Today in the gym I listened to this episode of the Huberman Lab podcast with David Goggins. I know a lot of people don’t like him, but if you need a pep talk or a kick in the pants, this episode is powerful. Huberman shared some scientific findings that show when you do something really hard, something that you don’t want to do, a part of your brain actually gets bigger. This part of the brain is associated with willpower, and ultimately the will to live. (This part of the conversation comes at 46:00 into the podcast, if you’re interested in things like this.) Goggins talks about how everything is hard for him. Running hurts, but he does it anyway. He says he’s not smart and grew up with ADHD, but he’s studying to be a paramedic right now, and learning the material is excruciatingly slow for him. But the whole point is that these things are hard. If he loved running, or if studying came easy, it wouldn’t create that friction he needs to grow. If you listen to this, you’ll realize that most of us are living pretty cushy lives. I know we all have our troubles, but overall we like to be comfortable. I remember last year when we were in Tampa, my husband and I had signed up for a 3K race. The forecast was showing a very cold- “Florida cold,” that is- morning, 40s and rainy. The night before, my husband said “Do we have to do it?” My son said “What would David Goggins say?” and it made me laugh. Let’s see.. this was a 3K race, which is less than two miles. Okay, 40 and rainy feels cold to Floridians, but it’s not really cold. When I’m running my race and things start to fall apart (which they inevitably will) I’ll ask myself “What would Goggins do?” He would probably laugh at the thought of quitting in a 50 mile race. He would also probably swear at me. And after he finished laughing and swearing, he would definitely tell me, in no uncertain terms, to keep going. Can you think of something you believe that most people don’t? Is there anything really hard you don’t want to do, but you do anyway? – (Does making dinner every day count???) Header photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash