“You don’t have to believe everything you think.” Bumper sticker.Imagine going into your closet, closing your eyes, and pulling out the first pair of shoes you touch—these will be the ones you put on for your workout. Could be steel-toed work boots, four-inch heels, patent leather brogues, or flip flops. There is, of course, a chance that you’ll pick your running shoes, but the odds are against you.
You wouldn’t dream of running any distance in high heels or any other shoe than your running shoes. In fact, as runners we are very particular about our physical preparation: our shoes tied just right, our favorite snacks and nutrients, preferences for hydration liquids, and so on. (Naturally, there are always some who are willing to do anything, especially for money. Read about the annual Berlin Stiletto Run.)
Yet, all too often, we pay little attention to our mental preparation. We do not choose what we hold in our mind as we head out on our run. Quite regularly, we “put on” something in our mind that is as equally uncomfortable, painful, and potentially damaging as high heels would be for our feet.
In fact, for my analogy to be more accurate, it would not even be you choosing at random from the closet full of shoes. It might be a two-year-old doing it for you. Perhaps even a blindfolded two-year-old.
So what are these “mental stilettos” you are running in?
The endless chatter, worry, review, and internal gossip that we call “thinking.” Actually, this is not thinking. Thinking is an active process, involving choice, discernment, introspection, and many other elements.
This mental white noise that I refer to (When is my credit card due? I really hate my boss! When am I going to get laid next? Oh God, I’m going to lose it all in the recession.) is not thinking. It’s much more of a spectator sport. The internal version of television, and not the educational kind. Mental channel surfing.
Consciously choosing what plays on your mental channel will impact your running and your wider life in profound ways. I encourage you to ask yourself the following questions on a regular basis, before, during, and after running:
• Did I deliberately choose to think about this?
• Do I really want to think about this?
• Will thinking about this inspire me or depress me?
• What do I want to think about?
• How do I want to think about it?
My experience is that often what I am “thinking” about is, at best, holding me back from a much more pleasurable running and living experience. At worst, this regurgitated mental masturbation is truly making me blind! Blind to the beauty, inspiration, and possibility of life.
As you run this week, check in with yourself on the mental level as part of your preparation. Choose what you want to think about. Actively choose. Choose to focus on things that inspire you, deepen your connection with your higher self, and that encourage a positive outlook on life. If you are going to have fantasies, you may as well make them positive ones—and remember to win in your own fantasies too!
If you find that you are regularly focused on more negative thoughts, worry, or gossip, you’ll discover it is hard to simply banish it. It is far easier to replace a habit than just to stop one. So actively replace your worry habit (for that is all it is), with a different, creative one.
Here are some options that I choose from, and I’m sure you’ll come up with others:
Prayer
Gratitude is a great place to start. For your ability to run and the inspiration and other qualities it brings you; for all the ways in which your family or friends support your running. For the precious people and cherished relationships in your life. You get the idea.
Visualization
Replace discouraging thoughts with uplifting ones. Indulge a positive fantasy, and make it PG. The brain is unable to distinguish between reality and a carefully crafted fantasy. Visualization truly brings your dreams to life inside you. You get to experience them now, even as you work towards them. My current fantasies are focused on the Goretex Trans Rockies Run (video here), which I’d like to run in the next couple of years. As I run, I see myself safe, strong, and soaring as I complete the 6-day, 125-mile course—the dream of a lifetime. When I get there in reality, I know that my positive visualizations will impact my performance and ability in positive ways.
Mantra
This is great for all lengths of run, and especially longer ones—particularly when tiredness sets in and can open the door to negative thinking. Pick four adjectives, and repeat them to yourself in time with your stride. Two syllable words work well, with a syllable for each foot strike. These can be run-focused, such as “Fitter, faster, stronger, longer.” Or they can be qualities that you’d like to be experiencing elsewhere in life too, such as, “Patient, honest, loving, caring,” or “Wiser, calmer, richer, clearer.”
What you choose to put into the engine of your mind will determine how the vehicle of your emotional body runs. When these too are running on hi-quality fuel, your run and your life can shift into the highest gear! Both in the run and after it, you'll move more smoothly, efficiently, and gracefully.
Happy trails!
So what are these “mental stilettos” you are running in?
The endless chatter, worry, review, and internal gossip that we call “thinking.” Actually, this is not thinking. Thinking is an active process, involving choice, discernment, introspection, and many other elements.
This mental white noise that I refer to (When is my credit card due? I really hate my boss! When am I going to get laid next? Oh God, I’m going to lose it all in the recession.) is not thinking. It’s much more of a spectator sport. The internal version of television, and not the educational kind. Mental channel surfing.
Consciously choosing what plays on your mental channel will impact your running and your wider life in profound ways. I encourage you to ask yourself the following questions on a regular basis, before, during, and after running:
• Did I deliberately choose to think about this?
• Do I really want to think about this?
• Will thinking about this inspire me or depress me?
• What do I want to think about?
• How do I want to think about it?
My experience is that often what I am “thinking” about is, at best, holding me back from a much more pleasurable running and living experience. At worst, this regurgitated mental masturbation is truly making me blind! Blind to the beauty, inspiration, and possibility of life.
As you run this week, check in with yourself on the mental level as part of your preparation. Choose what you want to think about. Actively choose. Choose to focus on things that inspire you, deepen your connection with your higher self, and that encourage a positive outlook on life. If you are going to have fantasies, you may as well make them positive ones—and remember to win in your own fantasies too!
If you find that you are regularly focused on more negative thoughts, worry, or gossip, you’ll discover it is hard to simply banish it. It is far easier to replace a habit than just to stop one. So actively replace your worry habit (for that is all it is), with a different, creative one.
Here are some options that I choose from, and I’m sure you’ll come up with others:
Prayer
Gratitude is a great place to start. For your ability to run and the inspiration and other qualities it brings you; for all the ways in which your family or friends support your running. For the precious people and cherished relationships in your life. You get the idea.
Visualization
Replace discouraging thoughts with uplifting ones. Indulge a positive fantasy, and make it PG. The brain is unable to distinguish between reality and a carefully crafted fantasy. Visualization truly brings your dreams to life inside you. You get to experience them now, even as you work towards them. My current fantasies are focused on the Goretex Trans Rockies Run (video here), which I’d like to run in the next couple of years. As I run, I see myself safe, strong, and soaring as I complete the 6-day, 125-mile course—the dream of a lifetime. When I get there in reality, I know that my positive visualizations will impact my performance and ability in positive ways.
Mantra
This is great for all lengths of run, and especially longer ones—particularly when tiredness sets in and can open the door to negative thinking. Pick four adjectives, and repeat them to yourself in time with your stride. Two syllable words work well, with a syllable for each foot strike. These can be run-focused, such as “Fitter, faster, stronger, longer.” Or they can be qualities that you’d like to be experiencing elsewhere in life too, such as, “Patient, honest, loving, caring,” or “Wiser, calmer, richer, clearer.”
What you choose to put into the engine of your mind will determine how the vehicle of your emotional body runs. When these too are running on hi-quality fuel, your run and your life can shift into the highest gear! Both in the run and after it, you'll move more smoothly, efficiently, and gracefully.
Happy trails!
