My task this month has been to read and reflect on each day’s entry in Chet’s book, Becoming Built to Lead, then share my take on the topic, my interpretation, my “and.”
Today I’m going a different route. I’m going to share today’s BBTL book entry verbatim. It may seem like I’m taking the easy way out. I am not. I am taking the better way. Chet follows up yesterday’s lesson with a story so on-the-button, I don’t want to distract you with something less of my own.
So, here it is — straight from the book…
Day 240: Durp was not dying… (by Chet Scott)
Yesterday, we learned a little science about fatigue. Today, let’s learn from another besides me. Enter Durp, example number two. Back in 2014, on our first day cycling in Albertville, France, we traveled new roads for all of us. We wandered over new mountains and around new lakes. It was supposed to be an easy day and ended up being anything but. I was cooked as we headed home and sat in the back, hoping Blondie and Downer would ease us back gently. As they hammered Durp and me into fried mush, I said a few prayers for the finish line. I wasn’t sure how far we had to the barn, but it was too far.
Durp was dying beside me, or so I thought. Suddenly, like someone had shot him out of a cannon, Durp pedaled to the front and took a pull from Blondie. My legs burned, my lungs screamed, and my mind said, No way! Durp found a way and hammered it home to Albertville. It seemed like five miles at warp speed. How, I thought to myself, had Durp done it? He found a reservoir of energy, not in fatigued muscles but in his mind. For most of us, remember, fatigue is an emotion.
Want to unleash your performance? Work on your mind. Mentally tough minds keep muscles going. Train. Work. Push. Reach. Do the hard work physically, yes. And work on training your mind to expect adversity, get comfortable being uncomfortable, and fight through the negative emotions raging in your head. The best way is with a meaningful mantra you hammer into your subconscious, so it plays on autopilot when you need it most. Fatigue is a combination of physiological and psychological forces. Don’t forget to train both.
Funny, the NCAA only regulates the time we can train our athletes physically. I guess we know what they believe, huh? What do you believe limits your endurance, friend? Slow down and train the brain. Today, do some work to harden the mind as much as you harden muscle.
BUILT TO LEAD 