Perseverance. Belief. Grit.
Endurance events are built on these principals. You will not be able to complete an event without engaging or learning these concepts. The core principal of endurance is to keep going when you feel like giving in. It is undoubtedly fine and noble, but when actually looking at endurance in action, it appears as anything but beautiful.
The real progress from endurance comes from the growth and lessons learned as you reflect and move forward after your trials.
The personal satisfaction of overcoming the resistance to cave in is one of the most fulfilling accomplishments in any of life’s worthwhile tribulations. Focused training, honest reflection, and calculated planning are undoubtedly important in getting you to where you need to be, but you don’t leave it all out there in your preparation. After all, it’s still practice time. Its not yet the main event.
The true growth comes from when you don’t hold back. The true growth comes from when you are in that place where you give it your all and can not honestly justify to yourself not trying harder. This is not a pretty place, but it’s the only place where growth happens.
If you fall short, it’s because things didn’t go your way. These shortcoming can be reflected in immediate moments or they can be drawn out through extensive experiences. “I should not have stepped there”. “I should have fueled better this week”. “I was wrong and shouldn’t have said that”.
Whether these things were expected or not, it doesn’t matter. Simply put, it happened and that’s that. At this stage, you can view your failure to adequately deal with occurrences by making excuses or you can choose to endure and grow from them.
The endurance mindset is not the mindset you exercise when you make excuses. Excuses reject actualized shortcomings. Excuses blame conditions outside of your control.
Endurance accepts failure and promotes growth that seeks to avoid repeating the same failures. Endurance preaches ownership and admitting what you failed to do so in the future you can make better decisions.
Two people can each experience the same event and one of them can make excuses while the other one can choose to endure. This decision is one that only you alone can frame. Always be the one who decides to endure
Endurance must be applied to any struggle in your life. Deal with this now and get through to the other side as a stronger, wiser person. Put the early-morning/late-night work in needed in order to get you cross that finish line. If you’re barely in the fight, but still there, dig deep and don’t tap out until its your only choice. Commit to that routine that sets you up for long-term success.
Endurance is about moving forward in the face of adversity. Endurance is not about never quitting. Sometimes it isn’t giving up. Sometimes it’s about letting go so you aren’t being held back from going to where you want to be. Sometimes you just realize you’re passing another milestone that isn’t yet your final destination.
Making that positive change, pushing through that last set, trying new things until you find your groove, or keeping the pace in the dark are all very much driving you forward.
When you are in the thick of it, moments will be messy. Your face will be marred with mud and sweat. You heart will ache and you mind will panic as it runs in circles. All of this is okay. All of this might very well be part of the process.
Endure.
Keep on keeping on and once that storm passes, you’ll be in a better spot. You went through all of that and you’re still here. You remember that the struggle happened. It may have hurt. Parts may still hurt. You won’t discount that there was pain and doubt, but those negative memories pale in comparison to remembering that you had the perseverance, belief, and grit to keep moving forward when everything was telling you to give up.
It might not be pretty as it’s happening, but driving forward through those heavy moments is what is necessary to truly endure.
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