“Mind is everything. Muscle –pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind.” – Paavo Nurmi, middle distance running legend and holder of more than a dozen world records.
We live in a time when we’re constantly trying to find the faster, easier way for everything. We want to save time, cut corners, and streamline our lives so we can have more time to fill with more “stuff.” We’re busy, don’t you know? So much to do. So little time. We’ve got to make things…easier. Easier. What if we spent more time doing what’s really hard? Now that’s a different way of looking at it, right? Seeking out the things that are most difficult so that we’re as prepared for the tough stuff as we possibly can be? It’s pretty much the exact opposite of how most of us operate. As athletes, we’re almost always capable of more than we ask of ourselves. We train right up the point of being uncomfortable and that’s when the brain just says, “nope – I’m out.” Sometimes we’ll push just beyond it, but we’re really quick to jump back to the “softer” side as soon as we can. It’s the human condition. But…it doesn’t have to be. The first quote in this blog says, “mind is everything,” so it’s time to start flexing those mental muscles. We have to train the brain.
There’s a Finnish term called Sisu and it’s loosely translated into the American term of “perseverance” or better yet, “guts.” James Clear is a Behavioral Psychologist who writes about Sisu and mental toughness and what it means to find that inner strength. He explains that Sisu is the concept of “taking action in the face of adversity” and it’s what gives us that extra push when most people would otherwise back down. But how can you test your Sisu? The answer is simple: You accept struggle.
We could all benefit from a little more struggle in our lives. We don’t want to believe it but it’s true. Those tests and challenges – that’s when our true character is revealed. PR’s will fall and we’ll get faster but something bigger than that takes place - we become better people. There’s a lot of power in a little pain and perseverance. It strips away the pride and the ego and leaves behind something amazing - a person pushing to be the best they can be. We can’t achieve the same feeling if it’s easy. It doesn’t have to be a sport or a race. It’s the same in most any aspect of life. If you’re always looking for the easiest way, you’re almost guaranteed to miss out on the best life has to offer. There’s so much satisfaction in saying, “I can’t believe I really just did that, but I did.” This is Sisu.
Are you ready to flex your mental muscles? Find out how strong you really are? There’s a sweet reward waiting on the other side of suffering, it just depends on how much you’re willing to endure.