In One Flash
Your whole life can change.
You never know when you’re going to get the call; I always hoped I wouldn’t get the call, I think, most of us do, but when the call comes, it’s never our plan, it’s the Master’s Plan.
We know now, that everything is going to be alright, and chances are, when the dust settles, things will be better than they have been in a long time. However, when you get the call, you really don’t know what to expect.
Your life is a whirlwind, some whirlwinds are bigger than others, mine, well, it was an exceptionally big whirlwind based on the logistics.
But there’s nothing you can do, but just go,
Game On.
In the face of an emergency, either with yourself, a loved one, or a perfect stranger, the 1st thing to do is to stay calm. That’s really the only way we can function, think clearly, and be able to process. Generally speaking, it’s okay to wait to process, until you are in a ‘safe zone’ away from the scene. Sometimes, several days later.
I haven’t watched TV in a week, I think, I have gotten 3 workouts in this past week.
It’s not the best scenario for where I am in my periodization plan, but what am I going to do? What can anyone do;
Cope.
That’s all we can do.
This kind of stress is more like a workout anyway, and often times, it can take a bigger toll on the physiological system than a hard workout can.
It’s kind of funny, but when it comes to coaching, I’m a pro on handling these kinds of situations with my athletes, you know, that fine balance, of recovering from this kind of life stress, keeping fitness, and keeping calm in light of the situation.
It’s good to stay focused, handle the situation. I’ve recognized over the last week, that these are all similar challenges we deal with while racing, and how we do this, if we do this, can make or break us in life, and in athletics.
It’s all part of the mental game, the mental game that makes us champions; whether we are winning or not.
We could just give up, I know, that’s happened in races that I have done in the past, you know, when something happens like a crash, flat tire, or just getting passed by a million people. Where I could go stronger, but I just kind of give in to the ‘failure’, or as I call the white flag of surrender.
Part of winning, is just learning and practicing how to overcome that feeling.
Same as with life.
People who are successful, are those people, who have learned to not fall victim to their circumstances, whatever their circumstances are.
We have to climb it, go through it, or work around it in order to be successful.
There’s not enough time in life to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves, or not learning from the lessons that have been brought forward to us in this Life School.
I get better at the mental game all the time, and as I get more fluent and overcoming the negative self talk that happens in life and in sport, I learn new and better tools to bring to the table.
This is not something that happens over night.
This is a practice.
Starting out small, with little things, like how we deal with drivers in traffic, people who cut us off, or people in our work place, that we may not get along with or agree with.
Reacting differently to those circumstances, staying focused, not allowing extrinsic circumstances to effect your intrinsic motivation.
The motivation that drives you to be successful at everything that you do.
The more you practice this skill in your daily life, the easier it will get, the better you will get at it, and the easier it will get to bring into all areas of your life.
When shit happens, really what are you going to do?
I suggest using it to feed the flowers.
Everything happens for a reason, God is only Good, so what is it God is trying to teach me through this Life Experience? The best thing to do is to meditate on it. Me, I like to meditate these types of questions on the bike, not just any bike, the mountain bike. But really, really ask yourself; what am I supposed to learn from this?
Sometimes it’s as easy as compassion for those, I share this Earth School with.