The First Setback
Not the first, won't be the last.
The City of Oaks Marathon will have to wait. My work schedule has been modified and I’ll be in the Empire State on November 6th. This has been a massive let down as I’ve been planning this 13 week training session for a while now. This change now allows me to stretch out my training to 17 weeks in preparation of the San Antonia Rock’n Roll Marathon on December 4th.
The biggest let down is that so many of my friends are running the City of Oaks Half or the Full. I was looking forward to running this local race with my friends. The silver lining to this is that I still get to train with my friends.
The training plan must continue as scheduled. I can’t let my friends down in October.
From October 28th to the 29th, I will be running with 11 others to complete the Tuna 200 Relay Race from Garner, NC to Atlantic Beach, NC. The other 11 members of the team are all incredibly strong runners who will set a fast pace. While we are not a competitive team, I predict our finishing time will be pushing for a top 10 finish. Of the 12 runners on the team, I am without a doubt the slowest. However I will have 12 weeks of training to get right as I refuse to be the weakest link in the chain.
Resiliency Required
To live a happy life, resiliency is required. Nobody goes through the adventure of life without some adversity, setbacks, major disappointments and life changes.
It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down, what matters is how many times you get back up.
Not being able to complete the City of Oaks Marathon is not a major life setback for me. I’m happy to be employed and help our global war fighters with their mission. This is just a small disappointment that I won’t let affect my goals. The training continues.
To become resilient requires strengthening the four elements of the human state of being. Those elements are the Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual. Each of these can be strengthened and are dynamically intertwined with each other, each affecting and building upon the other. By strengthening these four elements of your life, you will become resilient and will be able to handle whatever comes your way.
From my perspective, mental strength is the most important and drives action that directly effect the other three elements. The mind controls the body, consciously and subconsciously. It is the mind that makes the choice, the decision to take action or not. The mind rationalizes situations, analyzes and decides. Are you going to quit or will you keep going? Are you really at your physical limits or do you just think you are? Are you fully aware, cognitively what your physical and emotional limits are? One of the most profound discoveries about the human condition is that a person can change their state of being by simply changing their state of mind. If you think you can, you will. If you think you will fail, you will. Toughness is derived and regulated from the mind while under constant pressure from the emotional state. Having the will power to continue is a mental choice, driven by emotion and enhanced by spiritual strength. Will power is an alloy of mental and spiritual elements. Contrary to popular belief, toughness is not dictated by physical strength.
Physical strength takes discipline and consistency. To become physically strong requires proper nutrition, efficiency in training and the application proper, positive stress to the body in order to induce adaptation. During the process of reaching physical wellness, you will undoubtedly have a mental and emotional encounter with yourself. Do not rely on motivation, an emotional product to deliver the results. Instead rely upon discipline, a mental choice, to reach your physical goals. Being physically fit allows the biomechanics and physiology to properly regulate the systems of the human body. If any of these systems are not in balance, it can directly and greatly effect your emotional and mental well being. How do you feel mentally when you have the Flu?
Emotional strength takes proper upbringing by your parents / guardians / caregivers and a continued self evaluation of what effects how you feel and why you feel that way. Understand that throughout the entire process, you are 100% in control of your emotions and how you react to varying circumstances. There are six basic emotions that we all experience in ourselves or observe in others. Sadness, Happiness, Fear, Anger, Surprise and Disgust. What makes these emotions bubble up inside of us is different for everyone. Being mentally fit facilitates your ability to rationally evaluate your emotions while being physically fit endorses proper chemical reactions in the mind and body to function and be free from illness (mental and physical).
Spiritual Strength can take many different forms in all of us. When circumstances seem impossible and insurmountable, when death is imminent, do you have faith and a belief that your life has meaning. Issues of morality and what is right or wrong can be traced back to a spiritual source. Watch what Chaplain Jeff Strueker says about spiritual strength. Major Jeff Struecker - Liberty University Convocation.
When you strengthen each of these elements, the others become stronger and you build resiliency.