How I motivate myself to keep going during times of prolonged physical (and mental) struggle
Rolwaling Valley, Nepal, Nov 2019.
Going for an adventure, running for hours at a time, or climbing in high altitude — it’s not always a dreamy walk in the park. Actually, a lot of the time it’s really tough. The legs are screaming and the mind is telling you to quit. In the past years I’ve figured out a strategy that works for me, which (almost) always gets me through those moments of struggle.
It’s all about dividing the process into smaller parts. For example, if I’ve got 40K left to run, I might divide it into eight 5K intervals. That way, I’ve “only” got eight 5K laps left instead of an entire marathon. “8 more to go, 7 more to go…. Just 1 more to go!”
Another similar strategy, which I used in Nepal as I was trekking up to a 5000 m pass dead exhausted, was to divide the remaining distance into 100 steps. I would walk 100 steps, and then rest for a couple of seconds. Then I’d walk another 100. And another, until I reached the top of the pass.
I find that when I use this type of strategy, my mind is tricked into thinking I’ve got less left than I actually do. Dividing the process into smaller, more tangible parts is way easier for my mind to process. It works every time. And the reward afterwards — Boy does it feel good!!!
What are some of your favorite tools on how to get through moments of physical struggle?