When things become overwhelming, it’s often difficult to remain objective. For most people, the COVID pandemic represented a whole lot of firsts. We’ve faced a large spectrum of unforeseen issues, and we’ve been forced up a learning curve around jargon, habits, and safe practises – a curve we never planned to climb.
The plethora of dark landscapes we see affecting humanity globally, played out for us via the 24-hour news cycle, initiate those primal “fight or flight” responses. But fight with what and run to where? This can have a profound impact on anxiety and mental health.
Our “new normal” calls on us to recognise that it’s not events that upset us; rather, it’s our response/opinions about them.
The good news is;
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As this event has happened, it means we’ll be ready if/when it (or something similar) happens again
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The path and resources required to rebuild ourselves/to grow (not just cope) is in our hands
SO, WHERE CAN WE GET INSIGHT INTO HOW TO MANAGE NOW?
● What can we take from history – all those plagues and hardships through which our predecessors suffered and prevailed?
● How do Olympic athletes achieve the mental toughness to outperform their competitors, managing demands and demonstrating consistency, drive, focus, control and confidence under pressure and setbacks?
● What does a coach say to their season finals team; after all of that match fitness training, psychological training, dealing with injury and less than ideal conditions; that drives performance excellence, the stuff that delivers premierships?
The answer is that it’s more innate than might be imagined. Those gaps between achievement of the best possible outcomes (the things that matter to us) and what we experience may be in our back pockets, excitably waiting to be released if only we can find the right triggers.
Mental toughness is a characteristic that is both innate and developed over time. If we don’t see ourselves born with it, we can certainly cultivate it.
WE LEARN, RESPOND AND REACT, DRAWING FROM OUR ENGAGED AND CONNECTED WORLD
Let's take the COVID example. We understand how to manage risk with the support of experts and established methods - such as our medical specialists and modern medicines.
We harness knowledge from throughout the ages, ranging from the experiences of the ancient stoics dealing with the plague, through dealing with Ebola epidemics in Africa and bouts of Cholera that come and go.
We use icons to inspire behavioural change; for example, Elvis Presley was vaccinated against Polio publicly for a TV campaign in 1956, that's no different from our current advertising campaigns with iconic personalities imploring us today to vaccinate and work together to break free from the shackles of pandemic.
Ancient stoics believed that our true good resides in our own character and actions. They would frequently remind themselves to distinguish between what's up to us and what isn't. The table below provides some examples of ancient wisdom and how we might apply this now.
Ancient Wisdom vs 2021 Context - food for thought
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People are not disturbed by events, but rather by their judgments about events.
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The pandemic isn’t really under my control but the way I behave in response to it is.
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Control what you can control.
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Be pragmatic - The only thing I really control is my own thoughts. Understanding what I can / can’t control, what I can influence versus what others must influence, can be cathartic as a stress-relief valve.
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Choose your attitude.
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What’s happened is immutable; what matters is what actions we take as a result of what happens.
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Want what you get.
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Take the view that life is working for you, not against you. To want what you get fills life with opportunities. Problems become lessons, not millstones - releasing us to freely navigate everyday life more smoothly.
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Link emotion with reason.
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There’s a big difference between transitory feelings that can temporarily derail, or even send us to despair and longer-term emotions that sit with everyday needs and wants. Understand the reasons behind emotions and work out how to achieve those needs and wants.
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Live in the present.
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Savour and enjoy the day - be present rather than preoccupied with the past or future.
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Take risks.
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Take those steps outside of your comfort zone, trying the things you haven’t tried before. This doesn’t mean being reckless, it means taking the plunge.
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Ask “what’s the worst that could happen?”
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When you understand the worst case, decide whether it’s rational or irrational and come up with a game plan that sets the worst aside.
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Take the big picture view.
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Take the helicopter view, reflect on the positives that have happened for you during the day, write them down.
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Ask, “what would my role model do?”
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Live your life with integrity – decide on and imagine the person you want to be and become. See yourself as the creator of your own present and your future.
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Have a Plan B.
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Temporary setbacks, be they more lockdowns or constraints on us doing what we want to do, should not shift our gaze from our true North.
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SO IN THE CURRENT CONTEXT, WHAT IS IT THAT DRIVES OUR ELITE SPORTSPEOPLE TO ACHIEVE THE EXCEPTIONAL?
We all recognise that elite sportspeople are driven by goals, supported by carefully crafted strategies, training programs, visualisation, processes of correction and continuous improvement and so on.
Key to the achievement of goals is the self-talk that affirms what they are endeavouring to achieve. Of the 50,000 or so thoughts the average person has each day, elite athletes are trained to manage their thoughts effectively, ensuring they take stock of the wins along the way. When entering competition, they are their own best friends, leaving them confident, in control, and ready to face each challenge.
Imagery plays a big part here. A view to “what good looks like” (akin to the Stoic notion of what would my role model do?), allows elite sportspeople to visualise the action(s) they want to execute and engages all of their senses. Well-practised imagery works through the motions as if the activity was actually being performed. This leads to automatic engagement of the muscles involved in the sports activity in real life when it matters. Timothy Galwey in his book, “The Inner Game of Tennis” refers to “self 1” and “self 2” in this context, where self 1 (the controlling part of us), trusts and gives way to the naturally gifted part of us in self 2, to realise those outcomes so important to us.
Arousal control is the capacity to find that “sweet spot” in your state of mind (be it highly pumped, scintillatingly cool, or somewhere in the middle). The ability to imagine how you want to feel as you take on challenges and mentally prepare for putting yourself into the success mindset in advance is something elite sports people excel at. This might mean taking time out in advance, using calming or energising breathing techniques, listening to music, or doing some extra preparations with friends. Perhaps it could be using some keywords, phrases, or goals that keep you grounded and focused on the task at hand.
Relaxation, rest and sleep are essential, allowing mental processing and the restoration of psychological and physiological processes so that we can hit our next campaign, wiser, tougher and mentally attuned to the task.
KNOWING WHAT TO DO IS ONE THING; PUTTING IT INTO PLAY IS QUITE ANOTHER….
SO WHAT STEPS SHOULD I TAKE?
Make time to look after yourself. Focus on those lingering emotions and understand what is driving them.
If negative emotions are holding you back, perhaps the wisdom of the stoics or the discipline of the Olympians may inspire you to build and enact the game plans that keep those negative outcomes away.
If you find your thoughts drift toward statements such as "if only things were different"; or "if only the COVID constraints were removed"; "if only…if only"…. take stock of those blockers and impediments that are constraining you and analyse what matters.
Often we lose track of ourselves and end up just going through the motions. If we can get into the habit of looking after ourselves, slowing down, and allowing ourselves to recharge, then we will be much better prepared for whatever comes next!
Sleep, regular habits and exercise, eating well, and engaging with those who can help you – whether physically or virtually can have a profound impact on your physical and mental health.
If you are physically feeling good, your mind has time to recharge and refocus. If you are mentally feeling good, you have more energy and space to focus on your physical self.
So, what about you? What are the things that will drive you to pull out of the experience, stronger, wiser, resilient, enabled, in control? What steps are you going to take today?
References :
Ryan Holiday – Lives of the Stoics : The art of living from Zeno to Marcus Aurellius
Kaja Perina – What stoics can teach us about mental health
Donald Robertson - Stoicism in a time of pandemic: how Marcus Aurelius can help
Nicole W. Forrester – How Olympians train their brains to become mentally tough
Nikolina Ilic - These are The Mental Training Tools A Performance Psychologist Uses On Elite Athletes
Dr Andrea Furst – Psychological recovery – giving back to keep your mind sharp
Timothy Gallwey – The Inner Game of Tennis
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