Good morning friends. Thank you to anyone who got used my code to order Panda Express yesterday and to those of you who have donated recently!
For me, endurance exercise seems to follow a general pattern: reluctance to start --> pride for starting/feeling good --> physical pain and/or boredom --> deep mental battles --> acceptance, gratitude, and growth (flow state?) --> satisfaction and pride upon completion. I've found that this general pattern applies to most difficult but fulfilling things, like writing, studying, tough conversations, meditation, facing fears, etc. And I think while all aspects of the process may be necessary, the key component is adjusting your attitude from one of contempt and entitlement to one of gratitude and curiosity. Hence, "gratitude adjustment" -- the phrase entered into my consciousness during the last 30-ish miles of my 90-mile ride on March 21st. I came to a point where all the B.S. was behind me and I was finally starting to accept the reality that no matter what, I had 30+ miles left and I wasn't gonna stop. I don't remember how I came up with it, but I just started saying "man, you need a gratitude adjustment" and before you know it, I was smiling and laughing through the back roads of Cordova. It became so clear that I was the luckiest guy on earth to be enjoying the outdoors and cycling around my hometown all day in support of young adults with cancer. Coming to that place of gratitude is a struggle, though and I don't think you can just will yourself to be grateful; you have to take action first with the understanding that gratitude will follow. So I guess I'm contradicting myself... perhaps gratitude is the what awaits us behind the locked door and the key is all the other stuff. This probably isn't making much sense so let me give an example and call it a day:
Imagine you're having a bad day even though you're on vacation at a beautiful beach with friends and family who are all happy and having a good time. You know that you shouldn't be upset, but you just can't seem to change your emotional state. In my experience, you'll probably be stuck in this negative loop unless you take an action that will move you towards gratitude. This requires you to trust that even though your brain is convinced you'll never be happy again, whatever action you take (i.e., smiling/laughing at the next joke, helping your friend carry their cooler, turning your phone off, it can be anything!) will help you break free from the loop.
Moral of the story: our brains are beautiful, powerful tools but aren't always the most reliable.
Thank you for reading :)
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