A former obstacle-course racer shares two moves for tough moments: slow your breathing to calm the adrenaline rush, then trust your instincts instead of overthinking. Ten years of racing taught him that your body knows what to do if you let it.
Obstacles don't feel right. Maybe you've got an obstacle coming up. You've got a difficult conversation or feedback to give or a presentation, and it's getting in the way of where you want to get to. So I'm going to share with you 2 things that I've learned from physically running obstacle course races over the past 10 years. Number one, slow down. The mistake I always made was I'd be running full speed ahead towards that obstacle, and I need to slow down my breathing, slow down my heart rate. The adrenaline was already doing a big part of it. They need to add to that. Second thing, trust your instincts. When you're in the midst of that obstacle, you start thinking too much about it. You start overanalyzing, and you, you hang there in that moment, when in fact it's not about your brain. Turn off your brain. Trust your instincts. Trust your muscle memory that just by reaching out, taking that next step, it's going to be okay. It's better than just hanging there and analyzing that moment. So slow down, trust your instincts, and hopefully this will feel right as you tackle your next obstacle. 1, 2, 3, go!
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