How to Boost Resilience for Endurance Sports Ep 35

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Mm-hmm.

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I'll see you there. All right, welcome back to the Find Your Edge podcast. I am your host, Coach Chris, and today I am here with one of our coaches, Ryan Johnson. So welcome to the show, Coach Ryan.

Thank you.

So today's topic is all about understanding resilience. We're going to do a little mental training today. So Ryan, give us a little bit of background into how you got into this topic.

I've been working with people for quite a long time. I've been a school counselor for the past 17 years of my professional and adult life, and with that has provided me an opportunity to meet a lot of different people in a lot of different situations. Even though it's mostly school-oriented, that really means family-oriented, so you really end up talking with a lot of families going through a lot of different things. My, uh, earlier on in my career I worked in a psychiatric hospital. I've been a crisis counselor before I worked into some other things at the high school and middle school levels. Like most environments, there's always this sort of new shiny thing that you, they want you to buy into like a new theory. And this is the focus for the year. And when you engage in that process, you kind of have to look at it as this, the same stuff in a different bottle, or I like this, I don't like some of that, or Someone's trying to change what I already know how to do. Eventually, there was this speaker that I was able to see. His name is Christian Moore. He's a social worker, published author, and he really presented some things that really spoke to me as a helping professional. And in the gist of it, it was called Why Try? So this is his program. And YTRI was a motivational framework or a canned curriculum of analogies that you could use in pretty much any situation. You could use it for some simple things like healthy relationships or maybe positive image, but you could use the same exact analogies for much deeper things like trauma, overcoming trauma, or addiction, or something of that nature. So all of his stuff really spoke, spoke to me, and I found it to be helpful and useful. And his second chapter, or second release of information, was called The Resilience Breakthrough. He has a book called The Resilience Breakthrough where he answers a question more than just motivation: what is the root situation in which we can engage and overcome things when everything in life says that, that we shouldn't? So in the context of endurance sports, you know, you are in a long Ironman triathlon event and, uh, You know, you, you, you blow out a tire and nutrition's off and it's burning hot outside. So what is going to get you to the finish line? You know, motivation might get you to the point where you want to sign up for the race and do a training to begin with. But the resilience piece is its added cousin to motivation where it's like when everything says that you shouldn't go on. How do you, how do you go on? So I find that to be very intriguing and that's why we're talking about resilience today.

Okay, cool. So you sort of, you touched on it briefly. Let's define it, right? So like what truly is, is this like a fancy buzzword or, and I love that you tie in endurance sports into like life because the people who we generally work with are They're adults. Some of them have families, they've got careers. We have a lot going on. And as coaches, as you've already found, you know, we learn a lot about people, not just in the sense of, hey, run 5 800s with 400 rests. It's, um, we, we try to be a little bit more holistic. So anyway, brief rant, but tell us about resilience.

Well, I think that's really important because what you're really saying is that we are complex beings with complex situations and a lot of things that are uncontrollable. We can't know everybody's access to information or resources or materials and money or places to work out. We can't know how supportive the environment is in which they're living or their partners or lack thereof partners that kind of support them through their, through their process. You can't know their physical, you know, makeup when it comes to actual ability to go out and do something for a long period of time. So it is— I do seek out this sort of simplistic answers, partly because it helps us stay in a lane. Because if we just went through, well, financially, this is a problem to have a bike, next thing you know, we're buying everybody a bike. Because that helps them get the access. But really, we just need to stay in our lane where it's like, we need to develop a plan to help you ride the bike. And I like the simplistic view of that because you can allow, allow others to be responsible and accountable to their own things and pull in what they can to do something for their, for their health, uh, for their competition, competition and their motivation and their accomplishments in life. But resilience is, In short, the ability to bounce back. So it can be emotionally, physically, or both. And when you have every reason to shut down, but you push on. So resilient people have tapped and untapped reserves, which enable them to overcome and thrive as they face setbacks or challenges or fears. The other thing that I would like to add about that is that resilience can be taught. So a lot of people think that grit and resilience is just something people have or they don't have. And while it may look like that on the surface, that can be a skill that people develop. Motivation—

Teach us the skills, Ryan. Teach us the skills.

Teach us the skills. Well, we have to find out where it's coming from first. So, um, Christian Moore's, uh, theory is that our resilience can be knocked down to 4 sources. And that when you can identify those sources, then you can build on those areas with skills or, or boosters. They're basically strategies to continue to practice. Uh, you can either practice it when things are kind of going okay, or just as a way, like every time you kind of get a setback, you sort of engage in this booster sort of process. And that repetition is where the skill comes from.

So you've got, um, up here, you've got, if anybody's watching on YouTube versus listening, we're going to talk you through what we're talking about here in terms of resilience versus motivation. So So clarify for us there.

Right. So, um, it's the language is so similar, but there is difference when it comes to resilience versus motivation. They can follow a similar pattern, but motivation is basically your inner urge to do something. So I signed up for a race because I wanted to see if I could do it. I decided to join the Endurance Edge because I wanted the accountability to improve my health and get a faster time on, on a race or learn more about the process. I wanted to really do something that's different from what all my neighbors do. So all of those things can be motivation. I want to lose weight. I want to look good in a pair of pants. Uh, so those can all be your motivation, but they don't tend to give you all that you need when you've established some major setbacks, like getting an injury or falling off of your bike. Or bonking out on a, on a run because you didn't have the proper nutrition. So the resilience is where you become at risk and then you do something to springboard against it. So they are related, but they are different. Hopefully that makes sense.

Cool. All right. So next up, is this something innate or can we, can we learn it?

Definitely an open growth mindset kind of approach. Um, we're not just born with this resilience and that's why I think it gets tricky because we see somebody like, say, Michael Jordan, you know, why is it that he always has the ball at the end of the game and takes that shot and most of the time it goes in? It just looks like something that is something he has. He's gifted with that. And what you don't see, much like, like the tip of the iceberg, all that goes on underneath it is all the work that has gone in, the blood, the sweat, the tears, and the sacrifices and the compromises and the pain that gets somebody to that place. Nobody gets to see all that. They only see the outcome. So you're not just born with it. You can find your source of resilience through language that is used. That, that basically comes more from my, like my counselor bias is really working with the words and the language that someone is using. And quite often we learn to just use the same language as the client or as a student. You do that on purpose. So one for like validation and empathy, but the other is to speak using the exact same languages as they're using so that you can actually be understood. If you can identify the language that they're using, then you can identify where that source comes from because there are themes in the words that we use. I think that's how I want to say that.

All right, so this is something that's practiced. And I like that you mentioned open mindset. And Michael Jordan was such a great example because he got cut from the high school basketball team. And that dude worked his butt off. So I think that's a great analogy there. Okay, sources of resilience. This is new to me. I am excited to learn this. So there's, so resilience, just, there's not just one type. So tell us about that.

Right, so, and we'll dive into the language a little bit too, because I think for our listeners, they'll be able to start picking out things where they say, oh, that's kind of how I talk. Or if I was to talk about a problem or write about a problem in my journal, these would be the kinds of words that I would most typically use in a paragraph. Not exclusively, but most, maybe more typically. The 4 sources of resilience come from either relational spaces, resource, rock bottom, or street. And in general, you know, and we'll go further into each one of these things, but relational has to do more with the fact that you're motivated by others, whereas resource has to do more with like your skills and your talents. Rock bottom is exactly what it sounds like. You know, think of somebody that has lost everything in life, homeless. They have every reason to, you know, give up on, on life basically, but then they, they continue to go on. So that's like, I'm at the lowest point, so there's nowhere, nowhere but up from here. That would be rock bottom. And then street comes from a place of like justice, or in spite of, or I'm going to show them, or I'm going to do this because people said that I couldn't kind of thing. So we'll go into each of those a little bit more, but I wanted to make sure that you at least knew where those, that those 4 exist being Relational, Resource, Rock Bottom, and Streak.

Awesome. So Relational, let's do it. Tell us.

Well, you know, when we did this with the Coaches Call as a team event, I sort of assumed in a way, and I should have known better, I assumed that because we're a team, that most of our team athletes would come from a place of relational resilience, uh, given that they just want to be around other people, that they're social animals, uh, that, that accountability piece is really nice, um, and things like that. It's like, you know, when you schedule something on a workout and you know that people are looking for you, you show up. But after the activity, they really spread out. So I was wrong to have that bias, but the relational or that assumption rather— that the relational resilience is that your greatest motivation is to not, to not give up is the knowledge that others depend on you. So in this case, you draw strength from the emotional support of others. You turn outward by serving others, and you realize that your greatest power comes from human connection. So if you are a relational person, this does not mean that you are a social butterfly. It just means that relationships are very important to you. So words or language that is most connected to the relational resilience are, they sound like this: broken, lost, rejected, supported, responsible, respected, included or neglected, significant, lonely, hate, valued, accepting, fulfilled. So you can see that the types of these words, they are positive or negative context. To them, like one being rejected or another one being connected, right? So where that kind of comes into play is that, again, these are words or vocabulary that we tend to use when talking about things that are going well in our life or things that are being challenged in our life. So if you are finding yourself more withdrawn or having difficulty sticking with a training program them and certain words that you use are like, I'm just really lost. I don't understand any of this information. I just rejected. I showed up for a workout and it just seemed like nobody really wanted to help me. Um, or it just was like invisible in this moment, or I just can't be seen. I'm not included. Or in the same case, somebody might feel coming out, coming out of that workout and they feel really good. Like, wow. I mean, like, this is a significant difference in my life. You know, I feel connected. I'm emotionally respected. All the things I feared being rejected, but instead I was included. So all of those words I'm trying to convey are examples of somebody that might be drawn to relational resilience as one of their four sources. Does that make sense?

Yes. So I see that the opportunity to identify it, but then what do we do with these words?

Yeah. Yeah. Later we talk about boosting.

Okay, cool.

So we're going to, we're going to boost them, but we have to understand what they are. And, and it's just a good point to clarify too, that we're not all just one of these things. Like when we did this as a, as a team event, most, most athletes kind of were in a theme of 2 out of the 4. One being—

it's almost like personality typing perhaps in a way, right?

Very much so.

Yeah. So it's not black and white. We're a little gray.

People love to like like diagnose themselves too. They just love answering questions about themselves and going, going, huh, I didn't know that about myself.

Yes.

Yes.

Kind of thing.

And I guess the key to remember as, as I'm getting into this with you is to keep on pulling it back to the endurance sport, the triathlete, the multi-sports, the trail runners. Um, because I still get caught up into the, you know, working with people, but at the same time, I also don't feel like it's very different. Like I draw a lot of connection.

Yes.

Uh, just people, it's goal setting. It's, it's pursuing something that you want to do that you weren't able to do before, or you'd like to do better than before. So how is it in that context? It doesn't matter whether it's having a better relationship with your kids or being more financially responsible or being able to take a cool trip or completing a half Ironman. Like all of those things are just goals. So this, that's how I make that connection. I love it.

Cool. So let's, let's head to resource.

Okay, cool.

Resource resilience.

And a lot of people would love for this one to be their source of resilience because it's sort of that like by your own bootstraps kind of mentality. So a resource resilience means that you recognize your resilience can be increased by tapping into the resources around you. So you fight resignation with spontaneity. You recognize that your resources include your talents, can include relationships, uh, your, your physical abilities, or even your personality and work ethic, you realize that you have undeveloped talents and so that you can, you can focus on that. So this type of resilience would be the type of person to say, well, right now I can't swim across the pool, but that's going to change because I say it will change, and I'm going to engage in that, in that process and just keep trying. So I think a lot of people would, would love to think of themselves in this area. And even just on that, that's something I said, like using your personality or you know, your certain skill sets, like even for myself and this podcast, like, I feel like I'm like, I don't know that I'm still prepared to do this. I have not really done this exactly, but I know that I'm good at just talking. So like, that's a, that's a resource that I can rely on. It'd be more work for Chris to get me to stop talking.

Yes. Give us the words or resource resilience. Speaking of.

Um, so, um, good examples of language associated with resource resilience is unworthy, hopeful, gain, creative or create, appreciated, optimistic, a desire, being plugged in, knowing the difference, access, entitlement, or confident. Yeah, hopeful, I think I said fixer or a maker. So all these words kind of, kind of revolve around people using their skills, being confident, knowing that they can make a difference, staying plugged in, staying on task, things of that nature.

Cool. All right, so we've got relational, we've got resource, and now we're on street. Don't forget about rock bottom. Is that the fourth?

Yeah.

Okay. All right, so street resilience, tell us about it.

The street's kind of the fun stuff, you know, like when you're, um, working with people that are kind of coming out of difficulty or maybe even trauma. You know, they're kind of— this is really what you think about more with like the gritty kind of stuff. Like, this person's got a lot of grit. Like, that guy just really works hard. Like, street resilience is that you take that, that pain and that, that suffering and you use it as fuel to propel you in a forward direction. So you're going to convert rage into energy to create positive outcomes. You'll use hurt or anger toward the cause, toward a cause instead of an individual. You have the ability to, to reframe your limitations and transform them into strengths. I think street resilience is every one of your underdogs movies. That's what street resilience is.

Ooh, that's a, that's a, yeah.

It's the Rocky Balboa of resilience sources.

Nice. Okay. So what are the words?

Justice, discrimination, being misunderstood, disrespected, focused, hurt, disapproval, refusal, relentless, angry, unwanted, labeled, judged, overlooked, accepting. I think that these are the kinds of language that has like sort of spite sort of revolving around them. I'm doing this because someone said I couldn't do it, or I'm doing this because nobody thought that I ever would, or I'm doing this because I've been overweight my whole life and never had an opportunity to, or never thought that I had an opportunity to run a marathon or do a triathlon. Like so many people would just like not believe that that's, that's street resilience.

I do see how this can kind of like blend into motivation. Yeah. Yeah. Like I'm motivated to do a triathlon because I've been overweight my whole life and I want to prove people wrong, which seems like it ties into this street resilience.

Yep.

Cool. All right. We got a rock bottom now.

Well, rock bottom resilience is coming back from your lowest point. So you believe that you have the ability to change your circumstances and combat your hopelessness to fight on when everything else says that you shouldn't really. So it's kind of the— this is your lowest point. There's nowhere to go but up from here. That's kind of what the rock bottom resilience exemplifies. So you take control of the present by knowing that losing in the past does not equal losing in the future. You've maybe been in rock bottom places before, you've picked yourself up before, you can do it again. You believe that potential of unforeseen options, even during, even when they're in the most difficult times. So you just kind of have that hope and optimism that things will, things will be there when you need them to be there. And you're just not going to be defined by negative labels that you've been given. You know, if you felt like a failure or you felt like you've lost things, you, or, you know, when you're working, you've lost clients or didn't close on a project or didn't get picked for something, like you're not going, you're you're just going to go on to the next project. You're not going to let that be your definition.

Or we just made it through a pandemic.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And the language that you could— if you had like a search engine that could, you know, go through every motivational talking point of the last couple of years, they'll revolve around words like comeback, disappointing, redemption, one step at a time, anxious, why try, make it right. Change, powerless, desperate, guilty, controlling, guilty. I mean, how many people, you know, work through wide ranges of guilt during the pandemic? Needing, being overwhelmed. Overwhelmed is a big one too, I think. Determined. I think I got through most of them.

Anxious. I don't know if you said that one. Anxious.

Why, why, why keep going? Powerless, knowing that you just, you can't impact change. Still breathing. This is the keep your head above water kind of analogy and like, The just keeping your chin above water is something I think that it can both literally and metaphorically work for triathletes because that's really just biding time. So if you, if you are just trying to keep your head above water, then you're really just waiting till something saves you, right? Like if I swim out into the middle of the lake and I just keep my head above water, I'm eventually going to drown unless somebody comes to get me. Or you engage in that resilience and you start swimming to shore. Um, because you can't just keep your head above water. You have to be moving towards a goal. And I think that part of the analogy is missing when we try to give it to people.

That's cool. Okay. So I think we're onto skills. Give us the skills, Coach Ryan.

Well, first, I mean, like, reflect back on, you know, what those 4 are. Relational, motivated by others or driven by others. Resource, recognizing your skills and talents is what will get you to get it done. Street, using negativity as fuel. And rock bottom, knowing that there's only one way up from here. So when you have to engage in these things, like which one of those makes the most sense to you? Let's say you are, you identify mostly with the relational resilience. The boosters are strategies. So making this a social part of your life— you're, you're engaging in triathlons, you signed up for races— you can do that as, you know, somebody that never talks to anybody ever, or you can make it a social part of your life by joining a team like the Endurance Edge or something else in your community, community that works for you. Uh, you can also be social in your race. Like, I can't tell you the number of times that it's just nice to kind of chat with somebody when you're out in the middle of a ride, um, or, you know, they're passing you on the run and you just say, way to go, or keep it up, uh, and things like that, or comment on the weather or the hills or how nice it is outside. I like to comment and about how, you know, grateful we are to be out there doing that because it's easy to forget, uh, when you are, um, doing something that's difficult. So relational people like to use positive language and, uh, they tend to be more emotional and use negative language when they are struggling. So another way to boost that is like, anytime you feel like that negative thought coming on, like, I'm so lonely, I'm not going to get out of this, or, oh, what was I thinking? I could have— I should have never signed up for something like this. You might be heavily impacted by those negative, that negative self-talk in the middle of a race. So, um, the strategy for that is positive self-talk, uh, where you actually can practice that while you are training so that you can use it during race day. Like, I'm doing a good job, or this is, this is going to be good, or I'm going to get this done. The other way to boost your relational resilience is to even just use language that includes more people. You might be by yourself in the, in the middle of this thing, or it's not like you can talk like in the middle of a swim or something. But if you said, we got this, or we're going to get this done, even though you're by yourself, uh, it provides that, that relational aspect of you feeling included. A lot of people also turn outward by dedicating their race to a certain cause. So it can be something that's really important to you, uh, whether it be a fundraising event, um, or a tribute to something important in your life. Therefore, you've built in opportunities for resilience in the middle of your race. Because you know that what you're doing is helping other people.

I've had some people who write little notes to themselves and like leave them like little sticky notes almost and leave them on like their bike computer or their stem. Um, I've had people write in Sharpie along their hands or their arms, you know, to like remind themselves like the, like the, we got this kind of thing, or I got this, or, you know, don't stop, keep it up, things like that.

I think that those are really great strategies in particular, because I think the relational type of person is a little bit more sentimental. Um, and that the words just matter more. So if you can create positive mantras, um, at different aspects in your life, whether they be around your mirror in your bathroom or during the race, uh, or during a training program, I think that those strategies would boost this person quite a bit.

Very cool. All right. So we got our strategies to boost relational, or relational resilience. Now we're onto resource resilience.

And again, this is somebody that has the skills or the talents already kind of in their pocket, or at least the confidence that they do. So somebody that wants to boost their resource resilience. And let me say, let me say this too, because some of it is in the moment and some of it is anticipatory. So like you can use some of these strategies at the front end to be used later, or you need reminders that when things are kind of falling apart that you need to engage in stuff like this. Because a person that has a lot of resource resilience is somebody that would really benefit from thinking ahead and having a lot of plans. Uh, they have walked through a handful of what-if scenarios, and they also are good at playing out those what-if scenarios with positive outcomes. So this is somebody that's kind of like, act like you've been here before. And if you have enough mental imagery and enough planning ahead, then you can create an emotional environment, or even just like these memories that didn't even exist, so that when you, when you are there in the moment, you already have a plan for that. The other thing that you can do is be spontaneous. So because you have the skill set and the confidence to do things, um, you can boost your resilience by just kind of like doing things because they feel good or because you want to do it. And that can go all the way from buying a new piece of gear or changing up your routine a little bit by doing something in the early morning or making a new meal. Like those kinds of change-ups don't create a complete sense of anxiety for you because you're really just stimulating yourself so that you can, you can take action when you need to. That can also be true on the course. Like you may have the plan that you're going to run a 10-minute pace. But because you're starting to get sluggish and bored, maybe you do— maybe you just boost that up to, you know, a quick 8:30 pace up the hill, you know, just to the next stop sign, just to change it up and kind of give yourself something new to work with. Basically, complacency is the enemy. So you want to make new goals, make new goals on the fly, and change things up. So you want to be productive and enhance a skill or work on a specific area of weakness. We all have that. Well, for me, I have a lot of things I'd like to work on, but there's usually, you know, one or two things that you would consider an absolute weakness. Somebody that wants to engage in their resource resilience would want to specifically work on those things for a period of time and then see that their change is possible. And another good booster for this type of resilience is to use humor and forgive yourself and, you know, allow for mistakes to happen and just sort of laugh it off and keep going.

Very cool. As you're speaking, it just makes me think of how important training these types of things, or with the umbrella term mental training, is, is key to success both on the course. And in training and really like in life. So this is cool. Okay, I love it. All right, so resource resilience. What do we got next? Street resilience.

You know, remember, this is somebody that really thrives on spite or justice or, you know, trying to seek something out. So a great way to engage in that resilience is to chase down a competitor. Like, I'm gonna get the next guy. And when I'm done with that guy, I'm going to get the next guy. That's a great way to keep yourself active during a race, keep yourself on target with your goals. Turn pain into purpose. So, and I kind of almost imagine this person kind of has that, that montage, like the Rocky Balboa thing is so accurate. And I guess most any other underdog story too, is like, you have that montage through your head of like all the people being mean to you and all the bad things that happened to you. And then you, you know, you're like, all of a sudden you're running faster. You're pedaling faster. So taking that pain and turning it into a purpose is another booster. One other thing that might help is to intentionally seek out your fears. Like what scares you? It's kind of close to that. I mean, on the last, on the last booster, we were talking about seeking out your weaknesses. And this one we're talking about seeking out your fears.

Well, when I think of weaknesses, I think of like, I'm not very good at running up hills. I feel like that's a weakness. That's something that I can strengthen. But from a fear perspective, I am very scared of very cold water. So I know that, you know, it's like when I'm standing on the shore, like, oh my God, this is gonna be so cold. Like, you got this, you can do it, you can do it.

Yeah, yeah. Because, um, there's no reason to fear a hill. But you might not be very good at running up one. Whereas something else where it actually causes you that anxiety or creates some hesitation, uh, it might be, it might be the type of race that you even sign up for. Uh, I did the Carolina Double race this year, which was— yeah, Carolina Beach Double. And that ended up being the first time I was ever in an open water swim in the ocean. Um, and the first time that I would not be using a wetsuit. So those two things. Right at the onset are definite, like fears. I would never do that. When I started doing triathlons, that was on my never-do list. But if I, if I really was attracted to street resilience as my source, that would be an example of seeking out the fears and then repeating, like finding the next.

Cool. Yeah. This reminds me of a swimrun for me, like that, that is getting into really cold water and multiple times, so many times. And, and being like, you know what, like you've never done anything like this before, but you're going to, you're You're going to do it and you're going to be forced to do it. And I'm also relying on somebody else, a teammate. So that's coming up for me too, you know? Right. Cause you're doing it as you have to be together in that case, in most triathlon, obviously that's not the case, but yeah, there's a lot of complexity there.

So other street resilience boosters would just, you know, be the, be the tough, be the tough girl, be the tough guy, be the tough person out there, um, to just get it done. Kind of realize that you may have negative creeping thoughts from time to time. Um, like if you're feeling failure, uh, one way to combat that is having multiple goals during the race instead of just the total outcome, like to finish, uh, you might want to break that up into different, different parts and say, well, I would like to run up that hill, or I would like to have that, you know, an average pace of 16 miles per hour on bike, uh, for the next 5 miles. So break things up into different things so that you. Experience multiple wins along the way. And if you don't meet that little goal, then you've already set a new one. So you're already moved on. You're basically, you know, a goldfish with no memory. You just keep going.

Just keep swimming, as Jordan likes to say.

And embarrassment, you know, nobody's looking at you. That's the other thing we got to remember out there is nobody cares what you look like, um, or, or how you, how you are as an athlete. And everybody belongs in triathlon. So you don't have to have feelings of rejection. And pain is only for the moment. Uh, so those are boosters for street.

Cool. All right. So now we've got boosting rock bottom resilience.

Rock bottom in a triathlon might be, you know, you just busted your goals. You know, maybe you had two mechanical issues on your bike. You know, you popped a tire, you dropped the chain and you know, it's going to take you half an hour to fix those problems or something.

So, yeah, fall off your bike. It's a million degrees out. You lost a water bottle. My, my watch fell off. I forgot it. I forgot to start it. I mean, you know, the list goes on.

Right. And the way to combat that with these boosters would be to triage your problem into manageable pieces. Like, um, one, you have the skillset to change a tire. So just change the tire, um, you know, and then change it and then change your goal. You know, don't, don't continue to chase your bike time. Obviously, it's going to be 20 minutes, 30 minutes different than it would have been otherwise. So just change it. Go with what you can go with, you know, stick with the, with the big picture and create small wins. You know, having a mantra of like just not stopping. It's once— it's the one step in front of the other. Just keep moving in forward kind of, kind of direction. So you might want to slow down, but, but don't stop. And, you know, back to those— that list that that Chris just gave is kind of like, have you been around anybody that their shoelace is untied and the whole day is kind of shot? It's like, this is called fix the broken window. So maybe in my home, if a window gets broken, then next thing you know, my wife and I are talking about how horrible this house is and that it's falling apart and that we should move, but nobody would ever buy this crap house. But if you just fix the window, the house will be fine again. You just repair your bike tire, your race will be fine again. So be flexible, flexible, and, and go on and, and, and tear off these, these labels of, you know, the world is against you and that you've gotta work against everybody to show what you can succeed. In some cases that may benefit you, but if you use enough of that negative language, then you may put undue expectations on yourself in that, you know, if you don't do a good enough job, then maybe you're not good enough. You know, so you want to make sure that you don't have a negative self-fulfilling prophecy that, you know, you are this rock bottom creature and that you're not capable because you are. And that's what, that's what will boost you through on those times of difficulty.

And that, that's such a common, like, like the broken window thing, right? The window breaks and then I'm a terrible person. Why don't I take care of this house? Or, you know, like the, it just just keeps— man, that ball gets rolling fast. So I like your, um, strategy of just like, no, just fix the window and move on, right? All right, so we got into some pretty cool stuff in terms of identifying motivation versus resilience, different types of resilience, how to boost them if we feel like this is a place where we could use some additional work. Perhaps this might be a lot for some people, so maybe kind of like breaking it down. What are your 2 or 3 suggestions for what people can walk away with to improve their resilience?

Well, one thing that might be a good idea is to do a simple journal entry for like your why, your motivation. What is it that you're trying to accomplish? How come it's important to you? And then maybe with a highlighter, trying to go back in and identify any, you know, emotional words that we discussed today and are there any themes there? So that might help you get to identifying at least at a very surface level, a root, a root cause of resilience and allow you something to, something to work with. Or this conversation was enough to say, oh, I identify with this one more than that one. And then remember to boost. I think that, uh, that can be a good activity, one. And two, um, I think that you having a plan to use these boosters is part of your race plan. So when you are walking through your goals for the race, quite often you circle around certain times or certain efforts and certain accomplishments, but you might not walk through, you know, what are you going to do when things are getting tough and when things are not in your control? That's when you say, okay, I'm going to use this booster because I'm a relational resilience person. I like this mantra: we got this. Or because I'm a street resilience person, I'm going to engage in this kind of one thing at a time sort of process. So you can have a plan so that when you have a problem or a setback, not if you have a setback or a problem, that you have a plan to at least boost yourself in the direction of being able to handle it or address it or buy yourself some time so that you can get to the next hill or whatever. The third thing would be to practice these things like before a race, um, and even try to recognize them in others when you're having conversations with other people, other important people in your, in your life, your children, your, your, your spouse, your friends, your coworkers, like try to pick up on this language, uh, that they use so that you can kind of maybe understand them in a different way as well. I mean, not that that really benefits your race. But it also keeps you engaged in the process of understanding mindsets and positive outcomes and having process-oriented goals and being able to step up when everything else says you should quit.

Very cool. I think after having this conversation, it just goes to solidify my love of multi-sport because of all these things that perhaps some of these were things that I've I've practiced and not understood it or not knowing it. And I love the, the new skills that I'm going to have in my toolbox, both as a coach and as a mom and as an entrepreneur, and to start to think and recognize those things. And, and again, just how cool multi-sport is for challenging us, or I should say challenging me in a different way that has such implications for the rest of my life. So, and, and I think that's why I love the team, because I'm more of the relational Uh, research, you know, like I'm so jazzed when other people, I'm like, yeah, I'm going to go faster because, you know, this person is my teammate or help them out. So thanks, Coach Ryan, for teaching me something today.

Thank you for letting me ramble on.

All right guys. So Coach Ryan can be reached at ryan@theenduranceedge.com. You can shoot him an email, give him a high five. Um, and of course you can reach us at theenduranceedge.com. Coach Ryan, thanks for being our guest.

Thank you.

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