Feel like Quitting?

fallen^sparrow · Aug 19, 2004

I ran across this gem last year at some point on the SOCNET forums. Although it was posted and intended to be understood in a "military" application... its message obviously could also extend to any physical or psychological struggle in life. I've found it to be of immense value in those long races/events/workouts where everything inside you tells you to just give up and stop the pain... but then I remember its message and find myself strangely renewed and able to push onwards towards the goal.

All you have to deal with is what your doing right at the moment.

When you're at the point of quitting it's because you're overwhelmed. You're lying on the ground trying to get just a couple hours sleep after a 16+ hours of moving through the toughest terrain you've ever seen, it's 50 degrees and it starts raining. All you have is a poncho and poncho liner and both are soaked and cold. You're uniform has been soaked in sweat for several days straight and clings to you and burns every raw spot. You can smell the ammonia odor as your body burns off muscle. And you know tommorrow is going to be even worse. Take it all together and it's easy to say "screw this." But the key is eliminate all the things past and banish thinking about all that's coming. Deal ONLY with what's happening right at the moment. Once the baggage of whats past is gone and the fear of whats coming as well, the immediate circumstance although uncomfortable, will become much easier to deal with. If there's something you can do to improve things do it.

Stop resisting the pain/discomfort. Our desire to be comfortable is our biggest enemy many times. Accept the fact that in the course of achieving your mission you will experience pain and discomfort. When it comes, don't resist it. For just one example, you twist your ankle but still have several klicks to go. Don't resist the pain when you take those steps. Resisting it mentally fatigues you very very quickly and weakens your will. Resisting it physically makes you tighten your muscles and adapt an off balance posture that only creates more pain in other parts of your body as well. If you can trust yourself to be strong enough to experience the pain without resisting it an amazing thing happens. The pain diminishes. I've never had this fail to work. You'll actually get a feeling of being very detached. And all you have to do then is take the next step. Not walk 5 more Klicks. Just walk one more step.

Find one thing to focus on to distract from the extraneous unimportant bull**** that's trying to overwhelm you. Absolutely best, start listing every time you found yourself in a tough situation and then came through. Remember exactly how it felt to stand and look back on accomplishing something you thought was going to overcome you, but you stuck it out and came through. And just take one more step.

Thanks for bringing this topic up. I needed to remember all this today.

__________________
Olsson

fallen^sparrow

happypeppie · Aug 28, 2004

This is something good to remember. Thanks for sharing!

fitmom · Aug 28, 2004

Sparrow, I did not see you riding the streets of S'toon, last weekend? J

fallen^sparrow · Aug 29, 2004

Ya we were out riding last weekend as usual. 110km's 7:30am saturday morning. We are still getting around 40 athletes out for our club rides but that number may go up now that our rides start at 9am and with all the unversity students returning in september. Our begginers club has been well attended and there seems to be a growing interest in road riding... and more people are moving into a "racing" mindset these days.

Last sunday was provincials at Lumsden and I was working as a support crew for one of our masters racers instead of racing myself. It was a really tough course having the riders climb the valley twice per lap... once being on some VERY suspect pavement (actually more grass, gravel, dirt, broken pavement etc). There are some pretty amazing junior women speedskaters out competing in their first races... and one actually came in 3rd overall in the CAT 4 races beating out 20 some much older and "wiser" veterins... including our local guy who finished top 5 at Nationals masters this past summer... he seemed a little choked, heh. A $5000 carbon fiber bike apparently can only do so much to help you win... its pretty hard to beat a 16 year old pair of trained lungs.

I couldn't ride this saturday because I was helping my friend move into her new apartment in REGINA. I didn't see you out running fitmom... but I'm sure you were early Saturday morning like all the other marathon runners preping for the BIG race coming up. Anywayz... she's living down in the College Ave and Broad St. neighbourhood. Nice area of town I must say. I'm still a little sore this morning from moving all the boxes containing books, heh.

As an aside... we had some freakish weather here last night. Heaviest rainfall I've EVER seem in my life... had 2 or 3 ft of water at major intersections and streets were literally rivers... along with snowdrifts of hail pilled on everyones lawns and rooftops... bizarre.

Hope you can have a great weekend fitmom... WINTERS COMING.

fallen^sparrow

Wroth · Aug 29, 2004

That's awesome - it's similar to the thing my ex's dad told me. He's a cop and was telling me about how, just as you think you're going to break, you come through and realise it isn't all that bad.

That's what's been driving me the whole time through training camp - I couldn't remember the plays, I was dropping catches, I was missing blocks - I just wanted to quit and take the easy way out. Then every so often something would remind me why I was there - I love football. I love playing the sport. I love the camaraderie that comes with it. I love the recognition and fun times when people go "Hey - you play for the university? Sweet!!" There are perks that are above and beyond the regular fun that you get from playing. And that what helps keep me here.

The line about pain - great stuff. I have a pulled quad and had a strained hammy (different legs) and played through them all but 1 day where my quad was at its worst. I came back the next day and played my hardest to give our senior guy playing my position a rest. Just keep going - it all gets better.

That's the best advice I have from my experience - it will all get better. And I feel bad for having wanted to quit because everyone knows that I don't stress the small things. Or the big things. I can't imagine how disappointed people would have felt if I quit the team - their "Superman", the unbreakable, the unflappable - couldn't handle it.

Just keep going. Keep driving. Pain is a passing thing. The success and experience derived from that pain lasts a lifetime.

fitmom · Aug 29, 2004

fallen^sparrow said:
Ya we were out riding last weekend as usual. 110km's 7:30am saturday morning. We are still getting around 40 athletes out for our club rides but that number may go up now that our rides start at 9am and with all the unversity students returning in september. Our begginers club has been well attended and there seems to be a growing interest in road riding... and more people are moving into a "racing" mindset these days.

Last sunday was provincials at Lumsden and I was working as a support crew for one of our masters racers instead of racing myself. It was a really tough course having the riders climb the valley twice per lap... once being on some VERY suspect pavement (actually more grass, gravel, dirt, broken pavement etc). There are some pretty amazing junior women speedskaters out competing in their first races... and one actually came in 3rd overall in the CAT 4 races beating out 20 some much older and "wiser" veterins... including our local guy who finished top 5 at Nationals masters this past summer... he seemed a little choked, heh. A $5000 carbon fiber bike apparently can only do so much to help you win... its pretty hard to beat a 16 year old pair of trained lungs.

I couldn't ride this saturday because I was helping my friend move into her new apartment in REGINA. I didn't see you out running fitmom... but I'm sure you were early Saturday morning like all the other marathon runners preping for the BIG race coming up. Anywayz... she's living down in the College Ave and Broad St. neighbourhood. Nice area of town I must say. I'm still a little sore this morning from moving all the boxes containing books, heh.

As an aside... we had some freakish weather here last night. Heaviest rainfall I've EVER seem in my life... had 2 or 3 ft of water at major intersections and streets were literally rivers... along with snowdrifts of hail pilled on everyones lawns and rooftops... bizarre.

Hope you can have a great weekend fitmom... WINTERS COMING.

fallen^sparrow

Wow, those competitions sound tough!
That is an nice area where your friend moved, very close to down town and the park. Where is she working?
I suggest she work out at the Field House Tuesday's @ noon! She may be my guest, this is a time that I teach Athletic Step, soon to become Body Blast.
It is very unlikely that you or anyone would see me running on a Saturday morning, that is my DAY OFF! Unless a monster is chasing me.

fallen^sparrow · Aug 30, 2004

Ah yes... the infamous "Wascana Lag00n Monster!" I've heard its responsible for chasing people out of Regina for a 100 years or more... and eating the slow ones that don't. Calling the city "Regina" sounds a whole lot better then "Pile of Bones" doesn't it. If you have a look at our provincial road maps you'll notice that they don't extend down below Lumsden... and a very ominous "Here be Dragons/Politicians" fills that void down to the U.S. boarder.

The provincial Prairie Pitch Adventure race is approaching fast at Greenwater Park in North Eastern Saskatchewan. You can read about it here http://www.accsask.ca/index.htm or join the Saskatchewan section of the Alpine Club of Canada.

fallen^sparrow

fitmom · Aug 31, 2004

fallen^sparrow said:
Ah yes... the infamous "Wascana Lag00n Monster!" I've heard its responsible for chasing people out of Regina for a 100 years or more... and eating the slow ones that don't. Calling the city "Regina" sounds a whole lot better then "Pile of Bones" doesn't it. If you have a look at our provincial road maps you'll notice that they don't extend down below Lumsden... and a very ominous "Here be Dragons/Politicians" fills that void down to the U.S. boarder.

The provincial Prairie Pitch Adventure race is approaching fast at Greenwater Park in North Eastern Saskatchewan. You can read about it here http://www.accsask.ca/index.htm or join the Saskatchewan section of the Alpine Club of Canada.

fallen^sparrow

Hey, have you ever seen that monster? Is it any wonder I don't run in the park? You know, the monster is called the Saturday Monster for good reason. You laugh, you try running through the park early saturday a.m.

CoachHelen · Aug 31, 2004

Thanks for sharing!

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