Self-awareness precedes sustainability

(I realize that if you're feeling incredibly taxed and overwhelmed in this current season, you may not have the capacity to hear this or may simply write me off as idealistic.  Yet I'm still hoping that you might consider these concepts with an open mind and glean some tangible and helpful truth.)

I went on an 8-mile run last week.  (A personal distance record.) And I felt great!  No stopping, no walking, just running.  For 8 blessed miles.

To be clear, I've never been a runner (or athletic at all).  I've started many times to attempt to run consistently, but I always quit due to various factors like bilateral stress fractures, shin splints, and knee pain/instability.  Nearly two years ago, determined to fight my rising weight and cholesterol levels, I began to run again twice weekly, feeling resigned that the constant sharp and burning shin pain was inevitable.

That all changed this spring when I started running with an audio coach.  

Coach Bennett's primary message?  Ask yourself, "How am I doing?"  Then adjust accordingly.  It was almost too simple and profound, but it had an undeniable impact.  I began to regularly practice the art of taking mental pauses throughout a run to gather self-awareness and to make changes as needed.  Sometimes that meant slowing the pace, sometimes it meant giving less effort while maintaining the same pace (trust me, it's a real thing, but it requires thoughtful intention).  When I attempt it, I find that I can indeed make the tiniest adjustments (even subconsciously, just by being aware of that goal) that make running feel easier, and I'll often even speed up unintentionally as a result.

Then we went to Utah and I put my body and mental abilities to the test much more frequently than usual.  On one particular day, we parked and started hiking from just over 10k feet elevation.  This meant that even easy walking on any slight incline got us out of breath pretty quickly.  I was leading and pacesetting.  And I started replaying the words of Coach Bennett who's always using this term "easy effort" (which seems like an oxymoron when you're attempting something that is itself quite difficult, but somehow it works) and being very aware of how I was feeling and how my body was responding.  By maintaining this idea of "easy effort" and being keenly aware of how that tangibly felt in terms of breathing and heart rate, I made minuscule, frequent adjustments until I settled into a pace that felt entirely sustainable.  Sure, I kept paring back and slowing down for the first bit to get there, but when I found it, I was nearly unstoppable.  (Jason, the much stronger, more athletic one, was challenged just to keep up!)  Previously, without these frequent, internal checks, I would've hiked until I was exhausted, then stopped to take a break, then got back up and kept going, then stopped to take a break...  As it was, I just kept going, keeping the heart rate and breathing at comfortable, sustainable levels.  For the full 2,000 plus feet of elevation gain.

On the upward switchbacks, I started telling Jason about my coach and his theories about giving an "easy effort" (and to also use his words, "This is about running. And this is not about running.")  It really comes back to self-awareness.  Asking the question, "how am I doing?" and actually formulating a thoughtful answer, then making tiny adjustments as a result.  (These are skills that I'm being "forced" to learn in running, and I'm attempting to apply them in the broader context of life.)   

All this to say that I believe that we underestimate internal awareness and self-dialogue.  When we're feeling completely maxed in our life or at work, what would it take to adjust one small detail that would make everything a tiny bit easier?  Are we even aware of what those adjustments might look like, or are we going to just all-out hike or run until we drop?  Although this isn't the goal, I would posit that we may even be able to accomplish more if we settled into a pace that was easily manageable, with a bit of margin mixed in.  And, much more importantly, we would certainly improve our quality of life, our mental stress, and, by extension, our relationships.  Hence, I think it's a critical issue that must not be overlooked.  I know, you may be asking, "How can I possibly do that right now when I feel so utterly overwhelmed and overloaded?"  If running rules apply, it's taking that look inside to say, "What can I do to make this a tiny bit easier, more pleasant, and completely sustainable?"  Slowing to that pace or making those tweaks may be hard in the moment, but I truly think the gains would far surpass that sacrifice.  Or maybe you're that hiker who's ready to collapse from exhaustion.  What would it look like to take pauses where you can find them, recharge as you're able, and strategize for the future so that you don't find yourself in this situation again?  Instead of hiking until you drop and then stopping a minute and hiking again until you can't continue, what would you have to adjust to settle into a manageable pace?  

It's easy to look at busy seasons as just that: a season.  And occasionally that's all they are.  But more often, it seems, we prepare mentally for the sprint and it turns into a marathon, yet we fail to adjust our effort and expectations in response to that change.  So we drive ourselves into the ground, sacrificing physical and mental health as well as family relationships on the path to exhaustion and burnout.  Then we're forced to take that pause (picture the collapsed hiker) until we've regained some semblance of recovery, then we set off to repeat the cycle.  I've seen this play out far too often for myself and for many who are close to me.  Surely, there's a better way!  

What would it look like for you to ask yourself, "How am I doing?" and to make tiny adjustments as a result of your thoughtful answer, your newly acquired self-awareness?  What energy drains could you remove from your life?  What could you add that gives you energy and joy?  For me, it can be as simple as putting my phone out of reach or getting outside and taking a walk or picking and arranging some flowers or spending time playing with some favorite little people.  

What would you have to tweak to make your life easier, more enjoyable, and for you to, ultimately, settle into at a sustainable pace?  (I'd be thrilled to hear your thoughts.)