Mental Toughness Revisited, Part 3

What about the average athletic individual? This individual might be overweight, or might be a couch potato. The individual might be older .The weather conditions might include rain, snow or triple digits. The individual might have awakened late and felt tired and sluggish. This individual might have remembered that on previous workouts, he experienced soreness, tired legs, oxygen deprivation, high heart rate, pain in the side etc. Mental toughness for these individuals is putting on workout clothes and beginning to exercise. For me, it’s not uncommon to feel lousy in the morning within the comfort of my home. However, when I initiate my trail run, I feel better and am happy that I did start. I know about physical and psychological pain because I ran and was a division winner In the 100 Mile Western States trail run at age 62. I also experienced physical and psychological pain, when I completed with my horse and partner the 100 mile one day Swanton Pacific Ride and Tie. We won that race when I was 68, at the time. More recently, at age 76, in 2016, I experienced discomfort when I ran 20 miles or more. After completing the 50 K “Way Too Cool,” I was evaluated by my physician and he referred me to the surgeon and he surgically repaired my two hernias. It’s clear that there are a myriad of ways to inflict pain upon oneself. I plan to continue with my running. What enables me to get off the couch in the morning is that I have set up a future goal. That goal is related to some competitive running event. I know that if I don’t condition myself properly, I might not complete the event or might even hurt or stress myself even more. If I didn’t have a future event to look forward to, it might be more difficult for me to be as compulsive as I am about my running. In conclusion, Mental Toughness, per Psychological Principle 12 is the acknowledgment and acceptance of Murray’s n Abasement- to accept injury, punishment; to seek and enjoy pain or discomfort. We know, and we accept what can happen when we lace up our running shoes and go for a run. We also know that we are driven by more than this one particular need and further, that we will be fulfilling additional needs that have a multitude of benefits. Moreover, mental toughness is one component within the big picture of the Abasement need and helps explain the motivation of inflicting discomfort directed toward oneself. Obviously, some go to greater extremes than others.