Fixed vs Growth Mindset

Great book by Dr Carol Dweck. Are you born with Talent? Are you born with Passion? Are you born with Confidence? Are you born with Mental Toughness? Do you have Free Will?

Depends on your Mindset.  

Lookout Mountain 50 Mile Run

My First Ultra-Marathon

All Smiles Before The Start

Race Start

Still Early, Wearing Gloves

Foolishly Ran Hills

Lula Falls, Beautiful

Getting the Gravel Out

Steep Climb That We Went Up & Down

Finished

Joy
Gorgeous day with no rain. Forecast called for 80% chance earlier in the week.
Friendly competitors. People loved my pink Camelbak.
Shoes dried quickly after running through streams.
No stomach issues. Ironman training forces you to learn how to eat while exercising.
Time: 9 hr 41 min. Most people I ran with had a goal of sub 10 hr for this course.
Finished before sunset and didn't have to worry about using a light
Huge sense of accomplishment. Cried at finish.
Magnificent excursion with Tiffany, Allison, TJ, Harvey, Abbey, & Breaden

Less Than Joyful
No mile markers made it mentally challenging.
Briefly became lightheaded from not consuming enough water.
60-70% of course covered with rocks and roots.
Quadriceps destroyed after 30 miles making it difficult to walk or run downhill.

What I Learned
Walk the hills from the start.
Consume plenty of water. It's easy to refill the bladder.
Get in and get out of the aid stations. I passed a lot of people loitering.
Next up: May 15 ThunderRock 100 mile run.

Our 6 Person Yurt

The Gang

Cherokee Falls at Cloudland Canyon Campsite

Choices

"Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again." 

- Steve Jobs

Jobs was telling us we have options. We may not like the options and our options may be limited, but we always have a choice. In psychology, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) posits that our options include:

1. Solve the problem

2. Change how you feel about it

3. Accept it

4. Stay the same

5. Make the situation worse

Sometimes the situation can be solved by a simple action or plan. Other times, the situation is more complex and is not able to be solved in the moment. From there we can change how we feel about it. I didn't win the lottery. "Oh well at least I won't have people harassing me for money." Sometimes that's easier said than done. Another option is to accept the current situation. It's painful, but we realize we can't do anything this very second or today. We're not giving up, but rather acknowledging the current reality. Maybe our flight is delayed and we're going to be late. We look into other flights/mode of transportation, but can't find anything acceptable. Therefore our only option is to accept the current situation and wait for an opportunity to change. Staying the same or making the situation worse, both result in misery. We can continue to complain, yell, get drunk, blame ourselves, but nothing changes for the better. 

In my marriage, I encounter several choices each day. I can comfort & support Tiffany or I can push for my agenda. It's a balancing act I often fail. A wise counselor once told us, "If you both go to the well for support, neither one of you is going to get water."  

The secret I've found is to pause, breath, and allow myself time to think. Sometimes I still push for my agenda, but pausing at least allows for the opportunity to think rationally.