Your legs feel like stone. Your brain is struggling to focus. Fatigue weighs on every muscle. You have no desire to eat or drink. And you are not sure about that rumbling in your bowels! These are some of the sensations that marathoners describe as they get into the last few miles of a race.
And while many of us don’t choose to run marathons, it’s starting to feel like in our own way we are all running one right now.
The Beat (Pandemic) Goes On
We are now five months into a global pandemic. In the early days, who could even imagine two months of this, let alone five months!? Yet, here we are with no end in sight.
Despite the challenges we have faced along the way, we can all see that we are more resilient and adaptable than we may have realized. We have all found ways to navigate the new normal and at times we have found happiness and gratitude along the way. On these long, summer days, it is definitely easier to find joy in the simple things summer provides. Think of it like Mile 10 of a marathon, where you are still feeling good about how you are doing.
But as we head into the Fall and the days get shorter, cooler and wetter, and these COVID times continue, I expect it will wear on us. Socializing outdoors will become more limited and we may find it harder to visit with family and friends. As kids return to school, this will add a new stressor to many families; and some may choose to stop seeing grandparents or other vulnerable relatives and friends once their kids’ bubbles are bigger. Every little cold or flu will have people on alert, wondering if it COVID, limiting their interactions. Think of this coming time closer to Mile 21, where things start to hurt.
This is why we need to take stock of and invest in our mental wellbeing and resilience. We will need to stay strong in the months ahead to avoid sliding into a downward spiral of anxiety, stress, and negativity. This is going to be a longer and tougher haul than we imagined. A marathon of sorts. And we need to stay strong throughout it and finish well.
Your Greatest Asset
Your greatest asset is your mind and your mental well-being. Think about it. Every problem you have faced, you have somehow solved using your mind as best you could. Your mind and your mental/emotional state have hugely influenced the choices you made and the actions you took.
Your mind influences how bad (or hopeful) things look, how heavy (or light-hearted) you feel, how stuck (or creative) you are, how withdrawn (or connected) you become, and what healthy or unhealthy choices you make.
How to Run a “COVID-19 Marathon”
First off, accept that this is going to be hard. We will invariably wish it was over sooner and that the path was easier. But that’s not our reality, so the sooner we accept that the better.
And recognize that many of us purposely do hard things for fun (running, workouts, hiking trips, heck – even golf!). We do these to stretch and grow ourselves and to see what we are made of. We don’t give up easily.
Marathon runners are incredibly persistent. But they are also very careful how they manage their energy, knowing it is a long game that they are playing. They don’t deviate from the fundamentals that allow them to train hard (measured intense training balanced with real rest). Nor are they flighty with their protocol during the race (regular water and food even when they don’t feel like it, not going out too fast even if they feel good).
It takes wisdom and discipline to complete a marathon. And it hurts much of the time. But there is a tremendous sense of accomplishment at the finish line knowing you trained well, raced well and completed something challenging.
So, here are some tips to get through the “COVID-19 marathon” months ahead:
1. Prioritize your mental wellbeing. Recognize how important your mental health and mindset will be in the days, weeks and months ahead. I tell people “mental health isn’t optional these days, we all need to be at our best.” There are countless ways to nourish your mental wellbeing, and I would put exercise and good sleep at the top of the list. You could add meaningful social connections and healthy eating/drinking right after those two. And as a mindfulness coach, I’m a big proponent of both digital minimalism and some form of daily stillness or meditation. These are the investments we need to make as run this marathon.
2. Get clear on what’s most important. These can be distracting and worrisome times. News and social media feeds magnify this by making them sensational and bottomless. Your brain evolved to know what’s happening in the tribe and can get lost in this. But most of it is outside of your control and only adds to your stress and anxiety. Clarity simplifies the world and makes it easier to keep up with the few things that do matter. Make clear choices on what matters most to you and create “bright lines” around those choices. Act daily on those. Rinse and repeat. This will give you the grounding and sense of control you need to keep going.
3. Be present. Our anxious mind tends to spend too much time looking into the future. A marathoner aims to stay focused on the next mile. And if that’s too much, the next step, and the next step after that. What’s the next right thing to do in this moment? Then give yourself the gift of JOMO (the Joy of Missing Out) as you do it, being fully present.
4. Stick with your routines. Routines create structure. Think of them like guard rails on a twisty canyon road. And you need them to be consistent, lest the one moment you need them they aren’t there. Leverage what you are learning over the summer and create the routines that nourish and support you for the days ahead.
5. Celebrate and be grateful. B.J. Fogg, in his book “Tiny Habits”, recommends celebrating the tiniest of wins along the way. At mile 21 of the marathon, runners celebrate the ground they have covered, rather than focus on the pain of 5.2 more miles. We underestimate the power this has to keep us going. Got up early? Celebrate. Completed an important task? Celebrate. Frequent celebration of what you have accomplished, combined with a gratitude practice to take in the many blessings and moments of awesome around you, are key to keeping gas in the tank.
How about you? What do you need to run this marathon? Pause and pick ONE tip that resonates with you and be intentional about practicing it over the next week. Then add another once you’ve got it down. Reframe this whole experience as yet another challenge, like all the other hard things you do for fun.
Conclusion
As these COVID-times continue, I increasingly feel like I’m in a marathon. Most days things are going well enough, but it is still so strange in so many ways.
Our mental wellbeing is our greatest asset and we need it to be clear, calm, creative, compassionate and confident as we march on. Partly such that we have less stress and more joy in our days. And partly for the effect our mental wellbeing has on everyone around us. Our mood, mindset and actions have a big effect on the people in our lives.
The “miles” ahead will surely test us. I wish you tremendous sense of accomplishment at the finish line knowing you trained well, raced well and completed something challenging!
Thanks for taking a few minutes to read this post. Please share your thoughts and comments, as we all learn from each other.
To learn more about how I train CPAs to be more resilient, focused and connected to the people in their lives, please visit www.mindfulwisdom.ca or schedule a FREE consultation with me HERE.