Adversity and setbacks will happen. They are part of life and they are part of running. You don’t have to dwell on them or live in fear of them, but instead you need to be mentally prepared to make adjustments and roll with it when it happens. Use the following four steps to keep from getting discouraged next time you experience a setback.
Step 1: Assess the situation and decide how to proceed
Setbacks may come in the form of an injury, an illness, a family emergency or a work crisis. If it’s one of the first two consult with a medical professional to help assess your situation. If its one of the last two you may need to reevaluate your goal in relation to your current season of your life.
Running and training for your goal race may still be realistic, but you may need to scale back on your training as you navigate the setback. Consider readjusting your goal, focus on being happy, and accepting it as part of the challenge.
Step 2: Put things into perspective
Your bad day or your bad run, might be someone else’s good day! Look for things to be grateful for. If you fell apart in a race, look around and notice the other runners that would be elated with your finishing time. Maybe your long run didn’t go according to plan, but celebrate the fact that you were still able to log in 10 miles…or my favorite…that you got the bad run over with before race day!
Keep your thoughts centered on what you are able to do. Don’t dwell on what you are giving up. By keeping your thoughts positive, you open your mind up to possibilities and solutions you haven’t considered before that will enable you to still achieve your goals. Positive thoughts will also help reduce the stress around the setback.
Step 3: Look for the lesson
What can you learn from the setback? Were you over ambitious with your training or your racing goal? Do you need to incorporate strength training on a consistent basis? Do you need to ask family for support so you can training more consistently? Whether in life or with running, there is always a lesson to be learned when things go wrong. Failure is not really a thing, it a learning opportunity. Accept it and determine how you can improve and grow.
Step 4: Seek and give support
We all go through rough patches. Surround yourself with supportive people. You need a tribe around you that will lift you up and encourage you as sort through the crisis at hand. If you have a bunch of negative people in your life, seek out at least one positive person that will support you in your efforts.
Finally, encourage others that might be dealing with a setback or a running injury. When you focus your energy on others, your own problems don’t seem as bad. Having another runner to talk to who understands the frustration of having to adjust running goals or miss a race do to an injury can be a God send for both of you. An encouraging text or a quick phone call might be just what they need to boost their spirits and yours as well!
How do you deal with setbacks and adjustments? Let me know in the comments below.
