This chapter wasn’t part of my original plan for these articles, even if I touch the subject in many of the others. But it struck me lately, like a baseball bat in my face. The last few weeks, I felt like I’d lost my ”religion”. Training and racing wasn’t a pleasure anymore. My smile was gone and I had to force myself through that door out…
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So I had to restart. Return to the beginning. What made me smile before? Which parts of training and/or racing are important to me? What makes it worth it?
Happiness isn’t just a factor that should be the base of all choices we make in life. It’s also as important as (or more important than?) your physical capacity when it comes to performances. You can be in your best shape ever, and prepare perfectly for a race or an adventure. But if the task itself doesn’t make you happy, if you can’t make it with a smile on your face, the race is lost before it even started.
Unlike other parts of preparation, we can’t force ourselves to be motivated and stay happy. There are of course plenty of things we can do to be more happy, and some mental coaches even say that Happiness is a choice. Maybe it is, and one part of their message is the same as mine. Do things that makes you happy, in a way that makes you happy.
It might sound simple, but it changes. Like my year that passed:
– Autumn 2015: Racing Falktouren, Interval training with runFBG and ”gubbdistans” with FBG Roadrunners, or just getting back to training made me happy.
– Early winter 2015/16: Nothing made me happy. Too much stress made me sick.
– Late winter 2016: Ski mountaineering and sunny adventures at high altitude made me happy.
– Spring/early summer 2016: Being in super shape for running after the skimo season, winning races (or just running them?), any training made me happy.
– Late summer 2016: Roller skiing up big mountain passes made me happy.
– Autumn 2016: Still trying to find out what makes me happy.
So, it changes. But are there any factors that stays along no matter what? I’m still trying to find them, but here’s some suggestions when it comes to me:
1. Collecting true stories my grandchildren will never believe
2. Sunny weather (But where’s the sun in Halland in november?!?!)
3. Exploring (But what to explore in Halland in november?!?!)
4. Powder skiing (But where to ski powder in Halland in november?!!?)
… Are all factors that almost always makes me happy. Other things might be being in shape and winning races. But they are nearly impossible to plan / predict. And as I wrote earlier, happiness is a basic condition for winning rather than a product of winning.
This chapter tends to be a analyse of myself rather than advice for you, but my message is: Ask yourself these questions. Even if you might not need them right now, save your thoughts for the future. Pick them up whenever you may lack motivation. When you can’t find the smile of yesterday.
Don’t hesitate to make a comment here, send me an e-mail (info@andreaslundblad.se) or Instagram-post (@animaluminium / #slowenoughtowin) with your own ideas on the subject.