I am a runner. I think I have mentioned that before, but it is worth mentioning again for today's post. My fitness level waxes and wanes with my external circumstances and my body's general state of health (achy knee, sore hamstring...). Right now, it is nearly impossible to get a run in regularly, or anything longer then 2-3 miles, when considering covid-19 safety. My years of running on streets have left my lower back in less than stellar shape, so for the last few years, I have long been accumulating the miles on softer surfaces such as dirt trails. That makes running even more challenging in a pandemic. Trails are not far from me, in CA or GA, but they tend to be packed with other people seeking the same outlet, so there have been many days where I have excitedly planned for a run, only to be disappointed when the trail head was packed, and safety concerns sent me immediately back home.
But, on those lucky days when I can get a run in, it is joyous. Every runner, or person participating in a cardio-heavy activity, can tell you there are moments when you are tired or just not mentally up for the effort, and you want to stop. The most effective trick I have found to keep going is to tell myself to keep going until I get to *fill in some point nearby*. The fence post. The end of the block. The end of the next mile. The corner. The top of the hill.
This decision to make it to that next nearby point inevitably results in a continuation. Once I have given myself this shorter goal, the permission to stop at this new end point is liberating, and what nearly always happens is that I set another point. The next fence post. The next block. The next mile. And so on. And so on. These smaller goals are much more manageable than "I am going to run 10 miles today." When you are just starting to breathe heavily at the 1 mile or 2 mile mark, 10 miles feels like a long way to suffer. But, those smaller goals seem less awful.
Research on goal setting supports this approach. Large goals, or long term goals may be hard to reach without experiencing some serious motivational crises, especially when you hit the inevitable challenge or unexpected obstacle along the way. Research tells us that setting long goals are important, to help us feel a sense of meaning and to provide hope and optimism for the future. However, research also tells us that setting short term goals along the way helps us maintain our motivation and persistence. Smaller goals allow us to more readily measure our progress and allow us to celebrate achievements along the way to those longer, larger goals. One mile. Two miles. Three miles. One semester, two semesters, three semesters toward graduation. X$ toward a savings goal. X pounds toward a weight loss or weight gain goal (who has those?).
You get the idea. Small goals along the way to larger goals provides incentive and motivation to keep working toward those longer, larger goals. We are much more likely to be successful in achieving those larger goals if we set these smaller ones along the way, and we are also more likely to enjoy or appreciate the process.
Living in our current 2020 shit show is like a marathon for all of us, and we are more likely to be able to get through this chaos is we set those smaller goals along the way. Thinking about how long we have been dealing with this pandemic, and how much longer we might be forced to deal with it, can be overwhelming, frustrating, and down right depressing. But, if we use the science of motivation and goal setting to our benefit, and re-frame our thoughts about the pandemic with that science, we can maintain our stamina for the remainder of this pandemic. In other words, we can properly fuel our pandemic resilience.
In running long distance, conditioning for the long haul and training to pace yourself and your body to burn fuel slowly and effectively are all crucial. It is called pacing. In the pandemic, we need to do some pacing work.
Instead of thinking about the months we have been dealing with this, and all of the loss we have each experienced, or how much longer we may be forced to deal with the pandemic, let's focus forward with a little optimism, and pace ourselves by setting some short term goals.
Many scientists are now providing us with encouraging news about forthcoming vaccines for the covid-19 virus, and this is GREAT news. We can see the 'light at the end of the tunnel' now, which provides hope for 2021 and beyond!
Short term goals are very personal, so I won't pretend that I have a magic formula to help you set your own. I will tell you what mine look like, so you can use them as a template.
My short term goals look something like this (and they often morph when circumstances require it):
Physical health goals
Today, I am going to either run 3 trail miles or walk 5 neighborhood miles, depending on trail traffic.
Today, I am going to do 100 squats.
Today, I am going to get 7.5 hours of sleep.
This month, I am going to increase daily steps to 15,000.
This month, I am going to keep up my daily squat routine.
Mental health goals
Today, I am going to meditate for 10 minutes.
Today, I am going to express gratitude.
Today, I am going to spend time connecting with family and friends.
This month, I will increase my daily meditation time to 20 minutes.
Professional goals
Today, I will answer all of my emails.
Today, I will grade assignments.
Today, I will finish my blog post.
Today, I will work on research for 1 hour.
This month, I will spend time reading journal articles in my field.
This month, I will finish *X* for my research.
This month, I will start working on next semester's syllabi.
Phew. Writing all of those things down results in a little bit of exhaustion but also a sense of clarity. It feels good to have some clear goals for each day, and for the month. Pacing.
Keep in mind, when you set these smaller goals, flexibility and reason are important to keep in mind. Make reasonable goals, and maintain flexibility in those smaller goals, when circumstances get in the way. Know when to be stubborn and push through the challenges that get in the way, and know when to change your goals. When I get to the trailhead and there are clearly a lot of people on the trail, it is my decision to be flexible and go home instead of pushing through to meet my goal of running that day. It is a choice. You make your own goals and your own choices!
I cannot tell you, because there are too many instances to count accurately, how many times I have told myself 'just run to the top of the hill', and when I got to the top of the hill I realized, that was the hard part, now I get to run down the hill, so I kept going. Mile 1 turns into mile 10. Eventually. First, mile 1 turns into mile 2. Then, a week later, mile 1 turns into mile 3, then 4, until a few weeks later, mile 10 is realized!
So, for the pandemic, don't give in to the fatigue. Keep pressing. It isn't easy. Use all of the strategies I have been sharing in this blog - go back and re read them to refresh your memory. Then set some small goals. Let's get through this week. Next week, we can push ourselves to get through another 7 days. And so on. The end really does seem like it will arrive sometime in 2021, so let's keep on being diligent and resilient. We can do this!
Until then...
Be well, stay safe and take care.
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