Everyone has experienced it: you were exercising, and your body screamed to stop, due to the pain you experienced, or due to the fatigue in your body.
You probably also know the feeling that the alarm went off too early again, and that the very first thought was: how am I going to ensure that I can sleep through the night and not have to get out of bed...
In both cases it is about perseverance. Literally: the ability of your body, or rather your head, to... not to give in to the will to quit.
First of all, take a critical look at yourself. Over the past month – how many times have you given in to the urge to quit something? Sporty, or perhaps in another area. And perhaps even more importantly: why did you give in to it then? Was this because it just wasn't important enough? Or was this because it became very uncomfortable and you prefer to take the easiest way?
These are important questions to answer for yourself, because you then become more aware of why you stop doing something, and that is the only way you can compete with yourself - because that is what it actually is.
By consciously focusing on persevering or stopping more often, you can also more easily recognize situations in which this happens, and also decide for yourself not to give in to it this time.
Because it really is that simple: it is alone making the choice not to quit (or not taking it easy), where you would normally do this. Pain in your legs while running? or an unpleasant feeling when you get out of bed tired? You shouldn't make it bigger than this, because nothing serious will happen if you just continue longer this time or perhaps put a little more intensity into an activity.
By doing things differently than normal and taking a step outside your comfort zone, you are increasing your perseverance and therefore training. To return to the title: perseverance can be trained.
First of all, you will have to clearly agree with yourself why you will continue next time, where you would normally give up - because there will always come a point where your body will ask you to stop what you are doing as quickly as possible. At this point you need a strong reason to continue. For example, because you want to be proud of yourself, or because you train for a specific performance. (intrinsic motivation)
Or who knows, maybe you think it's important to share your performance on Instagram, so that all your followers can see how good you are. Or maybe you are sensitive to competition and you really want to be better than someone else this time (both extrinsic motivation). There is no good or bad motivation; as long as it is strong enough to defeat the pain, fatigue, or other mental obstacles.
Moreover, the pain threshold shifts along with your perseverance. Where years ago I found it difficult to run 1km without stopping, I am now able to go so deep that I cannot talk for at least half an hour. By often pushing the boundaries and pushing myself outside my comfortable sporting zone, I have become more and more accustomed to the 'pain' of persevering, and it is becoming relatively less difficult. And this is important to remember, perseverance is trainable and you can also get better at it. By doing it more often you simply get better at it, as is the case with most things.
The ball is now in your court, starting with the next training - see if you can go a little deeper than normal this time; push the boundaries! Also see what this does to you after training. Of course I can't fill this in for someone else, but I dare say that this ultimately gives a good feeling. And you also know that you are left with a bad feeling if you know in your head that things could have been better.
Do you now have to throw up on the floor every time you exercise? Certainly not, but make sure you are aware of why you are stopping something, and make sure you are in control.
This will make you more powerful in all areas of your life.
Now that you have read this, I am curious whether you will get more out of a training or moment next time?
And keep this in mind for the next time you are having a hard time, as we say in Rotterdam: NO nonsense! It can't be that bad.
Gio Bobbe
Enforce Master Trainer
gio@enforce.nl
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