The Ultra Mindset by Travis Macy

Author:Travis Macy [Macy, Travis; Hanc, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780738218151
Publisher: Da Capo Press

Thinking carefully about what you’re doing is crucial on fixed-rope sections, particularly when you’re sleep-deprived and carrying a heavy backpack. CREDIT: TRAVIS MACY

Ultra Mindset 5: Think About Your Thinking: What and Why

OUR MELTDOWN IN SWEDEN HAS HAUNTED ME OVER THE YEARS, AND I only recently figured out exactly how these two monumental blunders—first, paddling the wrong direction, and later, failing to hammer out what should have been a simple bike ride to the finish, when our motivation should have been its highest—occurred.

Maps errantly placed in cargo holds and insufficient sleep weren’t adequate explanations. In both of those instances, we messed up, big time, in how we were thinking. Specifically, as described so eloquently in 2010 by Heidi Grant Halvorson, PhD, in Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals, when we should have been thinking about what we were doing we were thinking about why we were doing it, and when we should have been thinking about why we were doing it, we were thinking about what we were doing. Halvorson’s excellent text, which I highly recommend to anyone who wants to set and achieve goals, summarizes findings from the latest psychological research on a variety of topics related to goals. Regarding thinking about why you are doing something versus thinking about what you are actually doing, she writes, “Think about your goals in why terms when you want to get energized, stay motivated, or avoid temptations. Think about your goals in what terms when you are dealing with something particularly difficult, unfamiliar, or anything that takes a long time to learn.”

Aha! What I wouldn’t give to have read this book before the race in 2006! Here, I learned what we did right—and where we went wrong—at the Adventure Racing World Championship in Sweden.

Our thinking was right on as we moved through the field, steadily passing other teams in the hours prior to the debacle. While paddling for 12 hours, which is monotonous and requires high motivation, we thought about why we were pushing hard—to catch those teams—and it worked. The next segment, which involved challenging and risky navigation as we headed down the drainage, was difficult and unfamiliar. My focus on what I was doing, with very careful reading of the map, consequently worked out very well.

But here’s where we went astray: just before and during the river paddling screw-up, we should have been thinking about what we were doing, because the navigation was surprisingly difficult and, once again, unfamiliar. By continuing to focus on why we were rushing around in the transition area (so fast that we failed to even keep the map out)—to beat the other teams to the water—we failed to even consider what we were doing. The price was great.

On the final biking segment to the finish of the race, which was not difficult or unfamiliar, we shifted to focus on what we were doing. Unfortunately, when you are doing something boring, monotonous, and simple, and you focus on what, the journey becomes even more dreadful and seemingly long.

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