I’ve recently finished listening to Audible’s production of Alex Hutchinson’s work “Endure- Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance.” The author of this fascinating exploration defines endurance as the struggle to continue against the mounting desire to stop. Hutchinson says that this definition not only applies to athletes training to excel at speed or distance, but also in academic, social and business situations.
As I reflected on Hutchinson book while training for an upcoming half marathon, I thought of how what I was learning about endurance could help my training and possibly my race. This led to also thinking about the upcoming thanksgiving holiday. Not that I think of thanksgiving as an endurance event, but there can be a connection between giving thanks and the mental tools we can use to succeed in endurance activities like marathons.
In one of his races, Hutchinson recruited family and friends and placed them strategically along the course to offer visible and audible encouragement. Seeing friendly faces when he was pushing his limits, and hearing words of encouragement when he wanted to stop increased endurance. We can take a similar approach to thanksgiving and intentionally consider what we have in our lives that makes us thankful. The thought process of focusing on what we are thankful for can lead to living gratefully. Living gratefully can deepen our resiliency and have a positive impact on how we can endure. As we live gratefully, we can nurture a deepening appreciation for many aspects of our lives- the people in them and the many reasons to be thankful.
May the way in which you spend the thanksgiving long weekend help you to reflect on what you are thankful for, and may this reflection lead to a deeper appreciation for who you are and who and what is in your life. Happy Thanksgiving!
By: Capt Michael McGee
