The Moment of Decision

You know that moment?

You’re in the aid station at night by the bright, warm fire and it’s cold, your feet hurt, your legs feel stiff as boards and for the moment, you don’t have to move.

Then you glance over at the trail out of the aid station, into the dark.

You still have so far to go.

It’ll take hours.

You think of the alternative - a nice, warm shower and snuggly bed.

Then all the reasons it makes sense to quit, one after another. Altogether, it’s a lot and it feels even harder to head out into the dark.

How do you keep going?

To answer that, it helps to know what’s going on in this decision.

On the surface, you’re making the all-important decision to quit or continue.

But beneath that, you’re making a larger, more profound choice.

You’re choosing who you believe you are.

In that moment by the fire, you’re living into the way you see yourself.

Want to know who that is? Look at your results. You only achieve what you see as possible.

If you see yourself as someone who fails to train enough, is too slow for cutoff, is too inexperienced to finish, or doesn’t belong on this big-name course, you’ll opt in that moment to drop.

You’ll either step up or give up.

You’ll give into your weakness and self sabotage, or live up to your strength.

This is why learning to believe in yourself ahead of time matters.

You may want very badly to believe you’ll finish but in the moment of decision, you’ll act on what you do believe.

Which turns out to be fantastic because knowing this, you can start living into a new version of yourself now - as you train.

The first time I dropped at Leadville 100, I saw myself as a newbie who was out of her depth and in the way.

The second time I dropped at Leadville 100, after two other 100-mile drops, I saw myself as someone who didn’t train as hard as she could, was scared to bring her best, and gave up on herself when things got hard.

That’s when I got honest about who I was and who I could be.

The third time I ran Leadville 100, I saw myself as someone who’d been underperforming and believing in others more than herself, and had grown beyond all that. She’d give it her all this time, no matter what.

And I finished.

So ask yourself, “Who do I need to be to keep going?”

And start training yourself into that version now, as you train your body for the same.

That moment, when it comes, is the opportunity to show up as the person you want to become on the journey to the finish line.

It’s some of the most popular and transformative work I do with clients in reaching their goal.

To find out more about coaching on this, use this link to book a consult call.

The sooner you start, the sooner you arrive.