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WWW.CHANGINGL ANESDIGITAL .COM APRIL | CHANGING L ANES 3 Dr. Roy Baumeister recounts the training regimen of famed endurance artist David Blaine. Before a stunt — some of which have included being encased in ice for over 63 hours, being suspended over the Thames in a clear plastic box for 44 days, and holding his breath for 17 minutes on live TV — Blaine will start to make up little inconvenient routines for himself to maintain, simply to test his willpower. These are usually small things, like touching every overhanging tree branch on his walk to work, but they get his mind in the habit of exercising will, to do something when it would be inconvenient or uncomfortable. Examples of this include sticking to an inconvenient diet, living without a car, or shaving with a straight razor. There's a lot to be said for simple accli- matization to discomfort as well. The little nicks and bruises you get from training in wild environments can be hugely distract- ing when you're just getting started, but if you keep heading back out, you eventually find them little more than useful feedback on positioning and technique. Think Positive Most of us have an internal monologue going on in our heads, telling our own story. How this sounds depends on our view of ourselves and external stimuli. If you've always been good at schoolwork, you might envision yourself as "smart," but maybe not "strong" or "charming." The thing is, these definitions are mostly arbitrary. Anyone who works hard enough at academics can do well in school, and anyone who trains hard enough can do well in sports. Whether or not we are willing and able to push ourselves hard enough to do well often depends on that internal story. So, the simple solution is to only accept positive self-talk. This is a common tactic of the super-successful, and is standard fare in such personal development classics as Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich, and Stephen R. Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Have a Reason One of the most powerful motivators in training and life is knowing why you cannot fail. Jack Yee, who writes specifi- cally about mental toughness and has been featured on T-Nation and Mark's Daily Apple, remembers his time at the famous Gold's Gym in Venice Beach, where he saw not only old school greats like Tom Platz, Lou Ferrigno, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but also a large number of promising amateurs, many of whom had more impressive physiques. However, they rarely lasted long: after one defeat at a competition, they would give up. One discouraging setback was enough to shat- ter their confidence. The antidote is to remind yourself why you're out there in the first place. A com- mon trick I used to use in my running when I was feeling defeated was to imag- ine that my girlfriend was being threat- ened by kidnappers and if I didn't get to her in time, they would kill her. Since my motivation for exercising was to be useful to those I cared about, this worked for me. No matter how beat up I felt, I would al- ways run faster. Another trick for this is to use an iPhone app called "Zombie, Run!" You perform missions related to outrun- ning zombies — another great motivator! Mental Toughness Training Summary • Allow (or seek out) small inconvenienc- es and discomforts in your everyday life. Learn to tolerate them. • Start to judge your internal monologue, rather than simply accepting it for what it is. Actually listen to what you're Health Tips Continued 32 www.jobsfor teams.com JOBS for TEAMS | JobsForTeams0514_HealthHelp.indd 3 4/7/14 10:56 AM