follow the what

I was listening to zen and the art of triathlon the other day and heard something that has really resonated with me. He was speaking of zen and how in zen, the aim is to focus on the what, not the why of doing things.  "Why" becomes a tangle you can't escape, and it keeps you from enjoying this moment.  Runners know well the tangle of why when we hit that point in training where the long runs get tough, and we wonder why we ever decided to start running in the first place. The tangle of why is mile 22 of the marathon, when your mind wraps you up in why in an effort to get you to stop running.

Follow the "what" instead, and you focus on what you are doing at that moment.  When you read the stories from great ultrarunners, you might notice that they run their race moment by moment when it gets tough, urging themselves to make it to the next aid station, the next mile, the next tree if necessary. I've been trying this technique when I'm doing something I'd rather not be doing - driving in traffic, running errands, cleaning the house - as well as when I'm running.  Not easy to do, but very calming when I can.

Have a tremendous day.