We should take the hard way
A year or two before I made my first national team in bobsled, the first World Cup races were held on the new track in Lake Placid, NY. Back then, no one knew if a 4-man sled could make it down the track. And many of the best in the world doubted it was possible..
Even the American push athletes were scared [shitless], and the drivers didn’t love it either, even though they had been down it a handful of times in their 4-mans. (4-man sleds are inherently more dangerous on tough, tight tracks due to the heavier weight and greater speed.)
At the international coaches meeting the night before the first 4-man training day there was some discussion about what to do. Countries were threatening to go home - they were positive that it was too dangerous and not possible for a 4-man to make it down the track. For reference, the Goodwill Games were held on the track the year before and only 2-man was raced for this reason.
Ultimately, it was the American’s home track, so they said they would go down the track first to show it was doable.
And then the Russian manager, Valery, stood up and he said, “My guys will go second. Because if they don't - I will send them to Siberia!” The other coaches laughed, the Russian didn’t.
The next day the Americans were cautious. Instead of pushing hard and really committing, they pushed a 5.54 at the start.
For the record, that is dirt slow. The push track records are in the 4.90s. It was clear to everybody they were not pushing hard; fear or a lack of confidence got in their way.
(By the way, pushing more slowly didn’t keep them safe. No matter how fast or slow you push at the top, when you hit the dangerous parts of the track at the bottom, you're going the same speed no matter what. A slower start won’t “save” you.)
And then it was the Russian’s turn.
The Russians pushed a 5.05. They fought through their fear - or at least Siberia was scarier than Placid - did the hard thing and they made it down safely.
What’s the moral of the story here?
Not that we should threaten our team members with being sent to Siberia.
But maybe the Russian coach knew something that some of us don’t: that it’s just plain hard. And that being afraid of doing things that are only 10% harder isn’t logical.
When pursuing a goal, we can fundamentally accept and embrace the “hard-ness” of doing hard things, or we can opt-out.
If we say “yes” to the challenge, we’ve gotta know: it’s really going to suck sometimes.
But that’s alright. Rather than dread or deny the suck, it’s better to embrace it. Give it all we’ve got.
Because doing hard things makes us better at life. And being better at life makes life better.
There’s some actual science behind this, by the way.
Overcoming the friction of starting the hard thing (the “Limbic Friction” as Stanford’s Dr. Anthony Huberman puts it) makes us better.
My Olympic gold medal coach Stu McMillan expertly writes about Limbic Friciton here.
Here’s the concept:
Ever wondered what exactly is happening in the brain and the body when we make the decision to get off the couch and exercise when we really don’t want to? Or when we pick up our laptop and write that report when we really don’t want to? Or when we’re standing at the top of a bobsled track and push 10% harder understanding that the penalty of mistake could be death?
What Dr. Hubmerna’s research teaches us is that if we can repeat the pattern of breaking through the “I don’t want to’s” regularly enough, we can form pathways in our brain and system that makes that hard thing and other hard things easier.
In other words, doing hard things actually makes hard things easier!
Better yet, if we can make hard things easier, it frees us up to get to the next level of hard. It becomes an upward cycle, allowing you to take on bigger challenges with greater ease.
No one who ever accomplished anything did so through the easy way. They made choices and often took the bumpier road knowing it was the only path to reach their ultimate goal.
Last year, I tested the theory through a physical and mental challenge. (And I’m about to test it again.)
In February 2021, the Embrace the Suck challenge shifted me into a new gear both physically and mentally. And it spawned this newsletter, with my first post about that challenge: “Love the Love of the Process.”
With Baby Mesler due to arrive this February 13th (yes, Super Bowl Sunday!) I’m going to give Embrace another shot, but will start early on January 15th.
The challenge is to do the following program every single for 28 days in a row. The program contains a series of three exercises:
Complete 5 miles (run, jog, walk, or crawl)
Complete 100 repetitions of 100kg (220 lbs) Trap Bar Deadlifts
Complete 100 push-ups
Is it hard? Yes, it’s really hard. Every single time. But doing it every day made the act of beginning the next hard thing easier. And it definitely made me better at multiple hard things in my life at the time. We’ll see if it has the same effect in trial number two.
And really, very selfishly, this year I’m just hoping that Embrace will make the upcoming sleepless newborn nights just a little easier on me!
Steve
PS - If you’d like to join us in embracing the suck this year either with the above workout or a varied one for your own skill level, send me a note.
