The energies of men

Lately I've been musing on the condition of human endurance and I have turned repeatedly to an essay written in the early 1900's by William James titled: "The Energies of Men". Below is an excerpt from the first paragraph of the essay.

EVERYONE knows what it is to start a

piece of work, either intellectual or mus-

cular, feeling stale — or oold, as an Adirondack

guide once put it to me. And everybody knows

what it is to " warm up" to his job. The process

of warming up gets particularly striking in the

phenomenon known as "second wind." On usual

occasions we make a practice of stopping an oc-

cupation as soon as we meet the first effective

layer (so to call it) of fatigue. We have then

walked, played, or worked " enough," so we de-

sist. That amount of fatigue is an efficacious ob-

struction on this side of which our usual life is

cast. But if an unusual necessity forces us to

press onward, a surprising thing occurs. The

fatigue gets worse up to a certain critical point,

when gradually or suddenly it passes away, and

we are fresher than before. We have evidently

tapped a level of new energy, masked until then

by the fatigue-obstacle usually obeyed. There

may be layer after layer of this experience. A

third and a fourth "wind" may supervene. Men-

tal activity shows the phenomenon as well as

physical, and in exceptional cases we may find,
beyond the very extremity of fatigue-distress,

amounts of ease and power that we never

dreamed ourselves to own, — sources of strength

habitually not taxed at all, because habitually we

never push through the obstruction, never pass

those early critical points.

James wrote this essay during a time in American history when living the 'strenuous life' was in vogue. Popularized by President Theodore Roosevelt among others, the strenuous life was a call to action, a mobilization of citizenry and a rebuke of sloth and apathy. I have shared this passage with the cross country team I coach several times because I find it so relevant to our 'post-modern' society. I use this essay not as a chastisement against laziness, but as a fundamental element of teaching self-belief. As endurance athletes much of the time spent practicing our sport is spent along a continuum of uncomfortable experience, ranging from mild to extreme. The brain has an innate tendency to alleviate pain and discomfort by removing or avoiding the source and it has many tools at it's disposal. Chief among these tools is our perception and belief of what is possible for us to accomplish. When we are undertaking easy tasks confidence in our ability to complete the task is high reinforcing our self-belief related to the activity. As the level of difficulty rises our confidence starts to waiver and eventually it is tested to the point of failure and our self-belief goes with it. Unsupported by self-belief our actual ability to succeed at the activity declines. For practitioners of endurance events self-belief becomes a relevant aspect of nearly every training session. The most successful endurance athletes find ways to quiet the protestations of the mind and calm the inner turbulence. As a coach I find no other element of training to be as tremendously beneficial as coaching self-belief. Athletes may struggle with lacking self-belief at any point in their careers and this often presents a major obstacle to progress in training and competing. Self-belief can be challenged or diminished by any number of things such as injury, lack of progress, stress, and fear. 
Building self-belief within a team is, by necessity, a constantly negotiated process. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to cultivating self-belief, some individuals require constant affirmation, others merely an occasional engagement of the eyes and a thumbs up. Also true is that certain situations call for entirely different methods: a normally stoic, self-contained athlete may require very close attention and lots of communication during a period of injury or personal stress. There are two tools that I use on a regular basis that seem to nurture self-belief among nearly all personalities: the giving of responsibility and the actualization of success. I'll avoid going on a rant about how older generations no longer have the patience or trust to give responsibility and teach, but I find that giving small responsibilities (such as making runners take charge of their own daily mileage vs. having it all written out for them) makes people much more accountable and engaged. Responsibilities can be added to, and subtracted or withheld from (always with proper communication)and this process, used in a mindful and timely way can lead to a transformation in a person's self-belief. The actualization of success is an idea that I use the guide the workouts I write and my arrangement of them on the schedule. The basic principle is that success is enjoyable and it helps develop self-belief. A workout regimen that is always just beyond the athlete's ability to succeed at it, or which requires absolute maximal effort to accomplish and sustain may have detrimental effects on their perception of what they can handle. Although science may provide framework for setting and arranging workouts, paces and recoveries, an approach that melds the science with the individual psychology of the athlete will always produce a better result. Adapting a workout to achieve success cultivates more positive self-image and the athlete will be more willing to push to a greater extent knowing that they handled the last workout well. This principle has the same effect on the larger team setting as well. A group that perceives its members are capable of meeting and exceeding expectations will form a unified team belief dynamic that fosters a strong work ethic and positive attitudes towards individual and group capabilities. 

This post wound up being a little longer than originally intended but self-belief is one of those topics that I tend to wander into and have a hard time stopping the train. A lot of research into human endurance, intrinsic motivation, and positive mental habits circulates back to self-belief and that's why I think it is vitally important to be actively building it within sports teams and other venues. I welcome any and all comments!
-Tony