We are surrounded by a sea of stress. If we go with the flow of how we feel, we’ll allow the subconscious brain to secrete anxiety and negative attitude hormones which will send our attitude rising and falling. Your mission is to have strategies in place to shift control into the executive brain in the frontal lobe for smooth and confident sailing.
By developing and using cognitive strategies, you can shift mental control away from the subconscious and into the executive brain. By following the methods in this chapter, you can train your brain to move from one thought to the next, just as you train your body to go one more mile or one more walk break. This manages the flow of negative hormones and turns on circuits to move you forward, step by step.
Throughout the day, most of the routine activities are monitored and managed by the subconscious, reflex brain. One of the key reflex functions is to monitor stress and start shutting things down (like motivation) when the stress level is too high. Having a plan in advance that you believe in will help you shift brain control into the frontal lobe—the conscious brain. Focusing on one small (and doable) step at a time reduces stress significantly as the frontal lobe keeps you focused on the next task. This brain component overrides the negativity of the reflex brain. By moving from one step to the next, you maintain conscious control over your motivation and your training, reprograming the subconscious brain to get moving, get out the door, keep going, break through barriers, and be strong to the finish. As you practice and fine-tune these cognitive strategies, the process becomes easier and easier.
• Do a reality check on your goal. Make sure that it is within your current capabilities and that you have enough time to perform the key workouts, while still resting between. Keep evaluating your goals and adjust as you head toward the key dates on your calendar. This maintains conscious control over the process.
• Acknowledge that the subconscious brain responds to stress by sending negative hormone messages to lower motivation. Under severe stress this reflex brain will reduce blood flow to gut, frontal lobe, and damaged areas to create pain. Start talking to the reflex brain when this starts to happen; laugh and tell it to open up the blood flow. This shifts brain activity into the executive brain where you can take conscious control.
• Diffuse the stress by using one or more of the simple methods listed next or one that you design. Keep telling the reflex brain that you know what it is doing and that you will not let this happen.
• Move forward by walking. Even if you are not going to run immediately, walk around the room thinking through the steps listed next. Use uplifting mantras that help you focus on the positive. This conscious mental shift can change your mood in a few minutes by triggering the release of positive peptides.
• When it is time for your run, go through the Jump Start program in the book Mental Training for Runners: How to Stay Motivated. As you Run-Walk-Run, the endorphins you release will lock into receiver sites all over the body, transmitting messages that you feel good and you can do it.
• During the run, or during other quiet periods (driving in a car, waiting for a flight, or a meeting) Identify the challenges you want to manage or overcome. List the negative messages you receive and the problems in past experiences. Then rehearse yourself through each situation.
• Concentrate on one challenge at a time. As you fine-tune your strategy, you will get better at moving quickly to positive action.
• Break up the challenge into a series of small steps that take you from the beginning of the challenge to the successful finish.
• Mentally rehearse the steps throughout the day. Even if you don’t know the solution to problems that come up, rehearse yourself digging down, getting through it, and finishing with a great feeling of accomplishment.
• As you repeat and fine-tune the rehearsal, you are reprogramming the reflex brain to automatically move from one step to the next when confronted with the challenge.
As long as you have the challenge, continue the regular rehearsal, adjusting to your situation and becoming more and more effective.
Note: For more information on this topic with step-by-step instructions, see our book Mental Training for Runners: How to Stay Motivated, available autographed at www.JeffGalloway.com.