By Darrel Wang

There are an outrageous number of thoughts that go through your mind when training…

I’ve listed them in sequential order (in my mind, anyway).

• Am I dying?
• Cutting 10% off the workout won’t be that bad…
• Did I leave the oven on? I should quit and go check.
• No… I’m being silly… there’s some 12-year old in India training harder than I am right now…
• Wow… I am almost done. Only two more minutes to go.
• Let me just look over at (insert training partner’s name) and see how far they are along…
• I’m not going to let them beat me.
• Done.

Sound familiar?

During these “tough” training sessions (most are), you’ll be surprised that a lot can be overcome by performing one simple action.

Smile.

That’s it. Just smile.

Now, I’m no “expert” but I have experienced my fair share of tough training evolutions and combat zones, so this advice is based purely on what I have found helps me to withstand “suffering” a little more.

The next time you find yourself in the deepest, darkest parts of your brain (for the Tactical Athletes, maybe it will be your next 10K Ruck??), just smile for a few seconds – there’s a good chance that you will turn your mindset around.

“Expect adversity and expect to overcome it.”
~ Someone smarter than me.