Josh Lifrak: Embrace The Days That Suck -R4R 119

You may have recently read somewhere, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” This question is obviously meant to inspire you to do the things you have put off by putting your tepidness, laziness, or fears behind you. If you knew you wouldn’t fail, you might attempt much more than you currently do. What is it about the thought of failure that stops us? There’s a different way to think about failure and what we decide to do with our time in the face of it. Consider the following question: What would you do anyway, if you knew you would fail most of the time? Would you change what you are doing day-to-day? Would you stop thinking about your big dreams? For professional baseball players, “failure” is a regular part of the process. The average Major League player only hits the ball and gets on base two or three times out of ten. Even the best of the best never average more than four out of ten. This means that the likelihood of not hitting the ball and getting on base is way more than 50 percent. In other words, they fail most of the time. In fact, all of us fail regularly. The process of obtaining any goal is paved with failures whether we choose to recognize them or not. When we embrace the hard times, those that we can label as failures, our road to success is streamlined. Josh Lifrak is the Director of the Mental Skills Program for the Chicago Cubs. His job is to help over 300 players that are in some way associated with the Chicago Cubs organization to reach their potential through mental health training and mind exercises. He works with a staff of six individuals that lead meditation, and other mental practices to help professional athletes gain control over their minds.  Deciding what to do with your thoughts and finding ways to create positive thinking is Josh’s specialty. As we sat down to interview Josh today, we learned new tips on setting goals, dealing with nerves, and embracing the hard days. Josh also happens to be a runner, so of course we asked him how his training for baseball players is pertinent for runners. Read along or put in your headphones to learn more! You Control Your Thoughts Every training period leading up to an event has several “suck” days. You know, the days when for whatever reason you feel sloshy, your legs are heavy, your mind is tired, your breath is shallow. Josh relishes days like these. This is when you get to practice “hitting the wall.” When you embrace these hard moments, you grow in ways that others won’t. Instead of looking at this challenging day as a failure, look at it as an opportunity. It’s not every day that you get to train your mind in a race-day-like scenario. This applies for any number of negative feelings and thoughts you have. While we can’t always control what comes into our mind, we have the power to choose what to do with those thoughts. Before you let your next negative thought control your day, take a mental step back, realize what is happening, and then decide what to do with it. Pressure, Nerves and Butterflies Along the lines of controlling our thoughts, race day mental antics are just that, jokes. You have put in the hours and miles; the time is now yours to celebrate the training you have put in by competing. For Josh and the Chicago Cubs, they have a saying that goes, “Turn your have tos, into get tos.” In other words, realize that this is an opportunity. It’s not something you have to do, it’s something you get to do. Feeling nervous means you are ready. It means your body is warming up and ready to go. Let those nerves give you energy because that is what they are meant to do. Josh says, “How often do we get to feel that alive?”  So whatever it is that you are feeling, you have the power to turn it into a positive. If you are having a dumpy training day, use it as mental practice for race day. If you are feeling anxious and nervous on the start line, harness that energy and use it to propel you. Embrace each thought and moment to use it to your advantage, and don’t forget to feel alive. Resources: Josh’s Website Josh’s Twitter Josh’s Article on Goals Justin’s Twitter   Thank you to Coros and Athletic Greens for being the wonderful sponsors of this episode of The Running For Real Podcast.   My new Coros Apex watch may be the new watch for me! Yes, that means I am not a Garmin runner anymore. I wore this watch in the Boston Marathon and I LOVED it! The new screens, options, the statistics, and the look alone just makes it look like a real watch and not a running one. Please visit Here you can get yourself a free bonus watch band in using code tinamuir.   Athletic Greens is a simple and easy way to get 75 vitamins, minerals, and whole food source ingredients. Just to help my immune system be stronger and greater! It is so simple to do and it taste good as well. Now you can get a free travel pack with 20 servings with your first purchase, Visit here to learn more!  Thanks for Listening! I hope you enjoyed today's episode. To share your thoughts: Leave a note in the comment section below. Join the Running for Real Facebook Group and share your thoughts on the episode (or future guests you would like to hear from) Share this show on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. To help out the show: Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews will really help me climb up the iTunes rankings and I promise, I read every single one. Not sure how to leave a review or subscribe, you can find out here. Thank you to Josh, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show.