The central predicament of human life is that we neither possess completely free will, nor are we completely determined by external circumstances. We set and pursue goals, only to become waylaid by habits and distractions. Often we know the patterns in our lives that we would love to change–from overeating to taming our tempers–but still find ourselves falling into old ruts. There are many seemingly different approaches to counseling and psychotherapy, but at a high level all of them represent ways of increasing our self-awareness and, ultimately, control over our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
When I reviewed evidence-based short-term approaches to therapy with two colleagues at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, a surprising conclusion stood out. Every effective approach utilizes shifts in states of consciousness to facilitate change. These shifts may be quieting, as in the case of meditation, or they may be activating, as in the case of experiential and behavioral therapies. Across the modalities, there is an understanding that, in our routine states of awareness, we tend to fall into routine. Changing and expanding our consciousness is a portal to expanding our willpower, our capacity for self-determination.
The quest for peak performance is, at root, an effort to become more fully self-determining. Might we explore peak performance practices the way we’ve looked at evidence-based therapies to uncover insights into willpower?
One fascinating finding from a survey of writings on peak performance is that many of them emphasize the relationship between physical and mental conditioning. In pushing the body, we expand the mind. Overcoming physical obstacles strengthens our willpower muscles, extending our capacity to master other life challenges. Emilia Lahti describes the Finnish concept of sisu, which embraces an action mindset that embraces and tackles goals that seem to be beyond our reach. She has embodied sisu in her determination to overcome experiences of abuse, in part by tackling daunting distance running challenges. In pushing herself mentally and physically, she has found a way of accessing “an extra gear of psychological strength.”
A similar use of the body to extend performance is illustrated by David Goggins, who has been described as “the toughest man alive”. A graduate of NAVY SEAL and U.S. Army Ranger training, Goggins decided to raise money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation by running a race in which he had to cover at least 100 miles in 24 hours. Goggins was not a distance runner, but he tackled the challenge of the distance race and successfully persevered despite multiple injuries. In his book Can’t Hurt Me, Goggins explains, “You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft that you will die without ever realizing your true potential.” His approach to peak performance is to “callus your mind the same way you do your hands. Take the path of most resistance every day of your life.” Indeed, when we listen to Goggins’ self-talk, it becomes clear that he utilizes the achievement of one challenge as a prod to tackle a new one. There is no finish line, no easing up, in his sisu.
Most of us are familiar with research that links sedentary lifestyles to poor health outcomes. Less well appreciated is that being sedentary also comes with increased odds of stress, depression, and diminished well-being. Among adolescents, increased screen time is associated with poorer mental health. Sedentary lifestyles are also associated with elevated levels of anxiety. From the perspectives of Lahti and Goggins, the comfortable, sedentary life may in fact serve as training for non-effort and avoidance, preventing us from tackling challenges and attaining peak performance. By challenging the body, we inevitably encounter mental, emotional challenges–and we learn how to overcome them. As in the short-term therapies, positive change follows from an enhanced state of consciousness. The demands of physical activity stimulate our emotional resilience and ability to persevere under duress.
Fergus Connolly, who has worked with elite athletes and special forces operators, quotes Irish politician Terence MacSwiney, who died after a hunger strike initiated while he was incarcerated: “It is not those who can inflict the most, but those that can suffer the most who will conquer.” Peak performers, he finds, “make their game face their everyday face”. Like Goggins, Connolly notes that the key to high levels of achievement is a self-talk that embraces the discomfort of extraordinary efforts. He explains that “the potency of self-talk extends to self-projection.” Our internal dialogues become destiny.
The psychological dangers of a sedentary lifestyle is that comfortable bodies never allow us to exit the routine. Without the immediacy of daily challenges, we fail to exercise the will and thus never find the resources to persist and achieve great things. Lahti, on her site, quotes William James: “Do something every day for no other reason than you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test.” It is in embracing the “path of most resistance” that we cultivate the will to sustain extraordinary efforts.
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