41. How to relate to anxious thoughts when performing competitive sports

How do top athletes think about their physical struggles - pain, exhaustion, thirst - when competing?

How do the top athletes push their bodies to the absolute limit over hours or days of competition? 

When feeling under significant pressure or in high stake situations, It’s natural that our mind may jump to conclusions about what’s going on or what’s going to happen; it's natural that our mind may jump into thinking traps. It’s natural that our mind may compare our performance with others’ performance. . . It’s natural that our minds may convince us to stop trying, to give up, to stop competing . . . 

I had the honor of interviewing Alex Hutchinson, a journalist, former Canadian national team distance runner, current award-winning science journalist, and author of the book Endure.

In this conversation Alex, kindly shares

• His writing process
• How he decided to write Endure
• How he maintains a scientific approach to his writing
• How he handles the uncertainty of not knowing
• How to think about physical sensations during a high athletic performance
• How to relate to physical discomfort when competing at a professional level

This conversation has reminded me, once again, about the importance of scientific humbleness; and how, when doing what we care about, keeping ourselves in check, is crucial to keep science going.

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