Guest post by ObstacleChick
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13 (KJV)
Many who spent a significant amount of time in evangelicalism will be familiar with this verse. Personally, I questioned the wording, thinking that it should be “I can do all things through Christ WHO strengtheneth me” but that was not how the wording appeared in KJV. As someone whose brain can overanalyze anything, I wondered whether it was Christ who strengthens me or the IDEA that I can do all things through Christ that is supposed to strengthen me. That is, does Christ himself strengthen me, or does the knowledge that if I work with and believe in Christ I can do all things? These are different concepts, and I heard different interpretations.
Regardless, in the athletic world, I see this verse quite frequently printed on race shirts, tattooed, or written in ink on the bodies of athletes. I wonder how these folks interpret this verse. However they interpret it, obviously these athletes view the verse as a mantra to keep their mental game strong.
There is considerable research into the effects of one’s use of psychological tools on one’s physical athletic performance. An example of a recent review of research from the National Library of Medicine is noted below:
Mental toughness is the ability to handle pressure, adversity, and stress by overcoming failures. It is also the state of persisting without refusing to quit, with the possession of superiority in mental skills. This review aimed to describe the effect of mental toughness on the performance of athletes and also to have an insight into the various interventions to improve mental toughness. For this, PubMed was searched using the appropriate keywords till December 2021 and a narrative synthesis was performed. Mental tightness was evident to be correlated with many important aspects such as better performance, goal progress, withholding stress, coping, optimism, and self-reflection. It also helps in a better level of confidence, constancy, control, positive cognition, visualization, and challenges than the opponent team. Many interventional strategies have been adopted in previous years which mainly focused on personalized programs including psychological skills training, coping and optimism training, mindfulness, yoga, general relaxation, imagery, and a combination of both, and many more other aspects were observed to be effective in improving mental toughness. However, physical training alone did not observe to be beneficial. The current evidence indicates the important role of mental toughness on the sports performance of athletics and the role of various interventional strategies focusing on mindfulness and psychological interventions in improving mental toughness. All these interventional strategies need to be implemented in the actual practice.
When I was in college, I learned that a regular and consistent exercise regimen could be beneficial to my health. There were few people in my family who were active; instead, I had many relatives who suffered from a variety of illnesses, and the messaging I received from my relatives was this: “you’re female, and in our family, your destiny is to get fat — but don’t let yourself get fat.” There was no messaging on how I was supposed to handle this issue, so I started paying attention to fitness and nutritional advice. In my early 20s, I started exercising, and I continued to do so through 2 pregnancies, my 30s, my 40s, and now into my 50s. Along the way, I picked up road running 5Ks through marathon distance, and a coworker introduced me to the sport in which I currently specialize, obstacle course racing (OCR). OCR is basically running distances from 100 m to 24-hour events with a variety of obstacles that demand that one goes over, under, through, or carry heavy objects. OCR requires full body strength, skill, and running ability. Participants run the gamut of first-timers looking to challenge themselves to professional athletes. When I completed my first race in 2012, I was a fit first-timer who became hooked on the sport to become a fairly proficient age group competitor.
In 2019, I started to exhibit some success in my age group, sometimes snagging a top-3 finish. Focused training has helped with my skills, and I have improved in races. However, there are instances during races I suffer from imposter syndrome, and sometimes my focus and mental game slip during the course of the race, especially if I am struggling with an obstacle. Sometimes, I’ll give up and stop pushing hard, only to beat myself up during the car drive home. I regret the number of times I watched a 3rd place finish slip through my fingers because I neglected my mental game. When I retain my focus, refuse to give in to negative thoughts, and determine to persevere, I can do quite well.
The Spartan obstacle in this photo is called Bender. It’s a ladder that starts about 6 feet off the ground and leans toward you as you approach it. Racers need to climb over the top of it. It requires some upper body strength, some skill, confidence, and overcoming fear of heights for those of us who fear heights. It’s an obstacle I have struggled with, not for lack of strength but for lack of trust in my own strength. My body is capable, but sometimes my mind goes in a negative direction. There are times that I have succumbed to negative thoughts and given up.
For the past few months I have been struggling with the normal perimenopause changes my body is going through. There are days when I feel like I am living in someone else’s body. Hot flashes, sleep disruption, body composition changes, slower recovery, and where is my motivation? But I will not give up. A 20-minute workout is better than none. One round of exercises is better than none. And usually, once I get started, even if I feel like I am sluggish or weak, I will feel better after 10-15 minutes.
This weekend I went for my weekly long run and did not feel motivated or enthusiastic. I felt slow and sluggish, but after about 30 minutes, I felt good. After 60 minutes, still good; 90 minutes, good; 120 minutes, good. A woman ran up beside me and commented that I was running at a good pace and asked how many miles I had done. She was surprised that I had run 12 miles and had a couple more miles to go. She asked questions about my training, saying she was 42 and wants to run a marathon in 2024. I encouraged her to keep training and let her know that I am 53 and just completed a 50k a few weeks ago. She thanked me and told me that I was inspiring.
Sometimes we inspire people when we are doubting ourselves. We need to just keep doing what we’re doing and stop critiquing ourselves so much. For some people, a mantra like Philippians 4:13 can help them with their mental toughness. Granted, it’s an appeal to an outside force rather than focusing on one’s own strength. Those of us who are atheists know that no amount of prayer will make up for the lack of proper training. As former evangelicals, we were taught that we should NOT rely on ourselves but should rely on God/Jesus/Holy Spirit. As an atheist, I can ONLY rely on myself – my training, my mental fortitude, my preparation. Honestly, it is a privilege to be able to complete the training and races, and I am thankful that this body allows me to do so. I do not take that for granted.
Have you found yourself in a position where you have needed to shift your mindset from trusting in an outside source (a deity) to trusting yourself? What were some challenges you have faced to make that happen?
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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