First Responders

What are your mental strategies for coping with pain during tough workouts and competitions?

Embracing Pain: The Key to Pushing Past Your Limits

This might be one of my favorite questions when I look at it from a perspective of, you know, what are your mental strategies for coping with pain during tough workouts or competitions? Pain is actually the greatest asset that you can have and that's what I learned actually from when I was racing is that pain lets you know that you're still alive. Pain lets you know that you can keep going and when you embrace the pain as a positive, it's so much more beneficial. I get it. People are probably saying, oh, but it's an injury or whatnot, but a lot of pain is not injury. A lot of pain is just, what would somebody say, weakness leaving the body. Pain is a great indicator that you've reached your comfort zone and you need to push past it. So my way of coping with pain is to embrace it. Say this is a positive. I'm pushing past where I could have never gone before or I'm pushing past where I can't go today, but I'm going to get there.

My strategy for coping with pain during tough workouts or competitions is to embrace it as a positive and use it as an indicator that I'm pushing past my comfort zone.

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One of my favorite aspects to consider is how to cope with pain during tough workouts and competitions. Pain is actually an invaluable asset, as I learned during my time racing. It informs us that we're still alive and capable of pushing forward. Embracing pain as a positive can be incredibly beneficial. While people may argue that pain could indicate an injury, it often signifies the release of weakness from the body rather than a harmful condition. Pain acts as a clear signal that we've reached our comfort zone and need to surpass it. My personal strategy for coping with pain is to fully embrace it and recognize it as a positive indicator. It signifies that I'm pushing beyond my previous limits or even reaching new heights that may be unattainable today but can be achieved in the future.

How can creating ownership of experiences lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful life?

Unlocking Fulfillment and Purpose: Embracing Ownership of Experiences

So how can creating ownership of experiences lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful life? I think what it does is it actually starts to have you not really judge as much your experiences and put them into categories that maybe aren't your categories, maybe other people's categories. And throughout our lives we're creating this experiential knowledge, this journey that is uniquely ours. And taking ownership of those mistakes, I mean we've all made mistakes, small ones and big ones in life, but we've also had our successes. So making sure that you are owning your own life, I think that's what makes it so fulfilling, so purposeful, is that it is your life journey. You get one chance at this. You get one chance at this. And when you do that, when you own those experiences, whether they be good or bad, that starts to continue you down a path of moving forward, living your life, and living that true purposeful life that you've always been meant to have.

Taking ownership of your experiences can lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful life by allowing you to take control of your own journey and make the most of it. You only get one chance at this, so making sure that you own those experiences, both good and bad, is key in order to move forward and live a life full of meaning and purpose.

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Creating ownership of experiences can lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful life by allowing us to stop judging our experiences based on others' categories. Throughout our lives, we accumulate unique experiential knowledge and embark on our own journey. Taking ownership of both our mistakes and successes is essential. By owning our own lives, we find fulfillment and purpose because it becomes our unique life journey. We only have one chance at this, so embracing and owning every experience, whether good or bad, propels us forward on the path of living our true purposeful lives.

How do you align your everyday behaviors with your philosophy of life?

Unlocking the Power of Attitude and Effort

So, how do I align my everyday behaviors with my philosophy in life? Well, I think it's one of those things that my philosophy in life really changes as I grow up and as things in my life and my environment change. So, the everyday behaviors that I have are to try to be as positive as possible. It's not being like smiley or laughing all the time, but it's being positive when there's negative things that are around you. I think when you look at it from a perspective, the biggest thing that you can control is your attitude and your effort. Those are the two things that you can control in every atmosphere. And so, when I give my effort, it's full out every time. We can't do 100% for 10%. There's no such thing as 110%. I always give as much as I can in that moment. And the other thing is to have an attitude where you want other people to be attracted to it, to have the impact, to have the passion felt, and at the same time, not bring you down to a level that you can't be competitive, be productive, or be effective. So, I think the two things are you have to, every day, check your attitude and also make sure that your effort matches the actions and the passion behind it.

To align my everyday behaviors with my philosophy in life, I strive to maintain a positive attitude and put forth maximum effort in all I do. By doing this, I hope to make a positive impact on those around me while still being competitive and productive.

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Aligning my everyday behaviors with my philosophy of life is an ongoing process that evolves as I grow and adapt to changes in my environment. One of the key aspects of my philosophy is maintaining a positive outlook, even when faced with negativity. It's not about always being happy or constantly laughing, but rather approaching challenging situations with a positive mindset. I believe that attitude and effort are the two things we can control in any circumstance. Therefore, I strive to give my full effort in everything I do. I don't settle for giving 100% when only 10% is required. Instead, I aim to give my absolute best in each moment. Additionally, I focus on cultivating an attitude that attracts and impacts others positively, while also allowing me to remain competitive, productive, and effective. It's important for me to regularly check my attitude and ensure that my effort aligns with the actions and passion behind them.

How do you define mental strength, and why is it important?

Defining Mental Strength: The Key to Enjoying Life

So this is a great question. I think everybody actually has to define it for themselves and understand why it's important because What I'm defining as my mental strength now is actually different from what I defined it as 10 years ago But my mental strength is a culmination of all of my experiences my thoughts about what life is for myself my journey that I'm going down that I believe is the journey that I need to do and at the same point my mental strength stems from me having to understand my life and owning those aspects of my life that I am good at and owning the aspects of my life that I'm bad at and from there that mental strength is Really that cornerstone for you? enjoying each day It's simple as that mental strength is You enjoying each day each minute being engaged in your own life. That is so important to me to have that mental strength to be able to pursue what I've always wanted to do and Be there for my family be there for my kids and be there for others who I? Love to be able to impact as I go through my journey of life

Mental strength is a combination of experiences and thoughts that allows one to pursue and enjoy life while being there for loved ones.

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Defining mental strength is a highly personal process, as it evolves with our experiences and perspectives. For me, mental strength is a culmination of my life journey, encompassing my thoughts on life's purpose and the path I am pursuing. It involves acknowledging both my strengths and weaknesses, taking ownership of them. Mental strength serves as a foundation for truly enjoying each day and being fully engaged in my own life. This ability to find joy in every moment is essential to me. It empowers me to pursue my passions, be present for my family and loved ones, and have a positive impact on others along my life's journey.

Embracing the Journey: Winning, Losing, and Growth

It's a great question. Do you do you love to win or hate to lose? For a lot of my life I hated to lose and it was such a toxic thing that I that I had in my life and for now I think the biggest thing and I look at it from a perspective I'm still I'm still very competitive but I look at it from a perspective of I embrace the challenge and I think that's more of what you want to look at because winning and losing is all based off of somebody else's perspective and for us as or for me as an aging athlete or even as I look back it was so valuable to understand that you have your own limitations you have your own goals and aspirations that you should go towards and winning and losing is just part of that journey that you're on part of that growth point and so it's so valuable to embrace the journey embrace the challenge and winning and losing is going to be a part of that challenge

I used to hate losing, but now I embrace the challenge. Winning and losing is part of the journey and growth, so it's important to focus on our own goals and aspirations rather than on the outcome.

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Do I love to win or hate to lose? It's a great question. In the past, I used to hate losing, and it had a toxic impact on my life. However, now I approach it differently. While I still have a competitive spirit, I embrace the challenge. Winning and losing are subjective and depend on someone else's perspective. As an aging athlete, I've realized the importance of recognizing my own limitations and focusing on my personal goals and aspirations. Winning and losing are just part of the journey and growth process. It's valuable to embrace the journey, face the challenges, and understand that winning and losing are integral parts of that experience.

What are your fears and how do you handle them?

Overcoming Fears: The Power of Self-Understanding and Faith

That's a great question, what are my fears and how do I handle them? The ones that I know about, I think that's the hardest part is the unknown fears. The biggest way that I handle fears is understanding myself and understanding my strengths and capabilities to be able to adapt to the situation. So when you think about fears, fears are a lot of times just experiential knowledge that you don't have or possess at that moment, but yet we can rely on other things just like in the fire service or even in triathlon when you get to a certain point. You can rely on those feelings and the strength of mind and the understanding that I can do more than I think I can do. So my fears always ride in the unknown of when they're going to pop up and so that's how I handle my fears is to really live my life with an understanding that I myself can have faith in myself over the fears that always surround me.

I handle my fears by understanding and trusting myself that I can do more than I think I can. I rely on my strength of mind and the knowledge that I can adapt to any situation. My biggest fear is the unknown, but I have faith in myself to overcome it.

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Understanding myself and my strengths and capabilities is how I handle my fears. The hardest part is dealing with unknown fears, but when I encounter fears that I'm aware of, I rely on my self-awareness and confidence in my abilities to adapt to the situation. Fears often arise from a lack of experiential knowledge, but I can draw on other experiences, like those in the fire service or during triathlons, to remind myself of the strength and resilience I possess. My fears tend to be rooted in the unknown and when they might arise. To handle them, I strive to live my life with faith in myself, knowing that I can overcome the fears that surround me.

Robert Verhelst answers your First Responders questions. See all the advice Robert Verhelst has and get answers to your own First Responders questions.

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Fireman Rob is known as a dynamic storyteller with an inspirational voice, on the courage to lead your life with a resilient mindset. He helps people become greater assets to themselves and others, with the ability to lead with courage, passion and mental strength. 

Fireman Rob delivers powerful impact to audiences through his stories and catalysts that have been Forged In The Fires of his life. From numerous years in the fire service to surviving on Discovery Channel’s show “Ultimate Ninja Challenge” to performing search & recovery after the September 11th attacks. His message resonates with everyone and has proven results. 

From surviving post-traumatic stress disorder to breaking a Guinness World Record to being a dad, he lives his message and delivers the fire to the audience.

ACCOLADES •  2012 Ironman Performance of the Year •  2012 HITS Triathlon Athlete of the Year •  2014 In Business Magazine “25 Most Influential People in Greater Madison” •  2015 Jefferson Award 