Accountability Corner
Embark on an adventure with Darren, Morgan, and Chris, the dynamic trio steering the ship at "Accountability Corner." As passionate OCR enthusiasts, they're on a mission to share their expertise and enthusiasm for obstacle course racing with the world. From sharing insider tips on overcoming training plateaus to demystifying the complexities of race registration and gear selection, no stone is left unturned. Whether you're a seasoned competitor hungry for fresh perspectives or a newcomer eager to dip your toes into the muddy waters of OCR, these hosts are here to guide you every step of the way. Join them as they peel back the curtain on the electrifying world of OCR, revealing stories of triumph, camaraderie, and boundless adventure.
Don't miss out – tune in and discover why OCR is capturing hearts and minds around the globe!
Accountability Corner
#29: Balancing Stress and Performance
Ever wondered how the hippocampus triggers stress hormones or why balancing work and personal life feels like a high-wire act? Join us on this enlightening episode of Accountability Corner, where we celebrate Ricky's impressive progress at Mike's gym and get pumped for the upcoming European Championships. We kick off with some whimsical time travel banter before diving deep into the science and personal experiences of stress, exploring how it manifests in everything from daily pressures to race-day anxiety.
As we gear up for the competition, the conversation shifts to the unique stresses athletes face. Darren shares his thoughts on the pressure to replicate past successes, while another athlete offers a contrasting, relaxed approach, emphasizing control over the controllable. We highlight the mental reframing necessary to prioritize performance over outcome, providing practical strategies for navigating the stress surrounding high-stakes events. This segment is a must-listen for anyone looking to manage their expectations and keep their cool under pressure.
Our final discussions tackle the challenges of juggling professional and personal responsibilities while maintaining self-care. We offer actionable advice on fostering a positive mindset, effective communication, and the importance of planned downtime. Embracing stress as a driver for personal growth, we underscore the benefits of resilience-building practices like yoga and meditation. With a blend of humor and heartfelt insights, we hope to equip you with the tools needed to face stress head-on and turn challenges into opportunities for development.
Welcome to the Accountability Corner, where we talk about everything obstacle course racing, from staying disciplined in training, affording the sport, signing up for your first race and, more importantly, how the sport is growing around the world, with your hosts Morgan Maxwell, chris Shipley and Darren Martin.
Speaker 2:We're ready to go. We're ready to kick off Episode 29 of Accountability Corner corner. We're still here. We've made it this far it's season two season two, episode two we're through the pilot. This is the real deal. Now we've made it how are you both?
Speaker 3:I want to shout out someone. Okay, okay, go, because I'm currently very rudely, whilst you're talking, watching Ricky at Mike's gym. He is getting more and more of a bit of a beast every time I see him Shout out to you Ricky.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've been watching his Insta as well. He has been doing some cool stuff. Ricky's a beast.
Speaker 2:How are you doing when people listen to to this? It's going to be when they get back from the euros and we are recording a few days before we fly out to the euros, so I don't know how much we want to talk about it and then listen back to what we thought and how it was going to go we're in a right time warp on this one.
Speaker 1:We are.
Speaker 2:Shipley tried to explain time travel and who's hot, and absolutely failed.
Speaker 1:Well, like I said, it was a bit on the spot and I didn't have Doc Brown helping me out, but I have thought about time travel over the last few days and it is a bit of a complex situation. You have all these sort of paradoxes and things that just go wrong. You know you can't. You can't just jump forward in time and come back in time because little little things that you do make big changes in the past or the future. Look what happened in Flashpoint.
Speaker 3:Well, don't they think it'd be a lot easier to actually like work out how to go forward? But back is where that'll be pretty much impossible, but forwards, they reckon they can do that yeah, forwards is possible because you have relative time travel.
Speaker 1:Don't you feel like when you're in space and things? Because if you're in like the, the international space station, and it's going around, your time's different to what it is on earth and obviously if you travel at the speed of light and you fly out at the speed of light, you'll actually part, you'll go through time because when you look back you'll be looking at back like time backwards yeah yeah, if you went out and back at the speed of light, you'd come back to an earth that's older than you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you'd be the same. But if you think about it, what is time? Time's just a construct that we've made up as humans speed is time and do you want, do you want to time travel right now and say how you've done at euros chips? Yeah, yeah, I like that, that gold medal you're wearing around your neck for 3k yeah, yeah, just on my, my legs, my ankle's fine come back with no niggles and a gold medal.
Speaker 3:Mo. How are you?
Speaker 2:feeling about that top 20 position on the elite?
Speaker 3:I survived. There were sketchy bits. I was running fast, I fell over twice and I still got in the top 20 nice, I know what we can do as well.
Speaker 1:That party was amazing.
Speaker 3:Oh my God, yeah that party. Oh my God, remember that thing that happened.
Speaker 2:Oh, that thing was outrageous when Darren organised it all.
Speaker 3:Oh, my God.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:It was incredible. What a guy, and the amount of people that just came and gave us loads of money was just the best bit ever.
Speaker 2:That just came and gave us loads of money was just the best bit ever. Yeah, face-to-face Patreon page oh it's incredible. Thanks, guys. Thanks for buying us a pint. Great Loved it.
Speaker 1:Thanks for my glass of wine. You want a glass of wine? Yeah, I like wine, you're very sophisticated no. I've always been sophisticated.
Speaker 2:I like wine when you can say it. Should we try to hit this topic, because we are always going to try to, you know, test out a shorter episode, less waffle.
Speaker 3:And we've just waffled for exactly four and a half minutes, Right?
Speaker 2:well, let's get on with it. Then what ships you come up this topic? What topic do you want to talk about today?
Speaker 1:we are going to discuss the topic of stress in all its forms and in all its uh stressful paradoxes, uh stressful paradoxes.
Speaker 2:Amazing, sounds good. And how do you want to kick this off? Did you have anything in mind? Yeah, we're gonna start it off.
Speaker 1:We're gonna start it off right in the center of the hippocampus okay what is going on, right? Yeah, I'm ready yeah on then that is where stress is made in the brain. Your hippocampus. Is it hippocampus or hippomanthus?
Speaker 2:Hippo something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, hippopotamus, yeah, hippocampus, or whatever, right, someone can correct me that is the part of your brain, or in your brain, which secretes the hormones that make you feel stressed your cortisone and your adrenaline have you been reading again?
Speaker 2:yeah, we've told you about that that's the science behind it.
Speaker 1:But stress, stress in life. We're going to talk about how you deal with stress, from normal life stress to racing stress to everyday stress, and how you can, how we sort of deal with it and why it's important, and then why it's so annoying but also so good okay, so it sounds good.
Speaker 2:It sounds like a great episode to listen to after a stressful or not so stressful experience at the European Championships.
Speaker 1:Well, that's where I got the idea from a little bit is because, coming towards this European Championships, the stress levels have increased and you have the stress of all the training that you've done, and then all your life stresses and it all sort of culminates to one bit and you just got to try and handle all that stress in the right way, to try and get through it and realize why you do it.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:So that's good. Yeah, take it off, then Go on.
Speaker 3:What you, you want to say this is unfair, because I didn't actually know what the topic is and I could have got the actual words there and sounded just as smart.
Speaker 2:I don't think you could. No, ships has done his homework. He's really nailing this one. I'm going to sit back and relax, ships, you take it away. I need to start doing my research, oh no, but you didn't ask us a question how do you want to start? What do you want?
Speaker 1:okay, I'll start, I'll steer this train um so, leading up to the darren, leading up to the ocr, european championships. What has made you feel stressful in the build-up to this prestigious event?
Speaker 2:the pressure that you put on yourself and the expectations that you start to build up with. Because this isn't my first Euros, you've had an expectation level which keeps increasing every time I go. But that is only a privilege to have that stress level, because it means that my performance has been increasing and I've been going towards a bigger spotlight and people actually know what my challenges and what my expectations are, because I've been quite open about them. That is stressful but, like I think, when you can hide and it can it can be internally stressful and you can just, you can actually be feel less um eyes on you. But when you put it out there, exactly in the universe, what you want to do, yes, that is quite good, it can relieve stress, but it also creates an opportunity for others to have an expectations of you, which then increases my stress levels.
Speaker 2:So, leading just to somewhere, leading up to the european championships, this time around it's always stressful just to just to make sure. Thinking back, have I done enough training? Have I prepped enough? Am I even down to the like? Am I thin enough? Have I, like, eaten right? Have I got the right kit? Have I booked my taxi? Have I booked my flight? Have I um, but the right accommodation to make me feel less stressed when I'm actually there? Have I picked the right people to go with? I know that sounds selfish, but it comes down to that. All those elements are quite stressful, but I think I remember back when I first went to the Euros, the only stressful thing was the unexpected. But now that I know what to expect, it's actually more stressful, because it's the stress that you put on yourself Exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, mo, I know what to expect.
Speaker 2:It's actually more stressful.
Speaker 3:Because it's the stress that you put on yourself Exactly. Yeah, mo See, I'm the complete opposite. Actually, this is probably the least stressed I've been. Obviously, the race stuff and, like Darren said, the simple stuff like getting to the airport and flying that can get quite stressful if you let it. I don't really let it normally, but you still have to make sure all your gear is ready and just be organized and I'm not very organized anyway, so that can get to me a bit. But in terms of the actual race, my training's gone really well. But because it's not been in the forefront of my mind, british champs been the real thing. That's driving me and I'm not really. I'm just going to the Euros to try and do well and race. So as long as I take them things, it should be okay. I'm not looking like you guys have got big ambitions in mind, whereas for me it's just to race hard.
Speaker 3:So I think it's actually been quite nice and not as stressful as maybe used to.
Speaker 2:Chips over over to you. You come up this topic, so I do feel like you're a bit stressed at the minute, so talk us through it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was stressed. Well, I'm about 85% stressed because I put a lot of pressure on this race, like you, Darren, and then I've had an injury. So then I feel like I'm not going to perform at the level that I want to perform. And then I'm looking at all the things that's led into it and I think I'm trying to find out why I'm feeling stressed. Maybe I've just put a lot of pressure on it and then now I don't feel as if I'm going to be at a position to deliver.
Speaker 2:It's hard that you turn up to these things and you don't know what's going to happen. They there is so many variables that can. I could trip over in the airport and break my ankle like those things can happen. So I don't think we can. We should be stressing about the uncontrollable things. We should only stress about the controllable things control.
Speaker 1:No, what's that? What's the saying?
Speaker 2:go like yeah, control the controllables yeah, yeah, is that right?
Speaker 1:is that?
Speaker 3:that sounds a bit wrong, but yeah that is the point that we do always stress, especially as athletes. You're always stressed about things that you can't control, or you'll look at people's instagrams and things and look at what they're doing and start thinking, starts even stressing, about how are they going to outperform you because they've been training and doing things that maybe you shouldn't have. Rather than looking at that sort of stuff and letting that get to you, just focus on the things you can control. Train, if you can train, or eat right, because you can control that but don't start stressing over things that you can't control, like placements, always like that. People think, oh, I need to win this race, but realistically, you're only as fit as you can be on the day and if that's not fit enough to win, that's out of your hands. If someone's fitter than you, you can't really control that they are fitter than you, so you just need to let.
Speaker 2:Let it all go that's exactly how I'm trying to reframe my mind when looking at it, like I'll put it right out there in the universe that I I feel like I've been doing the euros for five since 2017, like I know what to expect.
Speaker 2:I've come to a point where I'm in the elite field in the uk and I've come to a point where I'm in the elite field in the UK and I've come to a point where I know, if I perform well on the day, I can get a gold medal in my age group in this standard course. I know that can happen physically. I don't think you you guys with it you you'd be honest, you'd tell me if that wasn't possible. So I don't feel like I'm being stupid saying that, but putting perspective on it. If I turn up and race in that gold medal shape and perform in gold medal shape, but come 17th next week, when people listen to this podcast, I'm going to be sitting there thinking I raced bloody amazing and I'm just happy Like I really performed at my best level. So that's what you're saying, mo, aren't?
Speaker 3:you, yeah, don't get caught up in other people and other factors that aren't even in your control. Like Darren said, you can, I can, go out. Exactly the same thing go out and race, come top 10, top 20, great. Do the same race, feel great afterwards but have come 50th. And it's also not allowing the numbers to kind of blind you and getting stressed over numbers how'd you feel about our ships that help?
Speaker 1:yeah, I feel a little bit better now. Thank you, podcast over right nice one.
Speaker 2:I do understand where you're coming from those ships. Because you've you've had an uncontrollable event that could potentially stop you performing to that level, and feeling, because you've you've had an uncontrollable event that could potentially stop you performing to that level, and feeling like you've given your absolute everything and that is stressful, but now that that's happened, your your level, that you can perform at as long as you go out and absolutely smash that level, you've done it. You've you've given everything you've got.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's just sad, isn't it?
Speaker 3:no, you have to always play the hand you're dealt and at the minute, oh yeah don't get me wrong. You know what you've got going on. So it's just about to just race, have fun. Yeah, well, that's it. I mean, don't get me wrong, you know what you've got going on.
Speaker 1:So it's just about to just race, have fun. Yeah, well, that's it. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not being a complete negative, nelly. Again, I'm being slightly positive. I'm just trying to make it sound good for the podcast.
Speaker 1:But you know it is difficult. But you know we are in a privileged position and we are lucky to be racing. And I do know, at the end of the day, that being a obstacle racer is not my full-time job and you know it's just decent to be out there having a race and it's just a bit stressful because I really wanted to do well. But oh well, life's got in the way, an injury's got in the way and you know I am only going to be able to perform the way I can perform.
Speaker 1:It might, it might work in my favor and this little bit of stress might actually counter productively change the way I race and that actually might make me race better, because I'm feeling like I've got an injury. So there could be hindsights to it and there could be real positive outcomes from being stressed. And that's the beauty of stress it makes you question the performance that you're going to try and put yourself in on the day, because you question what you're going to have to do then. And there you know, you have to sort of look at yourself differently because you're stressed, and that's the beauty of stress 100.
Speaker 2:I think every human on the planet should be placing themselves in stressful environments, because you sink or swim in them environments and you learn from it. Stressful environments can lead to failure, which we've spoken about before, leads to learning, which leads to growth, like. There's so many different things you can get from stress. That stress makes me a better obstacle course racer me a better obstacle course racer. It makes me a better human, because when I'm stressed about training, I'm also making sure that I'm prioritizing my life better, because I'm stressed that I might miss opportunities with Lorna or I might miss opportunities with my family.
Speaker 2:I stress about those things I constantly think about like, am I training too much? I'm stressed about that I haven't trained enough, or I haven't haven't gone out for dinner with Lorna today, or I haven't been seeing my dad, because I really need to see my dad. Oh, I'm being crap at work. I actually need to make sure that I'm focusing and not thinking about races. I haven't run the hoover around, yeah, but that stress makes me prioritize life better.
Speaker 2:It's true, though. Yeah, like you said it, I think we should go around and be totally honest that this is what we're not professional athletes, and we've never we, or we actually think we can be and we will always be that you need to have a belief in you that is kind of like unachievable, like you know that reach for the moon sort of thing if it's so far away. You're constantly got a journey of growth that you're going to lead towards. So we all like say, right now we will be professional athletes, like that's what we're trying to do. I'm I'm nearly turning, turning 35 ships. You're, you're in your 40s, mo, you're, you're a spring chicken in your team. We ask people that's what we're striving towards, professional athletes, and that is our mindset.
Speaker 2:But it's so such a crazy mindset to have which makes us so you're not that, yeah, yeah, I'm not that, yeah, but I'm sorry, just, but I always say dress for the job you want, not for the one you have. So always act above your station, because that means you're always going to strive above your station and would be, hopefully be, better yeah but that is so stressful, isn't?
Speaker 2:it yeah, I'm trying to do it in light like we. I work 40 hour weeks um, head a team which is stressful and manage multi-million pound worth like projects and it's very stressful and that's just. That's like 25 of my life. The rest of it is also. There's loads more that go on. We train nearly over 10 hours a week, sometimes up to even nearly like the 15 16 hours if you include everything. And that's not. That's not socializing and worrying about your family, like do I spend enough time with them? Have I got enough money?
Speaker 1:yeah, have I painted the shed exactly those stupid little things, little things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, eat away at me. Like am I letting myself down because I haven't painted the skirting. Like lauren has been waiting for me to put up a light for the last. Yeah, I said to you ships yeah, do you know what I'm? Not, I'm not done it, but it's so stressful I worry about it every day. That's it.
Speaker 1:It is Well that's another added stress that you put on yourself, because you're focused on doing these other great, ambitious things that you get stressed at the other things because you think, oh, I really should prioritise some other time to do these other bits and pieces, but I really want to do well at something else, and that invokes stress.
Speaker 3:But, like Darren said, stress is good. We all need stress in our lives, but also too much stress leads to illness, leads to injury. So it's finding ways to manage the stress and that's probably the hardest bit of all of it. So is there anything you guys do that actually manages to manage all what you're saying?
Speaker 1:ignore it that's not a good way.
Speaker 3:I mean, that's that's a good short-term way, but that can end really badly yeah, it does dan, what do you do? Because I know out of all of us, I mean we all have stressful moments, but you do have a lot of plates spinning. Shall we say what? What do you have any ways that you manage it? Or is it just kind of, like ship said, just kind of ignoring the stuff that and hopefully it comes doesn't come to bite you in the ass?
Speaker 2:I have to be honest, I've never managed it right in the past. I've been I've been quite can have the most bite you in the ass. I have to be honest, I've never managed it right in the past. I've been I've been quite can have the most shortest temper in the world and be quite an angry person when I was really young. And that isn't the way to manage stress, because you're just imploding and exploding out your stress to other people and that's not the nicest way to to do it. And no one would actually probably believe that because even at work they say like I go into projects, it's nice to have you on because you're like a calming figure that's going to get us through this.
Speaker 2:But you know it is perspective in life. There is no one situation that you can't get through just by communicating and talking to someone, even if it's the most horrible thing in the world that can happen, as long as you're talking to someone and you've got someone to to even just rant to or soundboard off of who's going to listen to you, actually listen to you, not just wait to reply to you. It's kind of like what you two do with me on this podcast is that you actually just listen and you respond in a way that's not just waiting to respond. You actually respond in a way that's going to help understand what I'm saying and that will come from mindset Having the right mindset towards something that you know that you're going to get out of it, thinking positively out of that situation because positivity leads to happiness.
Speaker 2:I don't think you should strive for happiness. You should strive for being just positive in every situation that you get into, because that will lead to a better situation for you. So it's mindset, it's thinking right, yes, we've probably lost a million pounds and we've done something wrong at work, but is anyone ill? Is anyone really dying right now? I think if we sit down, talk about it, we can get out of it, find a solution. Same with anything that goes on in life. There is even down to the point where it gets all morbid, but there is people that die. It's still a situation where you can find happiness and positivity and that, like it, brings people closer together you might build a better relationship with, like another family member. There is so much silver lining to everything and that mindset of thinking that makes me less stressed I like that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a good way to be, and that's the thing people. People can be a bit too reactional. I think sometimes you just need to step back and actually view all the things that are stressing you and then think, uh, do you know what I like to do? Write a list of them little things, the annoying, stressful things yeah, almost like a priorities list. So then when the bigger stresses come like if it's problems at home or problem with family or problems you're having mentally, whatever that is the stuff that really gets you you can start to look at that list and go actually, today I'm going to just prioritize myself. I don't need to put a light bulb up or paint the skirt in or yeah because you've made that list you're right.
Speaker 2:If you plan to waste time, it's not wasted time yeah, you've allowed yourself and then it's not stressful.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly like you, sometimes I get stressed about doing nothing, but I've planned to sit and do nothing, so allow myself that that I I'm I'm really preaching in a bit of a hypocrite here, because I I'm coming across like I've got everything, like soy and do that, but no, I'll be sitting there. I built our website because I was sitting bored and it wasn't doing anything. That's, that's my mind. That's how it works. I was sitting thinking I'm not being productive, I'm just watching TV. I'm going to get a laptop and build our accountabilitycornercom. So stress overtakes me and makes me but I try to channel it to be productive. Yeah, so I push it. I push the stressful anxiety and my head going crazy into a productive mechanism that has a good output that I can see and therefore gets rid of it. That's, I think that's how I work. How do you work chips? How are you working in a minute? What are you doing to counter this stress? You're in I am.
Speaker 1:What's that actually? I've just. I have been speaking about what's happening, trying to vocalize everything, and I think that really helps, because in the past I don't often speak about a lot of things. So that talking about things is the best way to go through stress, because it helps you just well. It probably gives you just someone to understand of it and then someone to throw back ideas. Know, it's not just you guys as well, I talked to Rafi and the cats and it just. But it's good though. You know, talking, talking about things is the best way to just understand things and process things. I'm not a writer. I don't write things down because I can't really write that well, but just talking about it does get it out in the open and help me deal with things.
Speaker 3:I think it just gives you that other perspective as well, like when you're in your own shoes. You really sit there and especially stress stressful stuff, things that you find stressful. You can really kind of get in your own head about and almost build up to this massive mountain, because you talk to someone else and they're in their, in different shoes, they look at it from a different perspective and they go up to this massive mountain. But you talk to someone else and they're in different shoes, they look at it from a different perspective and they go oh, actually this mountain you've created is more of just a little mound or a hill and actually we can get through this by this way and they can give you ways to kind of help and cope with certain situations.
Speaker 2:It's responding to yourself, like you respond to your own reactions. So you you'd be like, oh, this is so stressful. And then you kind of question yourself in your head is it? Yeah, what? What is stressful about this, darren? Like, can you do something about it? Yes, can. Is do you have to do something about it? No, now. No, is it easy to do? Yes, do you just need to write it down and prioritize it? Yes, then I'm making a real mountain out of a molehill here, like it's it's. It's an easy thing to resolve. Question yourself, have conversations with yourself.
Speaker 1:They're the best conversations but don't you find, when you are sitting there and there isn't anyone else around and you do talk to yourself, sometimes you need someone else's words, because your words don't often give you the right, the right thing?
Speaker 3:yeah, I don't know about you guys, but I think as humans, we constantly make things hard than they need to be, just so they almost give us a way out or an excuse to not do it.
Speaker 3:So we go the neck, we go the negative way, because we focus on negativity rather than positivity sometimes, yeah, and that just makes it so much harder to kind of, and that's why having someone to talk to about certain things can be a nice stress relief because, like I say it's, then you can focus on other things the first time I got really stressed actually, uh, from an ocr perspective, since we're we're an ocr podcast I don't know if you saw how stressed I was on thursday mo, you probably did.
Speaker 2:Actually, you did realize that that block obstacle that I've, you know we're in the future, so I smashed that at the euros, but that was that was really stressing me out, just not nailing that at on Thursday training, like I was actually getting in my head. I was really like really frustrated, really frustrated, and it was all about just perspective. It's like I could overcome it. There's a different way around it. It's kind of like you know the children's book, you can't go around it, can't go over it, go go through it. Like there's different ways around things. There's a there's something to learn.
Speaker 2:To that it's like right, I'm I'm treating this wrong. I'm going at it in a different technique this time and then I get over it. It's just, it is perspective. That's why I love obstacle course racing as well, because it's kind of like a metaphor for life. There's obstacles in life but if you choose one technique to get through everything, you're going to find that you can't get through all obstacles. You have to change your approach, change your perspective and things become easy yeah there you go, you see our metaphor.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's exactly our sport, though I think that's why I've definitely got better at dealing with things, or just I think we put ourselves in quite stressful environments all the time and at like a healthier level, and I think then when you step away from kind of what we put ourselves through into life, it makes life things sometimes a lot easier compared to your average Joe, just because we're so used to just putting yourself in stress positions. And I do think you need to be stressed like people. I don't want people to not to think, listen to this and think, ah, I don't need to be stressed, I can just coast through life and try and get as many little issues as possible. But I think stress is a good thing as well. As much as we're preaching that you don't want to be too stressed, you do need it.
Speaker 2:I was going to ask Mo a question that Mo do you think you personally need more stress in your life?
Speaker 3:yeah, actually, yeah, I probably could do with a little bit more. Sometimes I put a lot of stress on myself that people don't see because I I give myself this look of quite a calm and easygoing person, but on the inside sometimes I'm all over the shop and I need to sometimes get better just offloading that as well and not faking things, which I think we all do actually here a bit. Mate Darren, you're probably the most kind of heart on your sleeve, but I don't think I'd like to think people wouldn't see me stressed as much as I probably could be yeah, I think I know the the.
Speaker 2:You know the horrible thing about when you get really close to people and you know them so well, like you get it I get it with Lorna and you probably get it with your partner as well that you just you know when they're stressed, even though they haven't even told you anything, like they're just body language and quietness and everything. You know they're stressed. I actually also know that about both of you as well. I do actually think I know that, like mo, like the other day when we're training, you were completely stressed. I don't know what was going on in your head, but I, I, you, like you stressed with working there was you, you would, you were just so quiet at training. I knew there was like stressing you out and it's like you need to be open and communicate that.
Speaker 2:But I also would advocate to anyone if you are stressed, stress needs to lead towards an action and then you get a reaction that then gets rid of the stress or relieves it. So always make sure, when you're stressed, think of an action you can do instead of just sitting there. That is not. That's not an action. Sedentary and sitting there in silence is not an action. An action is either talking to someone writing it down, actually doing the thing. That's stressing you out being having that proactive nature to actually do something.
Speaker 1:That's what you should be doing well, that's like if you googled how to get rid of stress, that's what it says you need. You need to do stuff to like either preoccupy your mind or do something productive about the stress that you've done, fix the situation or just like even just to like meditate or something just to relax yourself, to just start thinking about something else. Because once you stop and think about other things, it lets you go back to that stressful thing that you're thinking about and reassess it, and once you've reassessed it, you you kind of come back to it a bit differently.
Speaker 2:It's not so stressful and that if I was giving advice to anyone. No, I think that's what you need more of when you're stressed. Action, yeah, yeah. Urgency, I do. A lot of distraction, yes. Not much action, yeah, no, you do. You've got the thing, like I see it, with people at work as well, like everyone has got so many good skills that they can apply themselves to and really be like absolutely amazing and do anything they want in life. But it's just how much distraction we allow in and stops us doing that. Because we're trying to get away from the stress, because the stressful environment isn't something you want to put yourself in, but you should, because you're gonna, you're gonna thrive in it. Like, put yourself in a situation. You're gonna thrive. It's gonna be stressful and you can push towards to be to, to learn new skills and be better. Like that. And and I'm talking directly to you, mo- do you know?
Speaker 1:there's um at work at the moment we've got this job on and there's one guy that I've actually nicknamed the distractor because, as like so basically there was four sides of this building that we were putting the job up on and there's this one bloke and if he goes to either side of this building where the other guys are working, a lot less work gets done because he is a distractor and he will go around there and he will chat and just talk and make people not think about the job that they're doing and just chat to him and not do things. A metaphor in a person Distractor they're out there.
Speaker 3:They are out there. I don't think I'm that bad. I'm more an internal distractor.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. No, you don't distract us. You don't distract anyone around you. I just know there's something going on in your head that you're distracting yourself from doing something.
Speaker 3:I mean yeah, and it depends on what the distraction is as well. Sometimes I don't, and Darren knows this very well. I don't always choose the best means of distraction as well, but if you're training, I guess it's almost productive distraction in a way. Yeah, unless you're trying to get away from what you're, from the stresses of training, and then find something else a bit more productive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, thinking, thinking back to our pacing strategy episode, even down to like the nuances of like racing situations. I've become a better racer because I've put myself in more stressful situations of going out in the front. That is so stressful, like what am I going to do, darren? Oh, you're not quick enough. Oh, you're racing side but you're trying to chase down. That's stupid. Why are you doing that? And like that's so stressful because your body's like trying to tell you no. But what I've learned from that is that I've kept pushing, kept putting myself in that situation and I just know what I'm more capable of now. So, even going back to racing, it's important to put yourself in stressful situations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because that's why I like being at the front, because that's where I'm not stressed.
Speaker 3:I think that's why I like to lead, because for me that's a comfortable position, Whereas chasing that's why I like to lead, Because for me that's a comfortable position, Whereas chasing that's when I start going. Oh fuck, I'm chasing here and I struggle to. That's where I'm stressed and that's why I look in a race. I look like I'm working hard, but it's just because I get to the front and because I'm comfortable there, Whereas you guys probably the opposite way around.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, comfortable there, whereas you guys probably the opposite way around. Yeah, yeah, yeah, going back to what you said, but you said someone of you said meditation is quite good. I know that people have spoken about meditation, but what, what also helped with my stress is was actually when I start first started doing yoga as well. I think practicing people say I can't do yoga, I can't switch off, and I do appreciate that it's a lot to, it's hard to switch off, but that's the same thing that yoga is stressful. So they're not putting themselves in the situation. But try it, see if you can. Like, really like you wouldn't just say you wouldn't just stop something straight away, you you'd keep going to it and give it a chance to build up like better skill sets, to meditate or actually practice yoga, and that has that's actually been really good. I don't do it as much anymore yoga, but the principles and the application of breathing and switching off your mind and calming down have actually been amazing as well yeah, I agree with you on that one.
Speaker 1:When you go through stressful situations and you do them over and over again, you may you do become more resilient to the stress stress factor. I see where it went to, yeah, yeah, okay, here's an example for you. Like when I started doing podcasting, I was so stressed when I had to do like conversations and talk and that and speak on podcasts and I like had sweaty palms and like really, really nervous and things. And now, because I've been in that stressful situation quite a few times now, now I don't get that stressed at all every now and again I do and I've got like read names and things. But because I've done it over and over again, it's so much easier to be in that stressful environment because I've dealt with that stress and I've built resilience to it.
Speaker 2:Might drop. Yeah, boom, that you're. So you're so right. Even starting this podcast today, like back to what? Year ago, I actually found introducing the podcast really stressful because, just I don't know why you build up things in your head that everyone's looking at you or or even like stressed about you too. What you thought about me when I was doing it. These little things like it's just stupid, because you're not you, you're never gonna go. Oh, you're rubbish, like that was. That was embarrassing. I wouldn't said that, darren. But you just build up these things in your head, don't you?
Speaker 1:and now we just roll, like we really actually just rolled into this today and it's felt, it's easy yeah, I think that's actually helped me build conversations actually as well, because I've learned to talk through the podcast. It's actually helped me deal with normal stressful things because I'm more open to talk about things. I talk about things a lot better now and I'm a lot. It's a lot easier for me to say how I'm feeling and stuff well this is a nice kind of platform to practice than everyday life stuff.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it makes it easier that it's us three. But then I was like especially at first, because you're putting out for the world to hear you, kind of you are a bit nervous, like did I say that right or did I do that right, or is that going to sound good or do I sound like an idiot? And now it's just like, like you said, I don't really care. It's like, well, I say what I'm saying. If it's wrong, it doesn't matter, because you've done it so many times now. It's like, yeah, just one of them things.
Speaker 2:That's it.
Speaker 2:You know, when I said the other day that I wonder why we named this podcast Accountability Corner, because we do talk about obstacle course racing, but we do talk about our lives as well, and I wondered if we should have called it Obstacle Course Racing or Accountability Corner, ocr. But the more we delve into these sort of conversations, especially topics like this, I really understand why we called it accountability corner. Got it wrong then? It's because everything we say holds us to an accountable level. That is going to make us better, or just more understand ourselves, so that we can be better for other people, or people can understand us, or we help anyone listeners to this, listening to this like help them become more accountable to their actions. And we're not saying that everyone isn't being accountable or not doing what they're saying they're doing. We're just saying that you can just learn so much from yourself and how you're reacting to things and think things can be better. I've well, I've avoided a stressful situation today because I've already packed my bag and I don't usually do that, so, oh, shit.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm, I need to do that because that's the things that get really gets me yeah, I was.
Speaker 2:That was going to end this sort of like, wrap up this conversation by going through like what's the stupidest things that you're getting stressed? You could always consistently get stressed about. Consistently get stressed about, or just little little like the niggle of stress.
Speaker 1:What's your niggle? I get stressed a lot how incompetent people are at work and that that stresses me out. How incompetent people are at work and that stresses me out even though it shouldn't matter, because I still get paid, no matter what, it annoys me.
Speaker 2:Can you do anything about it?
Speaker 1:No, don't worry about it.
Speaker 3:Let it go.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Solved. There's that niggle stress, niggle Mo. What's your stress, niggle?
Speaker 3:Do you know what's a thing right? I don't know if it's something that stresses me, but it does stress me. I'm really bad at putting my clothes away.
Speaker 1:It's the reason my background's blurred it just sits on my bed, but then it becomes a thing you need a washing fairy, yeah, yeah. I've heard about them. Yeah, I've. We've got one in the house and literally all I do is I put washing in a pile in the gym and then magically it comes back in a basket and it usually finds its way on the treadmill, because the washing fairy knows that when it goes on the treadmill I have to move it and and sometimes, sometimes I just move it somewhere else, but then it'll find its way back to the treadmill and then I know I've got to put it away.
Speaker 3:Get awarded I need one of them and mine sits on my bed, but then I get into the bad habit of basically just sleeping with it. But then I get into the bad habit of basically just sleeping with it. So I just move it to a pile. And the reason I talk about the stress is because I start building it up in my head and every time I step into my room it's like, oh fuck, I need to do that. But then I don't want to do it and then I start stressing it. It's such a simple thing and if I just put it away in that moment, it literally takes five seconds. Stressing it. There's such a simple thing and if I just put it away in that moment, it literally takes five seconds. But also, if it's just like a few things, if I'd done it early it wouldn't turn into this mound, but now I've got a mountain of clothes.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a young person life thing it's a really stupid thing to get stressed over time it.
Speaker 2:Time it when you next do it, putting it away, yeah, and then you know exactly how long it takes. And if it takes one minute, you know one minute is nothing of your life yeah, but then that's what I start getting stressed over.
Speaker 3:I'm like it's only one minute. It's like okay, I'll do it tomorrow, but then tomorrow becomes a week later and a week later turns into a month later and then I just use my bed like a wardrobe. Oh, it's pretty bad. All right, let me unblur my screen. Sorry, viewers, you won't be able to see this.
Speaker 2:We'll describe his clothes path.
Speaker 1:It's like an art exhibition Moe's bed.
Speaker 2:The messy mind, the messy mind. Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 3:Can you see it? I don't know, I don't know if you can see it in the mirror. Basically, it's just. I can keep going. There's just stuff.
Speaker 2:Why have you got so much? He's showing us so much stuff. He's just on his bed, so you sleep with that Can you see the mound?
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's loads.
Speaker 1:That is a messy place.
Speaker 3:I've got a bag here because I've just been in Wales. That is amazing. I've got a bag that's just been in Wales and so that needs to be unpacked.
Speaker 2:So that's now been added to the mountain do you get stressed about thinking about doing it, but how do you feel afterwards? It's kind of like exercise. Think of it like exercise. Do you not feel afterwards like, oh, it's all the way now? Yeah, I feel great yeah, so keep thinking about that but then I just can't be bothered.
Speaker 3:So the worst thing is when Chiara's home from uni, we stay at her house a lot, yeah, and then it's worse because then it literally is my wardrobe, so I just get changed and it all just stays in the bed and I think that's what's actually built with the bad habit. I don't think it's that bad when she's at uni. It's when she's home from uni.
Speaker 2:That's when it gets bad. That's, that is a stress niggle and it's an easy, solvable stress niggle.
Speaker 1:That's a perfect example of things you can fix in life that actually save you so much that will get fixed, though, because at one point in life, when those clothes will be replaced by loads of cushions for some unbeknown reason, that cushions will have to live on a bed. With like throws and things like that, there won't be space for clothes, and you'll be told by someone to move them.
Speaker 2:Or else. I like doing I like, I actually like all the cushions and making the bed in the morning.
Speaker 3:I can't stand it.
Speaker 2:I like to feel like I've done something productive straight away.
Speaker 3:That's what people always say.
Speaker 2:I've got to double you, man.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but I just feel like I could have been at work or ready for work quicker, or that's like another minute of my life that I could have been sat on the sofa like it just feels such an inconvenience this is where routine comes in, though, because building a good routine means that you have a less stressful life, because the routine keeps everything less stressful until the routine goes out the way do you think you could build too much of a routine though that then life becomes too simple yeah, that's what I like, but then then I get really stressed when it's not a routine yeah, see, I I think I don't get too too stressed because my life is a mess and it's all over the shop.
Speaker 3:So actually I'm just always I don't know. I think if I had a routine I'd be worse should practice it.
Speaker 2:See, you see what you think it will change when you have a. I reckon it'll change when you have a house mode, because you'll be proud of how things look and you'd want to put them away and clean and everything yeah I agree. I also think having a job.
Speaker 3:That's how I see I think that's more of the problem is, I get in at 10 and then I'm going to work at six and it's like all I want to do is sit down you do need a fairy I actually need a fairy yeah I want my fairy to put away, though not just put it on the treadmill, yeah there's no ferry in the world that does that that's stressful thinking.
Speaker 2:I think mine's a bit worse than that. My one is. I get stressed out about not being productive at everything yeah, we've noticed that actually well with this book yeah yeah, sending you messages like and then I hate, I get stressed if something that I feel is productive doesn't build momentum oh, I've got one as well.
Speaker 1:Do you know what really stresses me out? Well, people who don't reply to messages, do you?
Speaker 2:know what really stresses me out people that are always messaging. I'll keep up yeah, there's, there is stressful things, right? So what are we? What's our, what's our summary, ships of your topic? Summarize kick us out, tell us, end it for us. Put a pin in it, as kirk would say, or a bow tie, put a bow tie, we'll put a bow tie on it.
Speaker 1:We just stress is good, but stress can be stressful if we let it that is the perfect way for Shipley to end this podcast.
Speaker 3:You can elaborate on that. I think one thing we need to just talk about.
Speaker 2:Oh, Mo wants to put a little bit of colour on that by the time, yeah.
Speaker 3:I want to paint it, give it some stripes. One thing we didn't really touch on today but I think you need to just be mindful of as well. If you've got a lot of mental stress and things you're thinking about on, stress is stress, even if it's physical. So if you're training really hard but then you're also stressing at work and you get an injury, it's probably because there's too much stress. So on days where you've had a really stressful day, it's okay to change that real hard effort into a bit easier effort, just because stress is stress and we don't need to build loads and loads of stress. But you do want some stress.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we didn't even talk about physical stress no, maybe we'll do that for a part two maybe but yeah think, just think about that, be mindful about your mental stress, because physical stress, stress is stress. Yeah, stress is stress. Whether you physically feel stressed or your body feels stressed, it's the same thing. Just like a dress is a dress, stress is a stress. And on that note, goodbye.
Speaker 2:Bye from me. It's a goodbye from me.
Speaker 1:It's a goodbye from me, it's a goodbye from me Right, I'm going to go get stressed.
Speaker 2:See you later. Bye.
