SIGNALS

This post is Part 2 in a 3-part series on Stress & Resilience, the first part of which you can read by following the link in the comments, below.

In Part 1, we looked at what resilience actually is. As in, the underlying MECHANICS of what’s going on when we experience resilience or we feel resilient.

We concluded that resilience is: Our inbuilt capacity to fall out of our thinking and back into the Now

So let’s build on this, today.

I’m on tour, with luggage, my bike is heavy and therefore I’m riding along pretty slowly. “Pannier pace” I think of it as.

I really like it. I’ve mentioned before how, when I slow down, I notice all sorts of things around me that I wouldn’t normally notice.

But that’s not the only thing. I also notice my inner world. The mind-body system and how it’s doing.

And I realise it’s giving me all sorts of signals.

• I’m feeling less enthusiastic about this, it’s time for a break
• My neck’s been in this one position for a while now, get off and stretch
• I’m too warm. Stop, to take off a layer and stow it away
• That niggle’s returned in my left knee. It’s time to massage that thigh muscle.

And because I’m just riding for the sake of riding — no hurry, no agenda, no goal — I pay attention to these signals, and I act upon them.

I slow down and I provide the mind-body system with what it needs to continue purring like the well-oiled machine it is.

When I’m out riding normally, I get these exact same signals, but I don’t pay attention to them. I choose to override them, because I am in a hurry and I do have an agenda or goal:

• This is training, I need to go hard today
• I’m chasing a Strava segment
• I’ve promised I’ll be back in time to make tea and hang with the family
• I’m riding with others and I don’t want to get dropped/I want to show them who’s boss ??

Rides like these could almost be considered an inconvenience - something getting in the way of the thing I’m trying to achieve!

Now, I know there will be consequences to ignoring these signals, and not giving the mind-body system what it needs.

I’ll ache for days afterwards and won’t be able to ride my bike. If I’ve really got my eyes on a longer term goal, like doing a multi-day event, and I’m stubbornly sticking to a training programme, I can (and do!) damage my body to the extent that I fail to achieve said goal.

These are consequences I’m willing to risk, from time to time.

But when all I’m doing is fast, goal-oriented rides, it’s easy to take ignoring-the-signals for granted and just see the consequences as part and parcel of riding a bike.

It’s slowing down to pannier pace that shows me: actually no, I have a choice. Nobody’s forcing me. (As my long-suffering wife often points out, when I’m having a moan.)

What’s this got to do with workplace stress, and resilience?

Well, stress is one of those signals.

The feeling of stress is a super-reliable barometer of the stressful thinking we’re entertaining, in any given moment. (It’s like two sides of the same coin - what you think, you feel.)

Going back to Part 1 in this series and our definition of resilience, it’s obvious to see that the two go hand-in-hand.

Stress is a helpful reminder that we’re innocently caught up in our thinking — again! — and taking the mind’s stories and complaining for granted; seeing them as truth. Resilience is letting go of that thinking, and coming back to the present moment - to reality.

The thing I think I really saw, when I was cycle touring at pannier pace, is that just like other mind-body signals, we can take heed of stress, or we can ignore it and suffer the consequences.

We can even go as far as taking those consequences of chronic mental stress — physical and mental health symptoms, unhealthy coping mechanisms, overwhelm and burnout — for granted; just part and parcel of modern life.

Which is nonsense. You have a choice and nobody’s forcing you to be stressed.

The really good news is, it takes no effort whatsoever to drop your stressful thinking, and when you do, you’ll find you‘re actually way better equipped to achieve your goals.

How cool is that?! Its win-win!

You just need to slow down to “pannier pace” every now and again, and listen to what the mind-body system needs.

??

Giles

p.s. If you're really struggling with stress, just drop me a DM. I can either point you to resources or we can have a chat, no strings attached. You don't need to suffer - there's a way out! ??