The Fortitude Chronicle: A Weekly Digest of Athletic Determination

Monday’s Mindset

One Mindset

Are You Swimming or Drowning?

We're wired for endings. Not in some trite "journey over destination" way, but in a deep, evolutionary sense that pushes us beyond our perceived limits.

Consider this: If I ask you to hold your breath as long as possible, you'll likely tap out after a minute or so. But if I tell you to hold it for exactly two minutes, you'll probably make it. Why? Because you see the finish line.

This isn't about enjoying the process or savoring each moment. It's about the raw, primal drive that kicks in when we know there's an end in sight.

Take the famous "swimming mouse" experiment. When researchers first dropped mice into water, they swam for about 15 minutes before giving up. But here's the kicker: in later trials, some mice swam for up to 60 hours. The difference? Hope. They remembered being rescued before, so they kept swimming, expecting it to happen again.

We're not so different from those mice. When we believe there's an endpoint - even if we can't see it - we tap into reserves we didn't know we had. It's why the last mile of a marathon often sees runners speed up, not slow down. The finish line becomes real, tangible, and suddenly, pain doesn't matter as much.

But life rarely gives us clear endpoints. So the question becomes: How far are you willing to push when the distance is unknown?

This is what separates champions from spectators. The greats in any field aren't necessarily more talented or luckier. They're the ones who can convince themselves that there's always an end in sight, even when the path looks endless.

It's not about blind optimism. It's about training your mind to see finish lines where others see dead ends. To keep swimming, keep running, keep creating - not because you're enjoying every second, but because you've programmed yourself to believe in the "end."

Next time you face a seemingly insurmountable challenge, don't focus on how far you've come. Focus on the end you know is there, somewhere beyond the horizon.

So ask yourself: How far are you willing to go when the distance is unknown? The answer might surprise you.

Two Quotes

1. "Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny." - Lao Tzu

2. "The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward." - Amelia Earhart

Three Tweets

To Building Fortitude.

 Best Regards,

Colin Jonov, Founder & CEO Athletic Fortitude