On Endurance

Endurance is the ability one has to determine the duration in which they must exert themselves, allowing them to pursue preservation from exacerbation while maintaining movement. 

When considering this concept, it is usually done so in the context of sporting activities. In order to run a marathon, one must consider the duration they will be running and make appropriate calculations with regard to pacing so they do not sustain an injury or fall dramatically behind. 

Endurance applies outside of the realm of physical activity. In fact, one needs to have a mindset of endurance in order to engage physically in any sport. If one cannot sustain endurance, there is a risk of regression, stagnation, or over-exertion.

So what does it mean to have an endurance mindset? For one, it does not necessarily mean maintaining a consistent speed. The very nature of change, the adjustment of circumstance, is constant. With the understanding of change comes the principle of knowing the importance of one’s flexibility. 

Rigidity in the face of change often results in encountering increasingly extreme conditions. Through flexibility, one can respond adequately to change by adjusting exerted energy appropriately. 

Increasing one’s flexibility can only be done through careful and longitudinal reflection. If one is anticipating being in a long race (or, for that matter, having a long life), it poses a tremendous and unnecessary risk to demand too much of oneself from the very beginning. Striving for too much at the beginning or in a short amount of time will generally result in the achievement of nothing other than exhaustion.

However, there are certainly those moments when, due to one’s gained sense of inner composure, one encounters a feat of strength that causes them to question if this is a hurdle worth enduring. This contemplation, and perhaps hesitation, shows a validation of self-control that will allow them to attempt something while simultaneously practicing self-awareness that prevents injury. 

One can avoid excess in these situations only through meticulous scrutiny. One should pay special attention to aspiration and caution upon approach. If this attention shifts from the self and becomes a maintained focus observed externally (people in your surrounding environment), it poses a threat to one’s consistency. 

Loss of individual consistency is often the cause of an affliction. Maintain your attention inward and observe your hopes as well as your fears. 

Competitiveness can be useful in certain situations; however, overcoming hurdles that provoke hesitation can more easily occur through the focus and recognition of one’s abilities.

Lastly, one can build endurance only if one is playing the right game with an adequate amount of challenge. It serves no one to engage in a race where you are either destined to fail consistently or to succeed always. It would help if you were neither wholly tranquil nor restless when building endurance. 

Finding the right race means having an awareness of one’s level of individual responsibility that allows the strength of character to manifest through both hardship and prosperity.