You think I look hot? Well thanks! What? You meant there’s sweat running down my face and my clothes are soaked, not that I look amazing? Oh, ok, got ya.
I have a confession. Asia and Africa were not nearly as miserable as I imagined them to be. What?! Yeah, what was I thinking?! Well, I thought that Asia and Africa were hot continents with plenty of heat to go around the clock providing nonstop relief from any feelings of comfort or feelings of coolness. To be honest, when the race was staring me in the face in August like a big fire breathing dragon just waiting its chance to burn me to a crisp, promising me plenty of suffering through hot sweaty nights and even hotter afternoons, it’s almost all I could think about. Survival is a basic human instinct and I was trying to figure out how to survive the next year of my life without making it the year of my death. I thought about it so much and the more I thought about it, the hotter I felt without even having left yet. It almost proved destructive as I about died from just imagining the heat which gave me symptoms of heat exhaustion. Well not really that is a bit of a stretch I’ll admit.
Thankfully I got rescued from that cycle of heat focused paranoia that I was trapped in by a simple thing someone said to me about dealing with uncomfortable things in life such as heat that is out to kill you. He said something like this, “Choose what you focus on, because whatever you focus on you give power in your life and it will become your reality.” So basically if I focus on how hot I am, and talk about how hot I am, and think about how hot I am, and blog about how hot I am, and pray about how hot I am, and wish I weren’t so hot, I’ll feel so hot and that will be what is the highlight of the nightmarish trip where I brushed death in the form of heat. And I will feel really hot. My perception will become my reality. BUT, if I decide to not focus on that, but instead think about how good the breeze feels, or how amazing it feels to be in the shade for a moment, or how good it feels to sweat, I’ll almost forget about the uncomfortable things and everything will be much more enjoyable!”
I decided I was in, all the way. I decided to never say “wow, it is soo hot today, or wow I am so hot right now.” Basically never ever talk about how hot it is. I decided to try it from day one on the race. Was I ever hot, and tempted to say how hot I really was? You bet I was. But hey, who really cares how hot I am feeling right then? How’s that going to change my body temperature or the Asian climate? The cool thing was (Pun intended J) the longer I went not worrying about how hot I was and not verbalizing it or even thinking about it, the more comfortable I felt in extreme heats. To brag a bit on how well this focus thing works when we first got to India, I had about three nights of very little sleep and sweated the night through. I decided it was no biggie, there’s always heaven to catch up on sleep. So I tossed and turned and thought and sweated it out. But by the end of our stay there, I was able to sleep like a rock in the heat, and in the daytime when others were complaining about the heat, I wasn’t even thinking of it! Instead, I started noticing slight breezes when it was super-hot, and the slightest breeze felt like air conditioning for which I would always say “Thanks God, that felt good!” It’s actually hard for me to believe how amazing I felt and to be clear not smelled, in the most intense heat in India (the hottest place we will have been).
Do I now like heat? No way my man. I still like to be in 40 degree weather with no coat. I still weigh well over 200 pounds and put off heat like a radiator in winter. I still prefer a cold morning to a hot afternoon. But, I have found that what you focus on has an incredible power to change the way you enjoy life.
Maybe this could work for other things in life besides trying to outlive killer heat waves in hot places around the world. Hugh, that’s a thought……..
