PADDLER 90
Hanging out with truly supportive people is important : Lucy Sutton showing how it ’ s done
PADDLER 90
Hanging out with truly supportive people is important : Lucy Sutton showing how it ’ s done
Humans are naturally predisposed to think the worst . When you think about it , it makes perfect sense . As it was put to me , when we were hunter-gatherers , we wouldn ’ t just pick up any fruit or berry , for example , and eat it . To survive , we must presuppose that whatever we are dealing with might harm us . In other words , when we enter a white water environment , our basic instinct is often to think the worst ; for some , those thoughts become overriding .
The important thing is to understand that fear is normal for everyone . Fear comes about because we don ’ t know what the outcome might be , so to avoid that possible negative outcome , we are programmed simply to avoid it altogether if we can .
OUR MINDS LIE TO US .
Another key thing to understand is that our minds lie to us constantly . When we go through head games in kayaking , our minds often tell us that we will very likely swim , or won ’ t be able to roll , or any other things . Sometimes , it might be a simple case of not wanting to look silly , and other times , it might be genuine concern about something terrible happening . The trouble is that our minds are not psychic and can ’ t predict the future . But who do we trust most in our lives ? Yep , you ’ ve guessed it … Ourselves ! As a result , we give a huge amount of weight to the advice we give ourselves when deciding whether to go into a feature or down a particular rapid , which is very often completely wrong .
BEATING OURSELVES UP
Another contributing factor is being too hard on ourselves . We say , “ I should have been able to do that !” Or “ I needed to do that move .” As you can imagine , this type of language can occur if we fail at something or when setting up expectations before we ’ ve even got onto the water . Such words as ‘ should ’, need ’, ‘ have to ’, etc ., were described to me as psychological swear words that effectively set us up to feel negative thoughts towards ourselves when we can ’ t meet particular expectations .
There are more factors at work than those above , but they are some of the main ones contributing to what we call ‘ head games ’. So , how do we go about changing things ? From the outset , I have to say that there ’ s no quick fix and that the methods for overcoming things require practice , not just when you ’ re on the way to the river or on the water but also in things you do every day or when you have moments of reflection .
DETACHING YOURSELF FROM THOUGHTS
One of the most powerful ways to help deal with negative thoughts is to detach yourself from them . Doing this takes practice , but it is one of the most powerful ways to help . Effectively , this is like letting your negative thoughts float past you on imaginary clouds . Or , imagine sitting in a coffee shop watching the world go by outside . You see a blue car drive past . In your head , you acknowledge that a blue car has driven by , but you don ’ t focus on it . You acknowledge it and move on .
Applying the same method to negative thoughts works as well . We acknowledge that the thought has taken place and say a virtual “ Thank you brain for bringing this to my attention ,” and then move on . We don ’ t try to pretend that the negative thoughts don ’ t exist . We acknowledge it as a genuine concern , accept