Wherever you are, stop for a moment and take stock of what’s on your mind. Then, look down at your feet. Ask yourself: Are your body and mind in the same place?
Your physical being occupies space in the present moment. But often, our thoughts are a million miles away, fretting over the past or fearful of the future: Will I ever run again? What if I hadn’t gone on that last ride or collided with that other player? Am I going to get re-injured? Those types of thoughts can hook us, leaving us untethered to reality and unable to move on.
In Chapter 4 of our book Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, we (Carrie and Cindy) discuss this habit of time traveling and how it can be detrimental to recovery. We describe how to catch yourself taking these less-than-productive trips. From there, you can recenter your mind on the here and now, adapt to the existing reality, and act to move toward a better future.
A huge thank you to Fluid Running H2GO, the only app-based deep-water running system in the world, for sponsoring this season of the Injured Athletes Club. CLICK HERE and use code IAC 30 to take $30 off the full system or the digital bundle.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What exactly we mean by time traveling, especially in the context of injury (3:03)
- Why it’s not always obvious when we’re doing this, and how to catch yourself (6:07)
- How time traveling sometimes makes it physically impossible to think rationally (8:21)
- The three Fs of time traveling—Fears, Failures, and Frustrations—and how to recognize when you’re engaging with them (11:19)
- The three As—Accept, Adapt, Act—and how to use them to turn your situation around (15:46)
- How these tools build your resilience, so when life knocks you down again, you can get back up (22:11)
- How using a Time Travel Log can help you spot patterns in your thinking (26:04)
- Why one of us (Cindy) started keeping a poetry book by her bed, and how that relates (30:51)
- Another tool, Energy Conservation, that can return you to the present moment (32:26)
- How these ideas and tools apply to life outside of the injury context (41:13)
- When you might need to reach out for a little more support (41:45)
IMPORTANT: If your emotions are overwhelming or you’re afraid you might hurt yourself or others, you can text HOME to 741741 in the U.S. (If you’re elsewhere, other numbers are listed at https://www.crisistextline.org/.) You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or chat online at https://www.imalive.org/.
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Resources/links we mention:
To access more resources for injured athletes:
- Join The Injured Athletes Club mailing list, for weekly news and updates
- Join The Injured Athletes Club Facebook group, for support and camaraderie
- Email us at [email protected] with questions, guest suggestions, or other feedback
DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational & informational use only and & does not constitute medical advice. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your health-care professional because of something you may have heard in an episode of this podcast. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult with a qualified medical professional for proper evaluation & treatment. Guests who speak on this podcast express their own opinions, experiences, and conclusions, and The Injured Athletes Club podcast hosts nor any company providing financial support endorses or opposes any particular treatment option discussed in the episodes of this podcast and are not responsible for any actions or inactions of listeners based on the information presented. The use of any information provided is solely at your own risk.
