The Journey #3: Hunter vs Farmer
Yes, running is the art of showing up, but, there is a piece of the puzzle missing. The mindset.
This post takes ~ 5min to read
Hunter or Farmer? On which side (of the mindset) are you?
Hey runners,
We are back. Hope you are safe, healthy, happy and, of course, focused.
Who doesn’t love a good metaphor? (especially one that we can relate to running, endurance challenges and our lives). You may know already that here, at The Journey Endurance Club, we are on a mission to connect like-minded runners (and yes, we have our own community safe space), share stories, experiences and content related to running as a personal growth tool, which, in consequence, will help us to become better athletes and better people.
Last week, we talked about running, as the art of showing up (thanks so much for those who shared with us, what running means to them). But, somehow, we felt that something was missing on that description.
Yes, running is the art of showing up but if there is no intention or purpose on what you are doing and why you are doing it, the potential for you to feel demotivated, “lost”, focused on the wrong things is high. This leads us to today’s question:
Are you a “Hunter” or a “Farmer”?
Not that long ago, coaches, athletes and sports brands were just focused on speed, fastest runners, competitive races, on the idea of the more the better, “let’s get it” or “go hard or go home”. This is a mindset that is most connected to the “Hunter” mindset, where someone acts more instinctively, thinking only about the “now” moment - “what I get now is what is most important” - and the “now” defines the whole. There is also a big (and sometimes extreme) focus on instant validation and immediate rewards. The message here is: to be better, you need to run. Hard!
We can still see some of that, but, one of the things that this past one year and a half taught us is to think: what now?, “I don’t have any races”, “why am I going to practice?”, yes, what now?
This is where the “Farmer” Mindset makes a big difference. For a “Farmer”, intention and purpose (the famous “why”) play a big role, not only in today’s practice, but throughout the whole path, the whole journey. There is no “you either win or lose”, because there is still the “learn” from good and also bad days. There is also no problem of having some days off in your training plan.
Just like a real farmer who plants the crops and takes care of them to grow, you too need to, with patience, take care of yourself, knowing that there will be obstacles and uncontrollable aspects during your training, that good results won’t come when we want, but sooner or later, they will come.
By taking care, we mean: yes, you need to practice, you need to work OUT, but also need to work IN.
Having a purpose for your journey as an athlete allows you to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve, of who you want to be in the future. Then, with an intention or goal set for a specific training, with success, that will give you a sense of accomplishment that motivates you to continue (Levels of Dopamine: 100%)
When things go wrong, stick with that vision of who you want to be and move on. Trust yourself, trust the path. But when a goal is completed, never forget that’s only an instant validation/reward, a step in your journey.
Applying this mindset will make you work your (mental) adaptability, your resilience, and your confidence, which is something that you can also apply in life. Your confidence in the past, will serve as an anchor or a compass for you to have the best “harvest” ever.
The message here is: to be better, think about why are you doing this and set an intention (for example: today, I will focus on improving X or Y) and do you best. Goal achieved? Awesome! There is another top of the mountain to be conquered.
One of the things that this pandemic taught us (“normal” runners, but also to most professional athletes, I would say) is that, we don’t really need an official finish line or an official race to take all the positive things that running brings to us. With no races, some people got to feel that it is the experience and the curiosity to test new personal limits that values the most. How many times have you heard: “It is all about the journey”. And, yes, we got all in on this principle.
Even here, we can establish the different between someone with the “hunter” minset versus the “farmer” mindset. This might lead to a new topic that we will talk about in one of our newsletter posts: aerobic mindset. When you prepare yourself for a race, you are 100% focused on something that is punctual, temporary.
So, have you already the answer to the question: have you a “hunter” mindset or a “farmer” mindset?
Growth Station
⛰️ Journey Talk: Have ever heard about the HillyGoat?
Ladies and gentlemen, let us introduce you to, the one and only Hillary Allen, the next guest of our Journey Talks, on May 5th at 6pm (GMT+1). One of the best ultra runners in the world, she was leading the SkyRunning World Series in 2017, after having a severe accident during the last race of the season. A near death experience. 11 months after, she was back, stronger than ever. What a force of nature, right? Get your digital seat and come listen to more chapters of this inspiring story.
🚵♂️ Update on Jonas Deichmann journey (the “guy” who was in Siberia last week)
214 days in, Jonas is now in Amur Oblast, a sparsely populated region in Russian. While we are writing our newsletter, according to Jonas Instagram Page, looks like he went to bed to recharge his batteries. Good night Jonas!
Additionally, you can follow Nick Butter, a runner from Great Britain who is doing “Run Britain”: 200 marathons in 100 days around the coast of Britain raising awareness and donations for @196foundation. Go Nick!
🥖 A new “artist for your Running Playlist
I am sure that we will listen more from this new music artist: David baGuetta
We got your back!
If you feel like that you want to raise your hand ✋ and shout: I want to be part of this! Come, join this community of like-minded runners!
Here's a sneak peek of what you can expect by joining our community:
Accountability: When you get back home from work or practice, you will have a community of runners that holds each other accountable to keep momentum;
Share Stories and Learnings: You will have access to our digital safe space where we will share stories and learnings, victories and losses, help others to achieve their goals by just saying: "Count on me!;
Support and Training: Being a global community, with our "The Journey Experiences", we will organize digital and physical events all year around, for you to connect with the others members.
And more…this is just the beginning.