Mind your mind just like your body

When we have a sore leg we rest it. When we feel a bit cold we stay indoors. If we have a headache we lie down. If our brains are tired and overworked, what do we do? We keep working, pushing and going until our minds cannot think anymore, we become exhausted and don’t feel good. Sometimes we can be unconsciously stressed, going at such a pace that the adrenaline is pumping hard. Sometimes that can be good but sometimes we can push ourselves too far and have no choice but to stop. This can happen with life, work, family and in sport.

I think the pressure nowadays to succeed, to perform, to play well, to win at all costs, is more intense than a few years ago, and for many different reasons. For some, every move, every game, every achievement, every loss, every run, every moment must be accounted for whether that be on an app, on social media, shared with groups, or photos taken of every move to keep up with the instant communication and quick responses of Snapchat. For some, everything must go online. Yes, we do have a choice with some actions but for others we don’t, like the picture that’s taken that you hate but it’s up, it’s there, it’s everywhere.

When a young girl spends 30 minutes preparing her hair for a match and then there is a rib out of place in the photo, it can affect how they feel. When the pubic criticises a player for, in their opinion, not playing well, the comments are up, harsh words can get written. When a parent criticises another player at a challenge match and a family member hears, it can make one feel bad. And it goes on. We need to be strong individuals and have a good mindset to think beyond the negatives. We need to be able to park the bad days, the bad moments, but that can be easier said than done.

We all have different ways of coping. For some it’s some tele time, for some it’s spending time with friends, for some it’s a walk with nature. Whatever it is that works, keep doing it and most of all recognise the times you need to do this, to drop everything and just go because you will always feel a better person after.

I firmly believe what you do before training, a match or an important event can have a huge impact on your performance. Lie down and scroll on your phone timelessly before training and I believe both head and mind is fried. The warm-up begins before leaving home; there’s a lot to be said in movement before activity, pottering around getting gear ready itself helps get you into the zone, helps to focus, plus it keeps the body moving. Going from lying down to driving and performing without movement can lead to injury.

The state of our mind also has a huge impact on our performance across all areas of life. If we read something unexpected online, hear something negative or someone sends us something hurtful, this can affect our mood, our behaviour and in turn our game. When I was younger, sometimes we cycled to training with our friends, sometimes we were working at home on farming errands or even in the bog all day before a match. Sometimes we were just out playing but we were always active before partaking. In this modern world I try to use my time wisely before running and so household chores are completed, while drinking tea before training. On a day when we need to drive to Dublin, it’s get out quickly and run; I notice the difference in my legs from sitting for hours versus movement at home. One must always warm up for a while to loosen out.

It’s the week before the Easter Holidays and I am surrounded by exams; secondary school, term two tests, trying to get a young lad to do ‘a small bit’ in glorious sunshine when he’s all about playing games. More students having a fear of sitting exams, more wanting to do well, to gain extensions, all self-inflicted pressure; the encouragement, praise and positivity to get people through is deeply rewarding but can be draining.

The GAA season has also kicked off and is in full flight; living in a big county demands lots of travel and this week it’s Tourmakeady, Swinford and Cill Chomáin, always worthwhile but driving can be tiring. The farming and gardening are blooming, calling for jobs to be done. We want to live outside all day so the house gets ignored but this can be frustrating too.

Every day over the last two weeks of glorious sunshine, on driving home from work I can see the mountains appearing higher than ever before, not a cloud in the sky. I have a calling, my mind is drawn to this distant place, I have a need to go there and so I’m off on a pilgrimage to Mám Éan. Not a religious pilgrimage, not a cultural pilgrimage or for any particular reason, only to run away from normality and into a place of wide-open wilderness where no one lives, where not many know about, where there is no phone coverage or social media. I’m on a journey to a holy place of beauty, of awe, of peace, of silence, of fulfilment. I don’t know what all of this is yet but I know when I get to this place, run this place, reflect on this place, it will have cleared my mind.

In glorious sunshine there are many places one wants and needs to be but sometimes one needs to prioritise an opportunity to safely run on a mountain journey with likeminded friends. It’s not a place to go alone, uncontactable from the outer world, miles of openness, rough terrain, one can get lost for a while.

A pilgrimage is defined as a journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. I know this will provide a transformation from urban to rural life, from busyness to wilderness, from confinement to freedom and from thinking ahead to freezing in the moment.

A pilgrim (from the Latin peregrinus) is a traveller (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a place. Today is for personal salvation. My first part is a drive to the start, an hour away, but not like a normal drive, the window is down, the heat is beaming in, listening to nice relaxing music, some hot tea to sip on, the simple things in life are already lifting me. But then the music gradually becomes broken, the tea becomes lukewarm, the window goes up a bit. The meandering byroads, slowly dragging me between the valleys of untouched beauty, where the mountains meet the lakes, the green overpowers the grey, cyclists, walkers, animals all safely share the road. The destination is near.

A long twisting turning road to the carpark, when one arrives there is a silence, nothing only us, barren landscape and the climbs ahead. A warm welcome for the hardy souls, a slow jog along the boreen, stepping through a gap to begin our trot, the laughs, the chats, the plans begin. An eight kilometre route out and back, through uneven, rocky terrain. I like to be out ahead, or maybe I have an eagerness to keep going; we hope to reach the end for sunset.

As we begin to move higher, the perfect green fields dotted with roaming mountain sheep become more beautiful, the perfect lakes are still and clear, the gradual pushing of the muscles to run the climb, strengthening the legs but also the mind. There is another world out there that we only sometimes get to visit but when we do, it becomes powerful enough to make the other more familiar world, manageable. We reach the end, wait for our followers and sit on the most comfortable moss-covered rocks. A perfect viewing for sunset, dipping below the horizon, casting its warm golden glow over the landscape and its warm, awe inspired viewers. A fleeting viewing of magic that captures the essence of the unique Mám Éan landscape. A reminder of the timeless beauty of nature and that even in our hectic modern world there are still places of pure serenity and wonder.

As the colours fade and the night takes hold, the bellies begin to rumble and a cooling air sends us on our homeward way. As I begin the final part of my journey home, I pause, reflect and think of all the wonderful images in my mind this evening. I continue living in the moment, no radio, only the silence of the night. I collect my son after a challenge match, he’s left his phone in dad’s Jeep.

“Sure that’s okay, you’ll get it in the morning,” I say, and so the chats begin about the game. Snapchat can wait until tomorrow, the comments will be old news by then and the mind will be free from an imaginary world.

When your mind is tired and your next performance awaits, move around, don’t lie down, pack the bag, don’t timelessly scroll; the pilgrimage will be inspiring wherever you go and it doesn’t have to go up online.