Endurance as a Transferable Skill

Is it just a hunch or is it in fact true that the virtues learned through participation in sport can translate into other areas of our lives? I started thinking about this again recently when I was listening to a podcast in which two of the hosts were contemplating whether a long-distance runner might somehow possess more "endurance" when it comes to suffering through torture at the hands of his captor. It's an extreme example no doubt - maybe not the best one for this argument as I imagine that someone who endures torture without completely breaking down has traits and habits of mind that can't be chalked up to the ability to run miles and miles - but the taxation of staying the course physically and mentally when both your body and mind beg you to stop is like any other learned skill. Some are naturally better at it than others, but anyone who practices at it can get better. And enduring pain, boredom, grief, or any other uncomfortable state of being is part of being human. So there are many opportunities to flex the skills of endurance.

Something endurance athletes learn is that the pain is a temporary condition. They know it's finite and they usually believe that once it's over, there is great reward. Or at least, there is the relief of having stopped doing something incredibly difficult. So, tapping into that memory of what it's like to grit your teeth and carry on because you know you'll come out on the other side, seems to be something that endurance athletes can access when facing challenges outside the athletic arena.

Another element of the endurance mindset that can translate is the ability to silence the thoughts that say "stop." Endurance athletes learn when the "stop" message is a true survival signal and when it's a false message, delivered by an instinct not unlike the one that makes some dogs cover their food bowl to protect it from other dogs even when they are the only dog in the house and will get fed like clockwork twice a day. Some deep-seeded instinct that long ago preserved life but is now just an amusing behavioral relic. I believe that endurance athletes learn to identify those signals as fakes. They learn to ignore them and develop that habit quickly, the habit of discarding the negative thought and moving on.

Finally, the lessons of endurance normally teach that there is benefit from the pain. Whether the benefit is getting faster or being able to go longer, weight control, stress relief, or the satisfaction of accomplishing a difficult feat, the endurance mind knows that the pain is both temporary AND constructive. There is a tangible and positive effect from doing it.

So will that same virtue emerge in the work setting when the challenge is a difficult project or managing a personal conflict? It may. But perhaps it's more likely to translate when the endurance athlete cognitively connects the skill to the work setting. When the mind says "If I can (fill in the blank - run a  marathon, swim 2 miles in open water, etc.) I can deal with this difficult co-worker" then the connection has been made.

Silence Is His Virtue

In Tiger Woods' recent apology, posted on his website, he makes an interesting statement: "...for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one's own family."

I'm not certain if he is talking about privacy as a personal virtue or one that he believes should be exhibited by the media (and the consumers of media). But privacy--or the respect of privacy--as I suspect Woods means, is not one of the virtues that I think you'll find in Aristotle's writings. Regardless, his reticence on the topic of his private life following his minor car accident, has been framed by Woods as a virtue and he is implying, I think, that the world at large should demonstrate that same virtue of privacy and allow him and his family to work out their problems behind closed doors.

Clearly, he is trying to regain some equilibrium in the face of some transgressions (whatever they may be) on his part. He may have failed his family and himself by succumbing to a moral weakness, but he is nevertheless holding on to his virtue of silence in the face of this. His silence seems integral to his commitment to his family. But can--or should--he expect the same from the public and the media?

The common argument that arises when celebrities ask for privacy is that because they are outrageously famous, they should expect that all of their dirty laundry will be aired in public. The old, "comes with the territory" argument. But as a justification for these acts of tabloid journalism, I think it is a weak argument when looked at in an ethical framework. What indeed is the benefit from airing Woods' (or other celebrities') dirty laundry? Unlike the benefits of a press that uncovers political corruption, does revealing Woods' personal failings somehow benefit our society? An informed citizenry is accepted as a critical element of democracy. But is there a greater good that is being achieved by digging for these details? The freedom of the press is almost without bounds in our country and that has shown over and over again to be elemental to the success of democracy in the United States. But is knowledge of Woods' private indiscretions vital to our functioning democracy?

I'm not convinced that respecting the privacy of celebrities is the virtue we will find in either individual members of the press or the media they represent. Perhaps some occasional discretion is the most we can hope for. At least I think that is the most that TIger Woods can hope for.