4 critical success factors of extreme endurance athletes

Conor Neill recently spent An afternoon with Kilian Jornet (KJ).

From a series of interviews with successful extreme/ultra endurance athletes like KJ, he has extracted the following four critical success factors:

• Acceptance - the past is gone, it serves no purpose dwelling on problems, only on dedicating resources to solve the problem and move on. KJ: "If the seal skin comes off on my ski... it is a waste to be frustrated or angry..."
• Presence in the moment - prepare, plan and think about strategy... but once you start in a race, only focus on the moment. KJ: "I plan and think through scenarios for every race, strategies, tactics... how I will start, how I will attack... but I know that as soon as the race starts nothing will go as in the plan... I am flexible and take the opportunities that come up".
• Humility - although you may have achieved great things, do not allow any arrogance to enter, have no feeling of superiority, of being special. KJ: "Anyone who thinks they have achieved great things in this life is a fool".
• Responsibility - nobody else is going to solve your problems. Know how to ask for help, to use the resources around you, but never expect that anyone else will take the decisions for you. KJ: "...the only thing that moves me forward is to stop and solve the problem. Anything else is a waste of vital energy."

I believe these results can be applied in all endurance events, like in your daily life for instance.