Braden Currie: The Passionate Pursuit of Nothing

Life has been flipped for so many people this past month, and doesn't look to be going back to normal anytime soon. We checked in with blueseventy pro, Braden Currie who has some sage advice for all of us trying to find that new normal. 

Curries states, “In a world that’s turned upside down, there’s been huge changes in people’s lives with massive elements of stress and anxiety linked to future uncertainty, financial loss and more. It’s really important for people to compassionately work through the process of acceptance, because resisting and living in a state of fear will not help”.

In addition, Currie is urging everyone to stay positive. As any professional triathlete knows, a strong mindset and the ability to maintain positivity are crucial to successfully navigating life's challenges. That mentality applies to all of us, thrown out of our normal life patterns. The Currie family are creating new goals, and re-evaluating what they want to achieve during this time. Braden says, "I'm calling it a 'vision' as opposed to a goal". 

“It’s important to respect the new journey we all find ourselves in. A re-direction of vision could simply be making social isolation and helping to stop the viral spread the new challenge. For us, we are focusing on the big picture and living in the moment as this inhibits potential day to day stress.”

This applies not only to your training and workouts as you find ways to workout from home, or incorporate new workout techniques to maintain your swimming fitness away from the water, but also to limiting stresses building from a change in work, or family patterns, loss of a job or income due to the virus and more. 

"In a world where most rely on knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow, it may seem as though the ground is breaking beneath our feet. But accepting what is and believing in the future is the first step to finding our way." Throughout his career as a professional triathlete, Braden and his family have had to utilize this mindset to weather any challenges faced by the uncertain path that career can take. They've proven that it's a successful way to approach life during times of uncertainty, and it's can be a useful way to focus ourselves during the time of Covid-19.

Finally, Currie leaves us with an important thought, reminding us all to step away from the Type A, goal-oriented athletes we may be and to allow ourselves to heal both mentally and physically from the changes that have been thrust upon us. Explore the open water, go for a run just to run, workout from home, or sit quietly and breathe deeply in that moment without worrying about the next race, next meet, next whatever...

“Embrace the rest and enjoyment that is possible from passionately pursuing nothing for the foreseeable future”.

 

You can read Braden's full blog post on his website, here.