The last two weeks, I have really been forced to lean on my own emotional work as I have struggled with some low feelings. I’ve had bouts of pretty intense feelings of sadness, and I can’t point to a particular trigger. I’m not having thoughts about hurting myself or anyone else; it’s not that bad. But it’s definitely affected my ability to concentrate at work and I’ve caught myself having randomly negative thoughts and feelings. So, I’m choosing to help myself by doing the kind of work I am recommending in Warm Current.
I read an article this week (here’s a free gift link so you can avoid the paywall) explaining the psychology of baseball players who use elaborate rituals they think help them perform. For example, when former MVP Jason Giambi would get into a hitting slump, he’d wear a “gold lamé tiger-striped thong.” And if that’s not weird enough, the writer reports that it “worked so well that Yankees teammates quietly started borrowing it, too.” Do I need a thong to feel better and perform better? Hmm…
I am not sure where Jason Giambi is these days. And I think the writer missed an opportunity by failing to explain someone borrowing someone else’s thong. I also don’t have to stand in a batter’s box and face 95mph fastballs up and in. But I am not sure sexy underwear is the answer to my problem.
Instead, I’ve leaned harder on my self-talk and I’m doubling down on avoiding too much exposure to news and other inputs that can be triggering. My wife loves true crime TV shows, so that’s not easy sometimes! And to be clear, it’s gotten better, which is why I’m calling it a “funk,” not something super-serious.
Still, it’s a good reminder that, according to a 2017 study cited in the article, rituals aren’t a placebo, they literally rewire the brain. The story says, “participants who performed a ritual for a week showed measurably blunted neural responses when they made mistakes.”
To me, it’s logical to conclude that if you create a practice of more productive habits, your brain will respond positively. And it doesn’t have to have the high stakes of professional sports, it has the much higher stakes of improving your life. It could be anything from improving your self-talk, to making sure you drink enough water, to working on your sleep hygiene, or changing the stuff you put in your brain from a barrage of social media to YouTube channels on watch repair.
No, I mean it, I started watching Seattle watch repair hobbyist Marshall Sutcliffe about five years ago and my mood and sleep improved. I have written about why I think analog watches are beneficial. This article about baseball player rituals seems to be in the same realm. If you put Wristwatch Revival in your brain instead of some manosphere “influencer,” don’t be surprised if you feel better.
One part of my funk is some trouble in training for the mile. If you’re not caught up, my 2026 running goal is “find out how fast you can run a mile without getting hurt.” And I’ve been dealing with some old injuries cropping up that have scared me. I’ve lost the last two summers to injury, and NOT running definitely is hard on my psyche, so I have strong feelings about it happening again.
Specifically, my right achilles and left hamstring have been quite sore after a few recent workouts. I immediately took a day off after each cropped up, and I embarked on physical therapy that I have used in the past. So far, I haven’t torn a muscle or shred a tendon. My fingers are crossed (and my calendar has an appointment with my massage therapist soon).
Seems like a training update is warranted here for perspective.
Here’s where I am: After my first training phase of “waking up my legs to speed,” I have been in a phase I guess I’d call “sustaining the speed.” Basically, that means running faster longer. So, while I’ve still done a few 200m repeat workouts, they’ve gone up to 14 repeats at 38 seconds each. And I’ve gone from 4X400 repeats at 85 seconds to 8X400 at 82-85. This morning I tossed 4X600m into the mix. I’ll be honest, I was a little afraid of this workout. But my splits were 2:07.7, 2:07.2, 2:09.8, and 2:07.7. Yeah, that third one was rough.
But the good news is I’ve gone from “I can reach 5:30 pace for 200m,” to “I think running 5:30 for the mile is absolutely on the table.” That’s not fast at all in the world of competitive running. But for a guy who will be 58 in June, it’s not bad.
And, in addition to the things I’m doing to get out of the funk, I’m reminding myself that this training is a really positive thing I’m doing for myself, and that helps, too.
I hope you do these kinds of things when you get into a funk. Or, I dunno, try the thong? Anything but watching another dudebro on TikTok.
If this would help someone you know, please forward it, share it on your social feeds or just share what you hear with someone who might otherwise be influenced by the manosphere.