As uncertainty in the world around us continues, we remain in a collective Endurance Tunnel but our journey through that tunnel is unique to each of us. In terms of Physical Intelligence, Endurance is about mental toughness, determination, perseverance and planning, having a strategy for sustaining effort during difficult times and maintaining peak performance over the long haul. Dopamine (our pleasure/reward chemical) and DHEA (our vitality chemical) underpin endurance, with endorphins and Oxytocin also playing an important role. Dopamine makes us determined because we are drawn to a reward that we perceive in the future, whatever that may be (e.g. job satisfaction, money, a sense of achievement, feeling alive, surviving adversity), while DHEA gives us lasting energy reserves that power us steadily forwards, like the engines of a huge ship progressing through deep water.

An Endurance Tunnel is a period of relative difficulty when we are fully aware that we will need to apply enormous effort for the long haul. As we move through the Endurance Tunnel, at the most challenging points in that journey, it may feel as though the tunnel is narrowing or collapsing. We may feel hemmed in and overwhelmed, and finally lose motivation and give up. We need stamina to keep the walls of the tunnel from closing in or collapsing on us and to keep the light at the end of the tunnel switched on, despite the difficulty. We need to apply the Physical Intelligence Endurance strategies, which we will review in this podcast.