There was one point during the Rugged Maniac 5K obstacle race last weekend when my mind tried to scare me. I’d been doing fine with the obstacles. Not fine as in, “wow, that was easy!” but fine as in “I’m not thinking ahead, I’m just dealing with the obstacle right in front of me.”

Then we came to the logs in a field of mud and water. They were different heights and they stuck straight up out of the muck. The first one wasn’t too high, so I jumped onto it, and realized it was slippery with muck. Since I’d already crawled through a mud pit, I was covered in slime, too. I stepped to the next, higher, log, and realized that they kept getting higher and they were spaced pretty far apart for someone of my less-than-impressive stature (5′ 2 1/2″ isn’t that short!)

Suddenly, I had a vision of myself jumping to the next log, slipping off and hitting my back, my leg…oh no, my crotch!

I stopped moving. I took a deep breath and told myself not to think ahead. That all I had to do was plant my left foot and, when I was ready, step out with my right foot.

I did it.

Then I brought my left forward and repeated the process. Deep breath. Plant my right foot. Step out with my left foot. My world was only those logs for the next few minutes of my life.

Then, I was done. I stepped off the last log and started running through the mud again.

Phew!

There were a lot more obstacles that day but none that I came as close to blowing as that field of logs stuck in the mud. Even as I was navigating the rest of the obstacle course, I was thinking about my mind and how I had almost let it derail me.

One of Martha Beck’s favorite sayings is, “the mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.” I saw the truth in that saying that day in a very vivid way.

Was picturing all the terrible things that could happen to me during the race–while I was actually running the race–helpful? No.

It might have been helpful to think about these things when I was filling out the application, but at the time all I thought was, “It’s only a 5K, how bad could it be?”

Luckily, I recognized my lizard brain when it started showing me those terrible images (none of which ever happened) and consciously let go of my fears by focusing on the only thing that made sense: the present moment and the action I could take there and then.

Just prior to the race, I was feeling a little embarrassed that I had to find “trumped up” thrills and danger to face. I willing signed up to face physical discomfort and possible danger for what? To bring a little excitement to my life? To get an adrenaline rush?

No, I realized after the race, I signed up for this to face my fears in a very physical, tangible way. I have been facing my fears on an emotional level a lot this past year, and running in that obstacle race helped me see that I can control my lizard brain on any level, in any situation, if I choose to. And that I’ve been doing it all year long.

This time, I got a T-shirt for my effort. When I wear it, it reminds me that I am the master of my mind and so, my mind serves me well.

Is your mind serving you or is it the other way around?