How Do You Deal With Setbacks? (The 72 Hour Rule)
In Running and in Life, sometimes things don’t quite go the way we had planned it. Whether it’s your running plan, your business plan or just life getting in the way — it’s something we all have to deal with but it’s how we deal with it that makes the biggest difference.
I’ve been in a bit of a creative rut over the past month and it was ultimately capped off with this crazy cold I’ve had for the past week or so which leads me to the point of this post.
The 72 Hour Rule
There comes a point where we have to stop trying to play catch up, where we have to understand that we’ve fallen off the horse and there’s no catching back up to the horse… let the horse go… it’s gone. The 72 hour rule comes when you feel like you are barely keeping track, let go… for 72 hours just let go of trying to keep up.
It may seem hard to grasp, if you’re like me than you feel uncomfortable not trying to get ahead on your work. Ultimately it’s the right call to make so you can recharge and get after it even harder. 72 hours gives your mind and body time to recover enough to actually be productive.
In my case this gave me time to rest and actually recover from being sick without trying to force the issue.
Individualization
Everyone recovers and works differently though, so you may not need 72 hours or you may need more time… it all depends on how burnt out you feel and how committed you are to actually recovering.
So what about you? Do you ever feel like you can’t catch up no matter how hard you try? This is a little departure from my typical running talk but Mentally and Physically we have to know what works for our bodies… this is no different.
