Ever hear of the “Rule of Thirds”?

Greek Olympian Alexi Pappas (pictured above) explains the Rule of Thirds…

“My olympic coach told me after a particularly challenging workout where I could not hit my splits before going to the Rio Olympics, that that was okay.

It was the rule of thirds.

And he was an Olympian, so I always soaked in everything he said. And I was like, what’s the rule of thirds?

So, I think with those days that you’re talking about, where creativity doesn’t come or doesn’t feel great… you still show up because maybe that’s your crappy day.

But it doesn’t mean that you quit the goal. It means that you show up and live through that dip.”

And if the ratio is off… like you feel too good all the time or too bad… then you’ve got to look at if you’re fatiguing or not trying hard enough or pushing yourself.

And he said, you’re when you’re chasing a dream or doing anything hard, you’re meant to ‘feel good; a third of the time, ‘okay’ a third of the time, and ‘crappy’ a third of the time. And if the ratio is roughly in that range, then you’re doing fine. So today was the crappy day along your dream chasing.

Personally… this is advice that I don’t love to hear, but know is true.

Embrace the good, the okay, AND the icky days.

It’s all part of the process.

When you’re doing hard stuff,

When you’re going after big goals,

You’re not supposed to feel good all the time.

Allow it.

Accept it.

Don’t beat yourself up over it.

Show up.

Live through that dip.

And then move on to the next day.

In fact, we need things to not go right… to learn from the experience. That’s when our brain pays attention. That’s when the hard work makes its mark.

The thing is, we likely don’t feel the growth at the moment because the brain does the majority of its processing and learning at night when we’re sleeping.

But we need the icky days for the magic to happen ✨

“Success is most often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.”

Coco Chanel

French Fashion Designer and Businesswoman