Vol 12 – The Rule of Thirds

As human beings we are meant to make progress. Historically progress has had multiple obstacles to reach the pinnacle – be it in sport, entrepreneurship, politics. Shortly before running in the 2016 Summer Olympics, Alexi Pappas had a terrible training session in which she was well off the pace she expected herself to hit. The timing of her poor performance scared her—with the Olympics coming up, she thought the slow workout meant she’d be slow at the Olympics. “No,” her coach told her. “It’s the rule of thirds.” “What’s the rule of thirds?” Alexi asked. “When you’re chasing a big goal,” her coach told her, “you’re supposed to feel good a third of the time, okay a third of the time, and crappy a third of the time. If the ratio is off and you feel good all the time, then you’re not pushing yourself enough. Likewise, if you feel bad all the time, then you might be fatigued and need to dial things back.” The ratio wasn’t off: at those 2016 Summer Olympics, Alexi set the national record in the 10,000 meters.

In the below podcast, Alexi Pappas discusses about what it takes to achieve audacious dreams – hear from a successful Olympic runner, writer and filmmaker, Alexi Pappas as she discusses her athletic & creative career paths.