“When things go wrong, you best process it by….”
Take a minute to reflect on the question and come up with an answer.
The question came from my purple planner, officially the“BELIEVE Training Journal” by pro runners Lauren Fleshman and Róisín McGettigan-Dumas. Although I run, I don’t use the book as a training journal; I use it as a day-to-day, week-to-week planner for my life. I like seeing my to-do list and my goals and my family life and work life all written down together. Because our goals are intertwined with our life. I also appreciate being inspired and challenged to consider areas I need to grow in at the same time that I am planning my days and my week.
The quote adjacent to the question came from Paula Radcliffe, Marathon Olympian, World Champion & World-Record Holder, who said:
“I’ve always been good at putting things behind me–I fall apart, do my crying bit, and then put it away and move on.”
I read that quote several times. My favorite part about it is the crying bit. She isn’t too cool to cry.
Crying isn’t everyone’s style. You might need to yell or swear or run really fast or talk to a friend. No matter what, when things go wrong that really bother you, experiencing your emotions lets you move on. Holding your emotions in makes them smolder and resurface later.
I’m writing about this topic on a week that has been relatively smooth sailing for me. (I hope I don’t jinx myself.) It is a good time for me to reflect on how I handle things that go wrong because I can be objective.
I had answered the question by writing down that I learn why I made the mistake. I’ve been pretty good at asking myself that question following the mistake. But I could improve on really acknowledging and feeling the mistake before I learn from it. I try to skip the emotional part because it can be awkward and uncomfortable.
Do you like the way you handle things that go wrong or could you stand to improve?
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Originally published at medium.com