I’ll never forget when my first coach told me: Life isn’t a marathon. It’s a series of sprints. 🤯
I’ve always been told life is a marathon, which sounds perfectly awful! I’ve run two half marathons, but 13.1 miles is as far as I want to run. Running a series of sprints? That sounds far more doable.
Athletes practice this. Sprinters train to run as fast and as hard as they can for 100 meters. After crossing the finish line, they keep running but at a far slower pace to help their body recalibrate. And then they rest.
They don’t apologize for resting. They don’t shame themselves for recovering. They plan for it. Because they understand that recovery isn’t the opposite of peak performance—it’s what makes sustained performance possible.
And yet so many high-achieving leaders operate as if they’re running an ultra-marathon at sprint speed, 365 days a year. No cooldown. No rest. Just relentless forward motion until something breaks. (And the headlines are full of those leaders. ❤️🩹)
Your nervous system was NOT designed for this. Neurobiologically, you can’t run top speed all year without consequences: compromised immune response, emotional dysregulation, depleted cognitive function, relational disconnection, spiritual disintegration, and eventually, complete burnout.
So this year, plan for the rest, recovery, and renewal times.
Need ideas? Here are five science-backed ways to experience true renewal:
- Take a 20-minute walk outside. It reduces cortisol by 21% and activates your parasympathetic nervous system.
- Practice box breathing (4-4-4-4). This stimulates the vagus nerve, shifting you from sympathetic (stress) to parasympathetic (rest) activation.
- Schedule “white space” on your calendar. Brain breaks improve problem-solving by 40% and boost creativity.
- Engage in non-goal-oriented movement. Dance, stretch, or play activates different neural pathways than exercise, which promotes neuroplasticity and joy.
- Get off screen one hour before bed. Eliminating blue light improves sleep quality and next-day executive function by up to 30%.
Want to know how well you’re actually practicing renewal right now?
It’ll give you immediate “ah-ha’s” into where you’re running on fumes and where you have capacity to build.
Remember: the sprint is supposed to end. Renewal is part of the race.
