The Rule of Thirds

In one of her interviews, Olympian, author and film maker Alexi Pappas shares what she learnt from her coach – The Rule of Thirds.

According to the rule, if we are pursuing a worthy goal, a third of the time we are in pursuit we should feel great, a third of the time, we should feel ok and a third of the time we should feel bad.

If the proportion of the time we feel great, ok and bad is around the same, we are on track. On days when we feel shitty, we can just attribute it to one of the bad days and carry on, knowing fully well that good days are not far.

If the proportion is out of whack, we need to rethink our goal.

If we are feeling great all the time, we are not pushing ourselves enough. If we are feeling bad all the time, we are taking on too much. If we are not feeling great or bad at all, we are in our comfort zone.

In all these cases, we need to rethink our goals and adjust them accordingly. Is your goal aligned? Do the rule of thirds apply to you and the goal you are pursuing?

It is worth our time to slow down and think about how we feel while pursuing our goals.

And as leaders, it is important to share this with our teams as well. I believe that this rule applies to not just individuals but to teams as well.

You can hear her say this in her own voice here.

Do share your thoughts and continue the discussion

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