Nothing is ACTUALLY 24 Hours
Apr 12, 2023
Nothing is ACTUALLY 24 Hours
We tend to look at our days in 24 hour blocks. Understandably so, that’s of course the amount of hours in a day. Why wouldn’t we look at it that way?
However, there is no magic ‘stop’ button at midnight that signals the body and the mind to erase everything from the day before and start new. Twenty four hours is our human need to put each day in a box. And yes, it definitely has it benefits. There is no denying that.
Yiannis Kouros is hands down the greatest 24+ hour ultramarathoner in history. He holds the records for the 24 hour, the 48 hour, and the six-day races. But if he ate the same way every day his performance would be greatly diminished. During a six-day race from Sydney to Melbourne, Kouros’ intake was monitored. He was said to have managed to take in 15,000 calories the first day, 12,000 the next, and 7,000 the third day. He targeted to get to around 35,000 calories in the first three days. Now Yiannis got to enjoy himself a little bit too, considering he was burning so many calories, he consumed half of his calories as Greek sweets, eating every 20 minutes, and enjoying baklava, fresh creamy custard, and honey cookies. He says he doesn’t eat too much fat, using mostly carbohydrates and only loses weight in races if he wants to, even gaining weight in some. (https://www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a20843753/on-the-trail-with-yiannis-kouros/)
Now let’s say he ate like that everyday, probably wouldn’t be a great athlete. But what Yiannis fully understands: nothing is 24 hours. Yiannis harnesses this power to be arguably the greatest runner of all time, but we can use it under the same principal - whatever decision we feel like beating ourselves up for within a 24 hour time block, don’t. Let it go. We are the sum of our next choice.
As you can see we don’t have to beat ourselves up just because we had an off day. Off days happen to everyone, trust me! We are not production machines 24/7. But we have the understanding that we can make it up the next day, or if needed in some cases scale it down the next day. This is one of the most freeing mindsets you can have. Fully grasping that nothing is truly 24 hours based will keep you from a lot of future beating yourself up.
1% ACTION
Right now, drop everything and write down in your phone 'NOTHING IS 24 HOURS' Put it in your notes so you will be able to see it anytime you open up your phone. If you mess up on your 'diet' don't worry, it's not a 24 hour thing. Eat healthier tomorrow to make up for it. If you miss a workout, don't stress! It's the accumulation of the entire week that counts, not the 24 hours!
