Recently I was speaking with a client who was dealing with the untimely passing of a colleague. The client is a very successful executive who is known for effective leadership and the ability to motivate his troops. He told me he found it hard that week to get into work. Who would find it easy to continue on normally after losing a friend who has meant so much. All of us can relate to this, especially after the last few months.

We all have to remember we are going to have good days and bad days. It’s part of life. It is unrealistic to expect yourself to run at full speed each and every day. There are days when you need to sprint to take advantage of opportunities. Other days you will find the need to slow down and jog onward. Your success in any given time period requires a marathon strategy vs. a sprinter’s approach. It’s not where you are in any given day. It’s where you wind up after the race is over.

So if you find yourself having the blues for whatever reason, slow down and regroup. Allow your emotions to run the cycle. This does not mean to allow your emotions to control you and provide excuses as to why things cannot happen.

Every successful person, whether it be an athlete, politician, movie star, executive, etc., has had their good and bad days. Just recognize the day for what it is, give yourself permission to be human, and move on. Otherwise, you will be setting expectations that will be difficult to reach.