For some reason, I really take to the phrase “on the struggle bus.”

It’s flip but we all get that nagging feeling sometimes. We just can’t find our flow. Whatever it is we are trying to do, it’s not going well. It’s hard and we are frustrated. The struggle is real.

I’ve heard this reference a lot in the running community, which I’ve joined only since the COVID pandemic began. As Michael Horner explained in Runner’s Life:

“When you hear a runner refer to the “struggle bus,” it usually refers to a run where it feels like you are running through quicksand. The more you try to turn over your feet, the more it feels like running in place and getting nowhere. Often, you will find “struggle bus” runs happening when you are carrying far too much stress and/or getting too little sleep.”

Whelp, if that’s the case, as an academic and sufferer of chronic insomnia, I’m gonna be on the struggle bus A LOT. And not just in my running, but at work and in life more generally.

So… what to do?

As you know, I listen to a lot of podcasts for guidance and inspiration. And I have two recommendations on this topic for anyone on the struggle bus.

First, Kara Lowentheil did a good, short episode on the mental struggle bus for her podcast Unf*ck Your Brain:

https://unfuckyourbrain.com/struggle-bus-negative-emotions/

You do not have to be following her thought work process to get some good guidance out of the episode.

Second, Jay Shetty recently mentioned on his podcast On Purpose that struggle is a necessary part of the growth process. When looking for that episode, I found he did a blog and episode specifically on the stages of growth a couple of years ago, available here:

https://jayshetty.me/blog/the-5-levels-of-growth-that-you-cant-skip-miss-or-avoid-2-2/

Let’s normalize the struggle, cut ourselves some slack, and try again tomorrow.