I don’t know about you, but I find that even a few days out of my running routine – say for a trip, or a brief illness – and I almost immediately hear a negative voice telling me, “You can’t do it anymore. You don’t remember how. Your training is gone and you’ll have to start over.”
Of course, one solid morning run and I remember: that’s not how this works. I’ve built up my capability over a long time, bit by little bit, and it doesn’t all come crashing down like that.
I’ll be reminding myself of that as I step in front of students for the first few times after the summer hiatus. My mind will be screaming, “DO YOU STILL KNOW HOW TO DO THIS?” And I’ll calmly remind myself: that’s not how this works.