Often we say it is hard to keep going when you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I think it can be harder to keep going when you do see the light and all the exhaustion catches up to you.

I’m fine being pregnant until 36 weeks. Then I am more than DONE being pregnant and I become convinced it will never end. Medical school, residency, fellowship, my Ph.D.–all of them I have plowed through, trusting that the end will come, but not really focusing on the finish line. But something happens when the finish line comes into view. I crash. It’s like somehow my body knows it is almost finished and I hit a wall. Can you relate? It’s similar to how runners describe hitting a wall. You have pushed yourself so hard that your body begins to shut down and you’re sure you cannot keep going.

So how do you get your second wind? How do you push through the wall and finish the race you’ve been working so hard to run? I think this is where we take some good lessons from marathoners.Continue Reading