Being a parent is a 24/7 gig, so is it any wonder you often find yourself running on empty? Though we don’t always listen, everyone knows that when you’re hangry or tired, it’s not the best time to make a decision or deal with kids who might also be depleted. So, how do you handle the situation? Emily Oster, New York Times bestselling author and mom of two, shared a great mantra from an unlikely source: her running coach.
Oster says her coach encourages her not to give up and not to make decisions “before a gel,” a concept she explained for all her non-runner followers. “When you run long distances, you take gels for fuel in the middle of the run, and often right before the gel, you are feeling depleted. You need the glucose from the gel, and that’s a time when you start thinking I should quit. This is a stupid activity. Once you take the gel, you feel better because you have the glucose. And so the idea is, don’t make any decisions in that depleted state.”
It makes sense. After all, no one is in a good state of mind when feeling hungry, tired, or stressed. And when you make decisions when you aren’t in a good state of mind, they might not be the best. “When we are overwhelmed, we need to pause. We need to replete ourselves and then make decisions later,” says Oster.
Which, in theory, is brilliant. But being present in a moment, especially when dealing with kids, is challenging for even the calmest parents. So, if remembering the phrase “before a gel” gives you a moment of clarity, why not give it a shot?
We can see this tip working for kids, too, from toddlers on the go to teens rushing from one activity to the next. Allowing them to recognize their state of mind, whether they’re hungry or tired, and to wait on making decisions before they’ve slept or had a snack will make everything run more smoothly in your home. Oster sums it up nicely: “It’s just a little bit of a reset. And of course, you don’t have to eat a gel. You can have that cookie, and then talk about the problem.”
