These past two weeks have been challenging. First, I did something strange to my knee during my track session on the morning my last newsletter went out. That forced me to take a few days off running—not ideal, but necessary. My knee is improving, though it’s still not 100%. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, my sleep took a turn for the worse. For some reason, I’ve been sleeping restlessly and waking up exhausted, despite getting more than eight hours of sleep every night.

It’s frustrating.

I do everything right. I only drink one cup of coffee daily, early in the morning after my run. I stick to a consistent bedtime—as close to 20h00 as possible. I eat by 18h00. I take extra magnesium. I don’t have any significant worries keeping me up at night. I avoid my phone before bed, choosing to read instead. I don’t drink alcohol. I exercise regularly. I tick all the boxes. And yet, I wake up every morning feeling like I haven’t slept at all.

Why does life have to be so complicated? Why can’t effort always translate into results?

If I neglect my sleep, I know I’d feel even worse, so it’s not like the effort is pointless. But it’s frustrating when you do everything right and still don’t get the outcome you expect. It’s a bit of a catch-22. And it’s not just me—this happens to so many people.

Runners train for months, only to get injured before race day. Someone follows a diet plan to the letter, yet they hit a weight-loss plateau for weeks. You put in the work, but something gets in the way. And when that happens, it’s tempting to think, What’s the point?

In the middle of this, I received an email inviting me to be interviewed for YOU magazine. During the interview, Siphokazi asked me how to handle setbacks, such as a weight-loss plateau or when training progress stalls.

I had to laugh internally at the irony. Here I was, feeling completely despondent, and now someone was asking me for advice on handling these exact moments. If I had all the answers, I probably wouldn’t have spent the last week wondering why my efforts weren’t paying off.

But after thinking about it, I realised I did have something to say—not because I always get it right, but because I’ve been through this before. The only thing I know for sure is that when it feels like nothing is working, the worst thing I can do is quit.

The best thing I can do is keep showing up, even if I have to become creative and find a new reason to motivate myself. Perhaps with a gentler effort, perhaps with a bit more patience and grace, but still showing up. While effort doesn’t always bring instant results, quitting guarantees none.

How do you handle moments when your effort doesn’t produce the expected results?