At some point in life, we’re going to experience a decline — whether physical, mental, or often both, if we live long enough.

For some, this decline may happen earlier in life; for others, it may come much later. But eventually, the atrophy of our abilities will catch up with us all.

Arthur Brooks, author of From Strength to Strength, argues that:

[In practically every high-skilled profession, decline sets in sometime between one’s late thirties and early fifties. [And] it gets worse: the more accomplished one is at the peak of one’s career, the more pronounced decline seems once it has set in.

The decline occurs even earlier in athletes, especially those involved in sports requiring explosive power and speed. Athletes in this group typically peak between 20 and 27, according to Brooks, and while endurance athletes may peak a bit later, the decline still begins in young adulthood.

While we know this inevitable truth, few of us are truly prepared for when it happens.

The Shift

There’s a painful intermediate phase that precedes this decline, which I call the shift. The causes can vary: illness, chronic injury, or the natural effects of aging. We may experience several temporary shifts throughout our lives, but eventually, we will encounter a permanent one.

The shift is characterized by a movement from full autonomy over our abilities and output to a state of heteronomy, where we are forced to acquiesce to our body’s demands.

We can no longer produce at the level we once did. The weekly miles we used to log become harder, and then impossible to sustain. Our speed slows, then drops off aggressively.

Our efforts are now subject to the law of diminishing returns.

The midst of the shift feels like purgatory — a space where we are stuck, uncertain of what the future holds. We are left questioning if this current state of existence is the new normal for the rest of our lives. It’s grappling with the reality of whether we will be able to do the things we love again, and whether we will be able to do them with the same capacity.

I experienced my own shift this year. After easily running ~8–10 km every day for almost 7 years, I suddenly couldn’t even run 5 km without pain. I had pushed my body through so much, ignoring it’s warning signals. My mind was the boss, and my body was its servant. I could keep me streak going, while participating in extreme endurance events. I could workout for hours a day. I dodged major injuries for over a decade. But in my 35th year, my body just stopped obeying, and I entered the shift.

The onset of this period was one of the most painful times in my life, filled with grief, heartbreak, suffering, and the loss of a big part of who I am. I had to redefine my identity and forge a new path forward.

After one of the hardest years and transition periods, I’ve ever endured, I feel like I’m finally exiting the shift, and have moved on to the next phase: acceptance.

I’ve had to redesign my daily routines, and actively discover new ways to bring meaning into my life sans running. Running and training had taken up such a large part of my life, and when it was suddenly gone, there was a gaping void.

Instead of perceiving this injury as my bête noire, sinking deeper in despair, and rebelling against my current state, I’ve now come to see it as a teacher. It has helped me realize that there is so much more to life than running.

I’ve accepted that I may never be able to run at the same level again. I may not be able to participate in extreme endurance events in the future. And you know what? That’s okay. Life will go on, and I can still be a happy and fulfilled person.

Distress, anxiety, sadness, a sense of loss, can be replaced with potential. Because like it or not, we are all going rach this point sometime. We never know when the shift will come. I was in the best physical condition I’ve ever been in my life, only to gall into the worst. The shift is unpredictable.

While this article may seem dark, if you’ve experienced your own shift, know that it is a shared human experience — we will all face our eventual decline.

There isn’t much guidance in how to grapple with this phase or how to navigate through it. No one can really prepare you for it. No one is going to old your hand through it.

When the time comes, we can either move with the shift or against it.

The choice is yours.