Learn · TED

Talk6 min

Why I love my bad days

Alexi Pappas · TED

Watch At TED

About

One month before the Rio Olympics, runner Alexi Pappas couldn't hit her splits in practice. She was begging her watch to change its mind. Then her coach told her to take it off — and shared the best advice she's ever received. That single piece of wisdom led her to break a national record and changed how she chases her goals, carrying her through ultramarathons, a memoir and three films. Bad days aren't a detour, she says — they mean you're right on track.

The talk

  1. Why I love my bad days 6 min · TED's player

Credits and licence

Institution
TED
Department
TEDNext 2025
Speaker
Alexi Pappas
Year
2025
Level
For everyone
Language
English
Subjects
Psychology and the brain, Philosophy
Source
TED
Licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, as TED states it. Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions. TED's terms
Attribution
TED Talks are licensed by TED under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International and are shown here in TED's own player, as TED's usage policy asks.
Who can watch
TED gives no rating. Invisible Network shows it to Teens profiles and older, judged from what the source says about it. How courses are placed