December 10th, 2024, in the Evening.
This morning, as usual: ran five kilometers while scouting for breakfast. There was a slight inconvenience occurred: my bluetooth music suddenly snapped into shadowrealm, leaving my music in eternal buffering limbo. So I had to stop and troubleshoot mid-run.
It also reminded me of yesterday when my smartphone screen shattered after falling from my chair. Ironically, this phone once survived being run over by a motorcycle without a scratch. I guess it was just its time. Still, it was annoying. These small inconveniences pile up over time and become genuinely frustrating.
Good thing I’ve still got my trusty dumbphone: a Samsung J2 Prime I bought last month for $11. This bad boy handles 90% of my needs like a champ. It even made me binge-watch a YouTube video about how Nokia dumbphones are saving lives in extreme poverty across Africa. Who knew?
I’ve got this saying: “Smart people, dumb phones.” It checks out. A phone without endless distractions feels like an actual productivity hack. Who needs infinite scroll downward spirals when your phone barely manages WhatsApp?
Last week, I treated it as a recovery week after the marathon. I prefer saying recovery rather than rest. Recovery is different from relaxation. Recovery still requires effort to restore mental and physical peak condition. Rest? That’s just lying in bed all day, pretending it’s self-care while secretly feeding your existential dread.
Making an effort to stay high in daily life isn’t easy. Humans aren’t some artificial intelligence programmed rigidly; we are generous stupidity, we experience emotional highs and lows. External factors and society often hurt our feelings or extinguish our inner fire, just like what I’ve been feeling recently. But then I remembered a few things that helped me bounce back: First, adaptability is the heart of consistency. Second, feeling bad-mood, down, or even depressed because of external factors? That’s a Skill Issue. It just means you lack control over your thoughts or are practicing detachment.
But it’s normal, we are mortals. It’s okay to be weak sometimes. But it’s never okay to stay weak. When the opportunity arises, grab it and bounce back, don’t just sit there overthink.
Our energy is limited each day, especially when you’re trying to maintain that fiery obsession and drive day after day. To address this, I’ve started a new habit recently: run even if it’s just one kilometer. Do it in the early morning, midday, evening, or even late at night. Run when you feel tired, lost, weak, or downright heartbroken. Run for just one or even half kilometer, if that’s all you can manage. If the weather’s hot, push through it. If it’s pouring rain, grab a raincoat. If it’s dark, turn on a flashlight.
Every time I run, my brain goes, “Hey, at least I can still run, literally!” And somehow, that simple thought makes everything feel a little less catastrophic. Because here’s the thing: Thinking won’t solve problems that require Action. The solution is painfully simple to say but excruciatingly hard to execute: Just do it. Start now.