TLDR: Don’t think so much, just run. The reward is a break from the neurological rat race.
So today was a normal day. I got a couple more hours of sleep than I usually do (so I was only mildly delirious from sleep deprivation). As I was walking down the jetty at Tekong Ferry Terminal, I bumped into an equally sleepy friend. And he asked me, “Are you going to run later?” We have mass runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
I was tired, sleepy, lethargic. The idea of getting into a chair, slouching a corner and dozing off just seemed so tantalizing. And it’s what I had been doing for the past few weeks. I only went for one of Tekong’s morning runs since I got here.
But an interesting thing happened. When I got into my office, I found myself bursting to change into my running attire. Why? I don’t know. It wasn’t a long, drawn-out internal argument. I never win those battles. Rather, it felt like a tiny explosion that cascaded unremarkably through my nervous system. I entered the door, made a subconscious snap-decision that I was going to run. I was thinking about it as I was tying my laces. Why was I doing this, when I normally wouldn’t?
The answer was apparently so self-evident that it didn’t see a need to explain itself to me. But I kept at it, and slowly a picture began to emerge.
- Part of me was looking out for Tomorrow-Visa.
- Part of me was thinking about my push-ups routine and the date I had with my girlfriend the night before- about the importance and value of being spontaneous.
- And part of me was thinking about Baby Steps.
- But really, I wasn’t thinking at all. It all came together with amazing intensity and momentum- “Visa, don’t whine, don’t bitch, don’t even think. Put on your fucking shoes and get the fuck out of the door. Just get out. Show up. Go.”
And I did. And I ran. And was totally worth it. And I kept thinking-but-not-thinking as I was running. The thoughts just revealed themselves to me, without any real thinking being done.
This was my reward, a break from the neurological rat-race. All the information, all the thinking, the years of frustration, the failures and the mediocrity- it seemed insurmountable because nothing seemed to be working. But turns out I was really just biding my time, gathering my resources, coiling my spring. And when the opportunity for decisive action arose, I found myself taking it, without even consulting me first. I had reached the critical mass. Something clicked. Something magical happen.
I’m not sure what I want to talk about, but I feel like I’ve bust a rut, burst into the sky. I’m sure it can happen for you too.
Running is a break from the neurological rat race
TLDR: Don’t think so much, just run. The reward is a break from the neurological rat race.
So today was a normal day. I got a couple more hours of sleep than I usually do (so I was only mildly delirious from sleep deprivation). As I was walking down the jetty at Tekong Ferry Terminal, I bumped into an equally sleepy friend. And he asked me, “Are you going to run later?” We have mass runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
I was tired, sleepy, lethargic. The idea of getting into a chair, slouching a corner and dozing off just seemed so tantalizing. And it’s what I had been doing for the past few weeks. I only went for one of Tekong’s morning runs since I got here.
But an interesting thing happened. When I got into my office, I found myself bursting to change into my running attire. Why? I don’t know. It wasn’t a long, drawn-out internal argument. I never win those battles. Rather, it felt like a tiny explosion that cascaded unremarkably through my nervous system. I entered the door, made a subconscious snap-decision that I was going to run. I was thinking about it as I was tying my laces. Why was I doing this, when I normally wouldn’t?
The answer was apparently so self-evident that it didn’t see a need to explain itself to me. But I kept at it, and slowly a picture began to emerge.
And I did. And I ran. And was totally worth it. And I kept thinking-but-not-thinking as I was running. The thoughts just revealed themselves to me, without any real thinking being done.
This was my reward, a break from the neurological rat-race. All the information, all the thinking, the years of frustration, the failures and the mediocrity- it seemed insurmountable because nothing seemed to be working. But turns out I was really just biding my time, gathering my resources, coiling my spring. And when the opportunity for decisive action arose, I found myself taking it, without even consulting me first. I had reached the critical mass. Something clicked. Something magical happen.
I’m not sure what I want to talk about, but I feel like I’ve bust a rut, burst into the sky. I’m sure it can happen for you too.