Enjoy Your Workout
How a gym bro reminded me of a great lesson in life.
A few weeks ago, I was hitting the university gym on a leg day. While resting between sets, I heard something interesting.
Enjoy your workout.
That was what a gym bro said to another before they fist-bumped and parted ways. I was stunned. It was one of those moments when you finally understood something you had always only subconsciously known.
Like every interesting idea, I wrote it down knowing I’ll someday talk about it. Looking back, little did I know how helpful it is to me today.
✍️ A tough habit to build
Last week, I told my first story in a long while. It wasn’t easy, not because of the event itself, but what it means — I’m resuming weekly publishing.
When I was writing in Revue, making myself send out a newsletter every Sunday was a pain. It is nerve-racking to remember that I couldn’t make it sustainable. And now, I’m taking on the same challenge I wasn’t able to overcome.
How *cough* exciting.
Truth be told, I’m worried.
I’m worried that I won’t be able to come up with something to write when it’s time to. And that I will be resorting to inserting fillers or skipping a week which will become two, three, and eventually yet another long break from writing.
And that’s not the only thing I’m anxious about.
🎯 Can I do them all well?
Like many of us, I have new year's resolutions. Looking at the list, I’m grateful for having more things I want to do than what I need to do. But, at the same time, I feel uncertain.
Can I do them all well?
Last summer, I learned how to eat an elephant and how not to. My experience taught me firsthand that it’s always a bad idea to gobble up the whole creature in one go, because
There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.
—Desmond Tatu
But, I really want to do them all well. And it is this struggle between wanting to do them all well and not being able to as there are too many things on my plate that makes it overwhelming and frustrating sometimes.
And we all know what happens when something is associated with negative emotions — we run away from making progress.
How ironic.
🎈 This is going to be fun
Looking back, the gym bro gave me the advice I need.
Enjoy your workout.
If you think about it, it makes sense.
I’m having all these new year's resolutions because I know damn well they are going to be fun. I’m working to make this weekly newsletter sustainable because I find joy in writing and telling stories. And I want it to last longer so you may enjoy reading them longer, too.
Our boy Ali said it well.
Any time I have a situation in my life where I felt stressed, or I felt unmotivated, or I felt like I’m not being productive enough, usually it’s because I forgot to have fun.
—Ali Abdaal, The Simple Formula for Long-lasting Productivity
Indeed, I should never do too many things at once. But, it is also true that I don’t stress myself out by taking them too seriously, albeit one by one. Even if it will be tough at times as all workouts do, it will be fun.
And all I need to do is to give my best and enjoy the workout.
Have a cookie 🍪
—Thomas