So yeah, it’s special for me because so far I’ve been doing 5K runs and my usual morning 10 rounds in a nearby running oval in our barangay (Barangay Bugo, the barangay I live in). Also, it’s not called “Freedom Run” for no reason. It’s a celebration in the form of a fun run for us Kagay-anons on the freedom our ancestors have paid with their sweat and blood so we can use it to become the people we aspire to be.
Anyway, though I knew in my mind that I’m capable of accomplishing the 10K event, I can say that after accomplishing it, it was neither too easy nor impossible. With that, I have learned 3 life lessons in relation to my passion in running which I would like to share to you so you too can enjoy more your run in life.
Lesson 1: There’s always room for improvement.
I believe that God designed us in a way that we have that sense of dissatisfaction in our individual lives so we can always aim for something more. In fact, the only completely satisfied people I’ve ever met are those in the cemetery. No matter how a person says that he’s completely satisfied with his life, there’ll always be that longing in his heart to want more, to be more and to aspire for more.
We have two ways on seeing this sense of dissatisfaction. It’s either we see it as something that will make us completely lazy and unhappy since we know that we’ll never be satisfied. OR we can choose to see this sense of dissatisfaction as something to remind ourselves that we need to change and to be more because our jobs here on Earth is not yet done.
In my case, I choose to see it as an opportunity to become better. In relation to running, I have room to improve in my speed, endurance and strength. That goes the same with life in terms of our need to improve on areas such as our finances, careers, relationships, and more importantly ourselves. There’s always room to improve. There’s no such thing as “the best” because we’re always capable of becoming better. If you’re completely satisfied with your life (and I mean completely satisfied) that you no longer want anything in life, do yourself a favor and shoot yourself in the head. Why? Because you’re completely satisfied and, with it, you no longer have a reason to live. There’s always room for improvement. There’s always room to live life with meaning
Lesson 2: Life is not a race. It’s a FUN RUN.
Before, I’ve always taken life too damn seriously be it on my studies, relationships or simply running. Though a degree of seriousness is good, it becomes bad when it rubs away the fun and more importantly the life of what you love to do. Contrary to popular belief which says that life is a race that we need to win, I would like to believe that it’s rather a fun run.
As I see it, what’s the use of doing the things you’re doing or living life if you’re not even having fun doing so? Sure, there’ll always be hard, challenging times. Times when you feel like shit, times when you feel like you can’t go on anymore, times when you feel helpless and as well as times when you feel like you’re in complete control with life.
Friends, that’s what makes life fun: the shitty situations, the tears, the challenges, the anxieties and the problems. As well as the opportunity to grow, to build meaningful relationships, to become the person you want to be and, more importantly, to live life itself.
When you’re too damn serious living life, you’ll miss it. That’s why in Japan and according to research, many Japanese people commit suicide every year because they’re way too serious on what they do be it on their careers, relationships or even in school. Being too serious gives you unnecessary pressure and you waste your energy worrying which could have been better if that same energy was channeled to enjoying and learning to live life.
And before you drink too much beer and run naked in public to enjoy life, I’m not suggesting that you live a hedonistic life where you’re only too focused on the now that you forget that you have responsibilities and a future. What I’m saying is that we live life and enjoy the process of doing so. This is, after all, a fun run and not a race. Though reaching the destination we want in life is awesome, the journey is what gives it meaning. We should enjoy the journey.
Lesson 3: Believe in yourself.
Nothing small or big can ever be achieved with the lack of belief in one’s self. For me, I was able to accomplish the 10K race because I believe and had confidence in myself. Relating to life, we can never ever get something done without that leap of faith. Sure, there’ll always be our fear of the uncertain but what’s important is that we set aside that fear, believe in ourselves and do what we need to do. Having others cheer and believe in us is cool but in the final analysis it’s really up to us if we believe we can do something or not. Many people are living in fear because they don’t believe in themselves that they’re capable of living the life they ought to live. I tell you, don’t be. Don’t give a fuck if people think and say negative things towards you. That’s their problem, not yours. Believe in yourself and live the life you want without regrets.
Life is, indeed, a fun run we can all win. You don’t need to be the strongest, fastest or smartest but you got to first make the commitment and habit of winning. Winning doesn’t only constitute achieving what you want in life like money, fame, honor or awesome relationships but also about having a winning attitude when tough times and challenges come to mold you. What’s important is we have fun in the process and just live the life the way each and one of us want to live it.
Enjoy the run!
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