(READING TIME: ~12 minutes)
I completed my #30daychallenge running 5 km every day for 30 days. Totalling to 154.8 kms.
And I was blown away with what I discovered…
1. YOUR FAMILY IS YOUR WORST ENEMY
“There is nobody to prove to.”
“There is nothing to achieve.”
“If it get’s too painful, just quit.”
“It’ll be okay if it doesn’t work.”
I heard this from them. Over and over again.
And there are times when we would just quit because they said so. We don’t know when its pushing ‘too far’. But ‘too far’ sounds scary. I never want to go there.
Your family will discourage you. They feel your pain. They want to protect you.
But you will know when to push forward. And when to stop. Don’t let your family make you quit. On something that means something. Meaning, that you have been working so hard to find. Don’t listen to your family and loved ones. You will know when to quit. And when to push forward.
Oh and yes, they, your family, are your best friends. Once they see your determination, they will help you with all their might. They will give you all the support you ever need.
You just have to prove how badly you want it.
2. YOUR CHILDHOOD HAS ALL THE ANSWERS YOU SEEK
I used to do distance running in school. Won a few medals. And then completely stopped.
But sometimes you just know what you should do. You don’t know why. You can’t answer the questions when people ask. You. Just. Know.
Lucky for me, at the right time, a close friend gave me a book to read. Born to run, by Chirstopher McDougall. And it blew my mind. It all came back to me.
Childhood is innocence. When you’re a child, there’s no logic. You go by how it feels. If it feels right, you do it.
We all have our primal instincts. Things that we did over and over again, in the early days of school. In pure innocence. Nobody told us to do them. We didn’t care what other people thought. Some of us started sketching. Some wrote poems. Some played a sport. Some loved to cook. Each of us had a few things we loved. And we never thought why.
If you’re like me and have ever felt something’s missing, find out what you did when you were a child. From the ages of 7 to 12 years. Take one thing you used to love to do.
Go buy that guitar. Or the paints. Or the calligraphy set. Or simply go for a run. Like you used to. Do what makes you happy. Do what feels right.
Your childhood has the answers that you are seeking.
3. YOU WILL HAVE BAD DAYS
My first few days were tough. I hadn’t run for a few months. In fact, I hadn’t moved much. At the time, I was on a see food diet. I ate almost all of what my eyes saw.
On 12th March 2015, it was the 16th day of my #30daychallenge. I was hurting. A pain I was not familiar with. I had shin splints. A bad case. And the pain would not go away. So, on the encouragement of my wife, I procrastinated. It was a concedable reason. But by evening, after ‘feeling guilty’ all day, I finally went for a very painful 5k run @ 6.07/km.
Kamal Ravikant said this about pain, “There is magic on the other side.” At the time it is difficult to push through, but trust that there is magic on the other side. You may break through a new barrier.
4. YOU WILL WANT TO QUIT
The next few days after my 16th day, were painful. I wanted to change from the evening to the morning routine but couldn’t. Because that meant running in the evening and then again the next morning.
That was a bit much for my shins. I secretly wanted to get in even more pain. So that I collapse. And then quit. I thought of seeing my physio. But I knew she would scare me into quitting. Because she cares. I could barely walk after every run. For a few hours.
Then I met a fellow runner at my Son’s school, by chance. He told me what I should do, which I already knew but never did. I started using ice packs on my shins after runs. I started stretching more. I improved my diet. And I started trying to get a full night’s sleep.
It’s funny how when you want something really bad, it always comes to you. Its happened to me many times.
And the message to action is usually what you already knew. But you never did it before. It creates an opportunity for action. Action is the beginning of the new. A new discovery. A new experience. A new skill. A new life.
So when the time comes, when you want to quit, ‘Celebrate It’. Magic is about to happen.
5. YOU BEGIN TO LOVE PAIN
“Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you’re not…., you’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”
“Sometimes you’ve got to go through hell to get to heaven.”
Wise words by Dean Karnazes, multiple-time winner of the Badwater Ultramarathon. The deadliest 135-mile race in the middle of Death Valley, California. People die.
I always wondered why people run. It hurts very bad. You get injuries. Its extreme. And to think running is one of the few, if not the only, sport in the world, in which people pay a lot of money to travel half way around to world to be in extreme pain. And I still heard a lot of these people say that they love pain.
Wha?? Ok, so let me stab myself and see if I get excited! I thought.
It seemed absurd. There was no logic. So like I do with all disguised wisdom I get, I brushed it aside. Threw it out. Rejected it. And kept the excuses safely locked in. Close to my heart. It seemed the only logical thing to do.
Till now.
Then I realised that pain, is painful. And when it happens, nothing about it, is exciting. But after that, magic happens. You feel strangely great. Like you broke some barrier. You feel bizarrely triumphant. Ecstatic. Weirdly happy. Fulfilled. There’s no feeling like it.
And then you want more. Pain, is addictive.
6. YOU ARE THE DEVIL
Let’s be straight.
The disrespect and dishonor you feel, has nothing to do with others. Remember the last time someone gave you a compliment and you still found a reason to get upset? They said you’re looking great. You thought they’re fucking with you.
YOU, sir, are the Devil.
The only time I have ever been cheated, is when I cheated on myself. Only my incongruity with my core, made me feel disrespected. Lied to. Dishonored. Saying that you don’t care anymore, is also just trying to move the blame on others. For your own iniquity.
I use a phone app to record my runs. Strava. During a run, Strava malfunctioned. After only 1.53 minutes and about 300 meters in, it announced “Distance – 1 km”. I die to hear those words. Every kilometer.
That day, it was even more exciting than usual.
I was hurting. I had fever. My head hurt really bad. I had taken a med before the run. The Devil in me said, “One kilometer won’t make a difference. The total will still show 150.”
I stopped. Put on my favourite James Altucher podcast. Reset my app. And ran the full 5km+.
I called the bullshit. I called myself out. It was time I stopped lying to myself.
7. YOUR WORD IS YOUR WORLD
For some reason, I’ve never been happy with my fitness. Or lack of it.
The idea for my #30daychallenge came out of nowhere. It was a fleeting thought. I abruptly announced that I was going to do this. Even though, secretly, I had no intention to. Like always, I thought I’ll do it for a few days. And quit if it gets too tough. 30 days seemed too long.
The only reason for me to complete my #30daychallenge was to keep my word. That’s it.
After the first few seconds of that, it was not about fitness. I was already getting stressed.
Fitness, anyway, can be just a few walks and some stretching. But I thought, there’s a reason I made the abrupt announcement. Somewhere, I felt the need. In my gut. I had given my word.
The #30daychallenge was not just a challenge for me. It was a practice to keep my word. A word that had been broken. One too many times. A word that would require a lot of me, to keep. But I wanted to keep it just because. I wanted to have faith in my word. Myself. I wanted to be proud. I wanted respect. I wanted to be honest. I wanted to love myself.
Your ‘word’ comes from your core. It is the word of your soul. Protect it with everything you have.
8. NEVER FOCUS ON THE “WHY”
We’re all about finding the WHY. What does it mean? What will it lead to? How will my future change?
Plan. Be smart. But don’t get lost in the WHY. If it feels good. And if it feels right, do it. That’s it.
I’ve made plans. Many plans. For Business. New ideas. For getting the body I want. The foods I should eat. And where I need to get them from. My Evernote is full of lists. And To Do’s.
Two years ago, I started asking myself – What is it that I really want to do for the rest of my life?
I still don’t know the answer. Maybe I never will. But, more often than not, it points me in a riveting direction – “Do, today, what feels right.”
I don’t know why I run. There is nothing logical about running 150 km. But, in my gut, I knew I wanted it. And now, having done it, I am uncovering more from the experience, than I had imagined.
I’m just getting started.
9. YOU ARE WORRIED FOR NOTHING
Well, as long as you don’t get scared half to death, twice, it’ll be okay.
“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.”
I was worried I will not complete my challenge.
I was worried I will not keep my word. Yet again.
I was worried I will let myself down.
I worried about the pain.
30 days is too long.
Some of it happened. Most of it didn’t. It was easier than I thought.
Worry is misuse. Of energy. Of imagination. Of creativity. It is misdirected thought.
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength”
10. WHAT TO DO NEXT
Many times in my life, I have had an epiphany.
In a novel perplexing situation, I realise if I had done ‘that’ something in the past, I would’ve known what to do right now. I didn’t do it. And now, this, is a lost opportunity.
Every experience matters. Your being, is directing you to something. Listen to it. Do it. Even if it doesn’t make sense right now. Believe that the dots will somehow connect in the future. Trust in uncertainty. Be with the questions. Don’t rush for the answers.
My #30daychallenge began with wanting to be fitter. Its given me a lot more than I bargained for. And as I write this, its pointing me in new directions. I don’t know where it will eventually lead. But I have a sense of what I need to do next.
It has given me an opening. Now, I can see the light.
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
And the thing to do right now, is that, which feels right.
“You have to do what feels right for you. It is your mind, your heart, and your own internal wisdom that will lead you in the direction you need to go.”
10 Things I Learnt 