I proved myself wrong with week
006. and a reminder to sit in the mediocre moments a little longer.
"I'd tell men and women in their mid-twenties not to settle for a job or a profession or even a career. Seek a calling. Even if you don't know what that means, seek it. If you're following your calling, the fatigue will be easier to bear, the disappointments will be fuel, the highs will be like nothing you've ever felt." - Phil Knight.
Funny how much some of us (me included) let the sun affect us. This week the sun was out all week, and I was back on the building site and absolutely loving it again. They say never go shopping when you are hungry and I’d almost back that with don’t make any big decisions when the sun is out. I was asked to come on board full-time and I actually thought about it. As I said last week, the building site for me is a comfort bubble, a bubble I could probably sit in for a very long time. But I know, oh boy I know, there’s so much more out in the world for me.
Fun and interesting jobs for me to do, places I have to visit first, mountains to run and climb and people in cafes on the other side of the world for me to have conversations with.
This week’s stack is a little different. I started one the other day but today, on my run, I had a new thought that I wanted to share.
I proved myself wrong this week.
My top priority currently is movement. Mainly focusing on running but welcoming and pushing swimming and cycling to the agenda. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been back to full-time work being a tradie. Early starts and, sometimes, late finishes. I was close to putting my priority on the sidelines for a while. Conversations with myself like; “All good. I’ll just run less these weeks.” “It’s fine if you can’t get it done every day.”
This week I ran one of my biggest weeks in 11 weeks and still scored over 11 and half hours of training for the week while being back out on site. It’s like I forgot that there are 24 hours in the day? My attitude towards the thing fills my cup so much just dropped off the side of a cliff. Goodbye, thanks for coming. “Well if I can’t run in the trails every day for 90 minutes, what’s the point.”
I’ve trained for my last 3 ultras while working full-time. So I know what it takes to get motivated for it. But because I don’t have any big races on the calendar at the moment it was just okay to drop it all together, idiot behaviour on my end.
5 a.m. alarms aren’t that scary. I just got lazy for a moment.
Swimming in the afternoons is quite wonderful, especially as the sun sets and I get to see the sun shine through the pool while I swim 25m up and 25m back for an hour or so.
And don’t forget about the weekends. Wow, we can load them up with some goodness.
It might not be perfect, but what is perfect? You have to choose your regret in life. Sure, I’d love to run on the trails each morning and roll into the pool at any time in the afternoon. But that won’t get me to my next overseas mission. Money is required for that and being on-site provides me with the freedom to get there stress-free.
So here’s to showing up. Here’s to re-writing the script and to continuing to fill the cup despite weeks coming across as ‘busy.’
Part 2 of this stack is a reminder and this week’s challenge, to myself, and others to; Sit in the mediocre moments a little longer.
Whether that’s at the traffic lights on your way to work, use the time to be present and look around a little more.
At the local cafe while you wait for your morning cup of goodness, compliment the barista on their shirt.
While you head out on your jog, smile and say G’day to a few more humans than you did last time.
A moment that I enjoyed this week was when I was sitting at the traffic lights, pondering, and looking around and to my right to see a little kid walk into a vacant block and just sprint as fast as he could. In circles, zig-zagging around. Hands up, hands down, hands like he was an aeroplane. He was living and you know he was waiting for that moment all day. It made me smile so much so that that night I decided to do a bit of speed work on my evening run. I was as fast as him but I had a crack and smiled like he did.
Not only that was a reminder to pause and look around but to also channel our inner child more often.
I’d love to hear about some mediocre moments that made you smile. Whether that be at work, while cleaning the house, washing your car or on the bus on the way to a meeting.
Happy Sunday lovers.
Keep showing up. See you at 5 a.m tomorrow.
Jono
Written under the sun in the backyard of my current living headquarters.
In Parkside, Adelaide.
