Once again, it is focus. Stay the same path--one I nearly abandoned last winter, ticking it off to old age, aches and pains and moving. Oh well. . .
Thanks to an aging mentor and his pointing out that running changes dramatically as we get older, I kept my seat on the bus and look forward to more great runs. Only one way to move, one step at a time. What was done previously doesn't exist, we can only live in the now.
Wonderful article, one I will look back to time and time again. Thanks!! :)
So, so true -- that's what Oliver Burkeman gets across so well in the book, too. How all we really have is today, though we distract ourselves to an incredible degree to avoid that reality. It's kind of mind-bending when you think about it! 😃
You know, it's even hard for those who have become monastics! I've known Swamis who meditate several times a day, but get caught up in distractions. Ah, the monkey mind, it keeps us busy!
"Stay on the f'n bus!" This essay was great--as yours always are. And it's something I have been thinking about all week based on a goal I've been carrying around for years. There's wisdom in staying the course, but there are times when you know you probably need to get off the f'n bus, move countries, and go to Sweden instead. The hardest darn thing is trying to figure out when "giving up"--is not giving up, but making a wise choice to take a different path. If only there were an app!
I know! It is SO hard. I look back on certain decisions in my own life, kind of in a "Sliding Doors" way, and wonder "what if I'd stayed in that job instead of leaving it?" Maybe they're right in "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and there's a multiverse in which we're living all our possible lives simultaneously 🤷♂️
In all seriousness, I so get what you're saying and why deciding whether to stay on or get off the bus is definitely not easy. There's always the "road not taken" question that looms over everything we do. I wish I had easy answers 😃
PS--Loved Sliding Doors--time to rewatch--and also loved EE...I'm trying to expand my thinking here by contemplating the role of Quantum Physics (a la multiverse way of thinking), but it's hurting my head. I'll report if I find the silver bullet solution. 😁
Hi Terrell! I started training this week for a marathon and I want you to know that when it gets hard and I feel like quitting Im going to borrow the phrase: stay on the fucking bus :) Thank you.
Thank you Terrell! I love this. It's funny I was just noticing this about myself. will sit down on that bus and stay there awhile, even look out the window.
I am not saying that we can’t learn from others. In fact, we must learn from everyone. All is grist for the mill. But we are unique personalities wired in our own fashion. We must understand our own schematic and decide if to re-wire and how. It is an attitude that looks upon our presence on earth as sacred, but time limited. One I must embrace and live deliberately and fully without intentionally harming any sentient being in the process. And as I continue to age and learn, I know the human condition we all live within makes me realize how important we all are to each other. Family, Friendships and our communities matter. We can all do our parts to make them precious. As one esteemed author says, “Life is precious, where life is precious”.
Thanks for sharing Terrell. There are so many self-improvement books in the marketplace. I am amazed at all the books created to tell us the best way to live our lives and how many of us read them. Perhaps the question we need to ask is why we are drawn to them? Socrates urged us to “Know thyself”. Now that is a life long journey worth undertaking. The Socratic Bus is the one I want to travel. And I want to drive it and get lost and find my own way each and every day. Life is so short. Why subcontract any portion of it out?
Thx for sharing your first M plan - it’s cute and must bring back great memories. Was hit by many shocks on the work and allergy front this week so my proud claim on Sunday that march challenge was in the pocket with just 3 miles short of the 35 mile target, has been shattered. Friday evening question is whether to pull out of this funk and do a quick 3 miler or just get on the bus tomorrow....
Very similar to the one I paid $10 for from Runner's World for my first marathon this Sunday. My peak long runs were a little higher at 18 and 20. I ran them even longer due to 3 years of a very strong base. I'll let you know how it goes.
Great article. Drilling down the number of weeks we can reasonably expect in a lifetime really puts in perspective how we spend our time. This is on my must read list!
Man, Oliver Burkeman's work is fun. I loved "Four Thousand Weeks" for the same reasons you did, and yes, "stay on the bus" is such a powerful and wise metaphor, and you sum it up so well here.
But the thing that's stuck with me the most is from his final column for The Guardian, and it certainly lends itself to running, so I'll post it here:
*****
THE CAPACITY TO TOLERATE MINOR DISCOMFORT IS A SUPERPOWER.
It’s shocking to realise how readily we set aside even our greatest ambitions in life, merely to avoid easily tolerable levels of unpleasantness. You already know it won’t kill you to endure the mild agitation of getting back to work on an important creative project; initiating a difficult conversation with a colleague; asking someone out; or checking your bank balance – but you can waste years in avoidance nonetheless. (This is how social media platforms flourish: by providing an instantly available, compelling place to go at the first hint of unease.)
It’s possible, instead, to make a game of gradually increasing your capacity for discomfort, like weight training at the gym. When you expect that an action will be accompanied by feelings of irritability, anxiety or boredom, it’s usually possible to let that feeling arise and fade, while doing the action anyway. The rewards come so quickly, in terms of what you’ll accomplish, that it soon becomes the more appealing way to live.
Stay on the Bus is about focus ... but each time I do a half in a new location, I get the work done but I have gone outside the city, finding new things to look at ... new buildings, unique flora, a new sign that keeps me focused for a couple of miles. I’ll get the shirt,.too!
Once again, it is focus. Stay the same path--one I nearly abandoned last winter, ticking it off to old age, aches and pains and moving. Oh well. . .
Thanks to an aging mentor and his pointing out that running changes dramatically as we get older, I kept my seat on the bus and look forward to more great runs. Only one way to move, one step at a time. What was done previously doesn't exist, we can only live in the now.
Wonderful article, one I will look back to time and time again. Thanks!! :)
So, so true -- that's what Oliver Burkeman gets across so well in the book, too. How all we really have is today, though we distract ourselves to an incredible degree to avoid that reality. It's kind of mind-bending when you think about it! 😃
You know, it's even hard for those who have become monastics! I've known Swamis who meditate several times a day, but get caught up in distractions. Ah, the monkey mind, it keeps us busy!
"Stay on the f'n bus!" This essay was great--as yours always are. And it's something I have been thinking about all week based on a goal I've been carrying around for years. There's wisdom in staying the course, but there are times when you know you probably need to get off the f'n bus, move countries, and go to Sweden instead. The hardest darn thing is trying to figure out when "giving up"--is not giving up, but making a wise choice to take a different path. If only there were an app!
I know! It is SO hard. I look back on certain decisions in my own life, kind of in a "Sliding Doors" way, and wonder "what if I'd stayed in that job instead of leaving it?" Maybe they're right in "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and there's a multiverse in which we're living all our possible lives simultaneously 🤷♂️
In all seriousness, I so get what you're saying and why deciding whether to stay on or get off the bus is definitely not easy. There's always the "road not taken" question that looms over everything we do. I wish I had easy answers 😃
PS--Loved Sliding Doors--time to rewatch--and also loved EE...I'm trying to expand my thinking here by contemplating the role of Quantum Physics (a la multiverse way of thinking), but it's hurting my head. I'll report if I find the silver bullet solution. 😁
Hi Terrell! I started training this week for a marathon and I want you to know that when it gets hard and I feel like quitting Im going to borrow the phrase: stay on the fucking bus :) Thank you.
We need to get T-shirts printed! 🤣 🙌
Great Idea! Make sure they are performance fabric!! :)
I needed this today! The bus is such a wonderful metaphor and weaving your experience in with it makes it all the more impactful. Thanks!
Thank you, Andrew!
Thank you Terrell! I love this. It's funny I was just noticing this about myself. will sit down on that bus and stay there awhile, even look out the window.
I am not saying that we can’t learn from others. In fact, we must learn from everyone. All is grist for the mill. But we are unique personalities wired in our own fashion. We must understand our own schematic and decide if to re-wire and how. It is an attitude that looks upon our presence on earth as sacred, but time limited. One I must embrace and live deliberately and fully without intentionally harming any sentient being in the process. And as I continue to age and learn, I know the human condition we all live within makes me realize how important we all are to each other. Family, Friendships and our communities matter. We can all do our parts to make them precious. As one esteemed author says, “Life is precious, where life is precious”.
Thanks for sharing Terrell. There are so many self-improvement books in the marketplace. I am amazed at all the books created to tell us the best way to live our lives and how many of us read them. Perhaps the question we need to ask is why we are drawn to them? Socrates urged us to “Know thyself”. Now that is a life long journey worth undertaking. The Socratic Bus is the one I want to travel. And I want to drive it and get lost and find my own way each and every day. Life is so short. Why subcontract any portion of it out?
Now that's an interesting way of looking at it... I like that!
Thx for sharing your first M plan - it’s cute and must bring back great memories. Was hit by many shocks on the work and allergy front this week so my proud claim on Sunday that march challenge was in the pocket with just 3 miles short of the 35 mile target, has been shattered. Friday evening question is whether to pull out of this funk and do a quick 3 miler or just get on the bus tomorrow....
Thank you. Xenia. Very small one in Xenia, OH. Close by. Keeping it as simple as possible. I'm ready and stoked!
Very similar to the one I paid $10 for from Runner's World for my first marathon this Sunday. My peak long runs were a little higher at 18 and 20. I ran them even longer due to 3 years of a very strong base. I'll let you know how it goes.
Good luck, Tim! Which marathon is it?
Thank you for inspiration.
Great article. Drilling down the number of weeks we can reasonably expect in a lifetime really puts in perspective how we spend our time. This is on my must read list!
This was great, and I really needed this right now. Thank you!
Thanks, Scott! That means a lot to hear 🙌
Man, Oliver Burkeman's work is fun. I loved "Four Thousand Weeks" for the same reasons you did, and yes, "stay on the bus" is such a powerful and wise metaphor, and you sum it up so well here.
But the thing that's stuck with me the most is from his final column for The Guardian, and it certainly lends itself to running, so I'll post it here:
*****
THE CAPACITY TO TOLERATE MINOR DISCOMFORT IS A SUPERPOWER.
It’s shocking to realise how readily we set aside even our greatest ambitions in life, merely to avoid easily tolerable levels of unpleasantness. You already know it won’t kill you to endure the mild agitation of getting back to work on an important creative project; initiating a difficult conversation with a colleague; asking someone out; or checking your bank balance – but you can waste years in avoidance nonetheless. (This is how social media platforms flourish: by providing an instantly available, compelling place to go at the first hint of unease.)
It’s possible, instead, to make a game of gradually increasing your capacity for discomfort, like weight training at the gym. When you expect that an action will be accompanied by feelings of irritability, anxiety or boredom, it’s usually possible to let that feeling arise and fade, while doing the action anyway. The rewards come so quickly, in terms of what you’ll accomplish, that it soon becomes the more appealing way to live.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/sep/04/oliver-burkemans-last-column-the-eight-secrets-to-a-fairly-fulfilled-life
Oooooh -- I will check this out. Thank you, my friend!
Great advice!
Stay on the Bus is about focus ... but each time I do a half in a new location, I get the work done but I have gone outside the city, finding new things to look at ... new buildings, unique flora, a new sign that keeps me focused for a couple of miles. I’ll get the shirt,.too!