28 Comments
Mar 30, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson

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!! :)

Expand full comment

"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!

Expand full comment
Mar 30, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson

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.

Expand full comment
Mar 30, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson

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!

Expand full comment

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.

Expand full comment

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”.

Expand full comment

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?

Expand full comment
Mar 31, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson

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....

Expand full comment
Mar 31, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson

Thank you. Xenia. Very small one in Xenia, OH. Close by. Keeping it as simple as possible. I'm ready and stoked!

Expand full comment
Mar 31, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson

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.

Expand full comment
Mar 31, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson

Thank you for inspiration.

Expand full comment
Mar 31, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson

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!

Expand full comment

This was great, and I really needed this right now. Thank you!

Expand full comment

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

Expand full comment
Mar 30, 2023Liked by Terrell Johnson

Great advice!

Expand full comment

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!

Expand full comment