Sustainable growth

I’m busy for the first time in my life. In a good way, that is. Most of my leisure time is occupied by hobbies, spending time with family and friends. For someone who was never able to stick to doing something for a long period, I’m happy to change this about myself. Be it gaming, coding side projects, reading or any other simple hobby you could think of, I’d always jump in with full enthusiasm, spend huge amounts of time on something, burnout, still push through and end up not wanting to touch the topic again.

When I wanted to go on a trek couple of years ago, I had to run regularly to get fit. My goal was simple: I should be able to enjoy the trek despite the physical stress. I downloaded Nike Run Club app and started following a 5K plan. It was an 8-week plan with 5 runs a week. The first two weeks were tough but after that I started enjoying the process. So, I started pushing myself to go faster and by the end of the 4th week I had an ankle injury from stress. I had not the physical strength to support my mileage or pace. A friend suggested that I get a fitness trainer and with his help, I recovered soon. I was able to enjoy the trek.

After coming back, I was reflecting on this whole process and set a goal for myself: I should never burnout from running. I should make steady progress over time. I continued to run. Everytime I had the urge to increase the distance or speed disproportionately, I pulled myself back. It felt a bit uneasy at the beginning but I got used to it.

I apply the same thing to other topics as well now: The only goal I have is to not stop however little progress there is. After 2 years of practising this, I can say it’s a powerful process. I don’t feel stressed out by artificial, self imposed markers of growth. I spend time doing things sustainably.