You don’t have to prove anyone wrong;
you just have to prove yourself right.
Truth be told, today marks the end of my streak of going to the gym every day from Monday to Friday without missing a single day.
When I first decided to start this plan, I thought it wouldn’t last long. I used to be inconsistent, undisciplined, and lacking perseverance—excited to exercise only for a couple of days. I was someone who rarely finished what I started.
My main goal was simply to finish it once, to prove to myself that I could follow through if I wanted to. Just like when I studied and earned a scholarship at Paragon, or when I took a solo trip to New York, or completed a four-year degree while working and managing a leadership project. Just like when I promised myself four years ago to keep a website active and have kept that promise. Now, this is one of my proudest moments, if not the proudest, where I can look back, pat myself on the back, and say, “Well done.” I made it to day 59—that’s not a bad number, just not a round one.
My goal was never about the number of days I could keep showing up at the gym. My goal is bigger than that. It’s to work out for a lifetime, not just for a week, a month, or a year, and not just for a frisbee tournament, but to live a healthy lifestyle and keep challenging myself every day. That’s the goal.
Now, I have two ways to view whether or not I legitimately missed a workout:
At first, I thought I wouldn’t count it as missing the streak because I didn’t have a choice—I had to go on a trip to Japan with Rod to celebrate my birthday. It wasn’t under my control; it’s not like I missed my workout because I was lazy or gave up.
Later on, during the trip in Japan, I got engrossed in Michael Jordan’s “The Last Dance” documentary. I’d watched it before, but for some reason, I watched it again during the trip. There are 10 episodes, and I finished them all. There was one phrase that kept repeating, stated by Michael Jordan and his bodybuilding coach Tim Grover: his mentality was to win at all costs. I was fascinated by that phrase, how powerful and sacrificial it would be “to WIN at ALL COSTS.” That’s when I realized and looked back at my gym streak, and I understood that I did have a choice. That choice was not going to Japan.
But I did choose to go, so that’s the choice I made. If I had really wanted it as badly as Michael Jordan wanted the NBA championship, I would have chosen to stay and keep working out.
Even though I chose to go to Japan, that doesn’t mean I couldn’t work out. I just chose not to, with excuses like being too tired from a long flight, a whole day of walking, and feeling drained. I could have done a light workout, exercised without equipment, but I didn’t. All because of excuses.
All in all, reflecting on this experience helps me prepare for the future. This situation will likely happen again with upcoming events like leading students to Malaysia, participating in an Ultimate Frisbee Tournament in Thailand, celebrating New Year in Hong Kong, and more. Therefore, it’s better to prepare for what I can do better instead of just celebrating achievements or sorrowing on past mistakes.
When you’re traveling, try to do some light bodyweight workouts like push-ups, split squats, ab exercises, and more. The goal is to keep your muscles active and stretched.
Anyways, here’s today exercises.
Actual Date: 29 July, 2024
Belated Date: 05 August, 2024