A long while ago, somebody said something to me that has stuck with me almost half of my life now, “A defeated man’s song is tragic to hear, but very easy to sing”

Honestly, I don’t even remember who told me this, but it took me a while to understand it. Even when your friends and family feel sorry and understanding because your song is tragic, let’s face it, choosing to admit defeat instead of fighting on is always the easier alternative. For anybody that said otherwise, I call bullshit.

Ever heard of “When life gives you lemon, make a lemonade out of it”? Yeah, I am sick of hearing that too. Sometimes, when life gives you lemon, guess what, you have to suck it up, smile and say “Thank you for that zesty lemon”.

This philosophy bleeds into my leadership style in my company. Generally, the higher your position is in any organization, the more people want to see how you react when shit hits the fan. They want to see if you are sweating. Never, ever, ever sweat.

It’s not because your underlings do not like you (some of them may) or because they want to see you going through hard times (again, some of them may), but they are looking at you to see if they, themselves should panic.

Now, what happens when that zingy lemon that life hands you seem to be in harvest? and you seem to keep on getting lemons among oranges?

Do you feel the anger? good, use it. Feel that anger rises from your middle region radiating outward. Feel it numbs your fingers. Now smile and say Thank you. Do not act rashly. Do not bottle it up, anger is one of the 8 basic human emotions that prove you are human. When your head is calmer, remember the anger you feel. Use that cold blue fury and plan how you can move forward.

Use the anger to pursue your goals, not as a revenge. Anger can be good if you utilize it to get to where you want to go, it can be destructive if you let it lead you.

In the end, when life gives you lemon and you feel angry, use that anger to motivate you, so next time you will see the lemon coming and you will have a peeler ready to make that lemonade.

The kid is asleep, dishes are put away and you have ticked off the final to-do on your to-do list.

You finally have some time for yourself.

Now, what do you do with this time before you are ready to go to bed?

In this post, I want to share with you 3 questions I ask myself almost every night when I finally have time for myself.

1. Did I do something that makes me learn today?
2. Did I do something that makes me healthier today?
3. Did I work on a hobby/ task that helps me create today?

I know, at this point you are thinking “Oh heck no, this post is a clickbait” and you have probably heard these 3 questions before. But before you click the back button and call me a no-good-lying-sack-of-red-beans, please bear with me and let me try to explain to you why these 3 questions deserve your reflection every day.

1. Did I Do Something That Makes Me Learn Today?

I am not asking if you learn something new today, but did you actively tried to learn something today. This can be as simple as reading a book for 5 minutes in the morning, or watching a 7 minutes tutorial YouTube instead of the news.

There is a boatload of research (which I could link, but you are most likely not going to click on) that links dopamine (that chemical in your brain that stimulates happiness) to learning in children and grown adults among other benefits.

Proactively trying to learn something everyday make you able to relate to more people because there are more topics you can talk about. It helps you learn new things faster in the future because your brain, like a muscle is better conditioned to absorb new information.

For me, I have been trying to read a book as I drink my breakfast and coffee in the morning (I wake up before my wife and kid). On days where my eyes are just about 3 Watt (very dim) in the morning, I watched tutorial on YouTube for Filmora Video Editing.

2. Did I Do Something That Makes Me Healthier Today?

For this, it’s simpler said than done. But did you order the salad instead of the burger? Did you buy the skimmed milk instead of the full cream?

I am not saying that you should suddenly become a vegetarian, just a small change in behavior to kickstart what hopefully will become a good habit. If you usually order a large soda with your lunch, maybe this time order a medium.

For the longest time, I can honestly say my answer to this question is a “NO!” Like I said in my last post, I used to wake up with shoulder and neck pain due to bad posture. I got sick easily because I don’t watch my diet.

Starting October of last year, I started a smoothie breakfast diet every day and I noticed I rarely get sick. Granted, I was lazy to prepare breakfast and it was not because of a specific health choice.

But the smoothie diet snowballs into more healthy decisions. Starting 6 months ago, I started running because I have more energy. Running everyday boosts my energy level even more.

When your body is healthy, the world just seems that more colorful, you are less cranky and your body just feels…stable.

3. Did I Work On a Hobby/ Task That Helps Me Create, Today?

Now this is a tricky one. Where the first question deals with your intelligence and the second questions deals with your physical health, creativity does wonder for your heart and soul.

When you create something out of nothing, you feel pride, you feel better about yourself. Again, I am not saying that you should be the modern day Leonardo Da Vinci, but work on small things that help you create everyday.

If you always wanted to learn graphic designing, sharpen your pencil and put it on your desk today. Tomorrow, use that pencil to draw a line. The next, draw another line. Whatever it is, as long as it helps you create something everyday. Baby steps is fine, baby steps is great. That’s how everything starts.

During the COVID-19 lock down in May, my business couldn’t operate because of government regulation, so I decided that I wanted to paint my PC case. I finally finished painting 3 panels in 75 days. Not because I picked a hard design or my PC is full of corners and crooks (the panels are flat metal plate in case you are wondering), but because of baby steps.

There are days when I spent 5 minutes picking the colors that I want. Another day when I browsed the internet looking for design for 30 minutes.

At the end of the 75 days, I have PC panels that probably look better before I painted it. But, it is my PC panel. It is my work. I created the shapes and color that people see when they look at my PC.

Now, It’s Your Turn.

There. Hopefully I changed your mind regarding this post as a clickbait. I know how it feels when somebody show you a result of their work without knowing how they achieve it (washboard abs, 30 minutes animation video, a 300 pages book). But everybody starts somewhere and most of the time they started small and simple.

If you find that your answers to the above questions are “No,” don’t beat yourself up. Your situation is not the same with mine or other people. There will be days when you just can’t find the time to create something, learn something or eat healthy. Do not give up, keep fighting that uphill battle until you get at least 1 “Yes” out of 3, the rest will take care of itself.

The point is for us to continuously work on it everyday that one day we can look back and see we have made a mountain out of a molehill and that…feels empowering indeed.

But, until that day,

Try.

You promised yourself to wake up at 5 am to go running in the beginning of this year when you made the resolution to be healthier.

6 alarm snoozes from 4 different alarms later, you finally got out of bed and you are back to your old habit: same waking up time, washing your face and brushing your teeth to get ready for work.

Well, after intensive and rigorous research, I finally cracked the solution…if you can’t wake up to run, then run when you are already awake!

Brilliant and eye-opening, is it not?

Overwhelming? maybe, but don’t worry, in this post I will explain to you my process, my reasoning and why night time running is the best idea since sliced bread for you to get healthier.

Why Nighttime Running Works

1. Things Slow Down at Night.

Usually around 8:30 – 9 pm my kid is already asleep. If I were to run in the morning, I will be outside thinking “Is Mason awake yet?” every few minutes.

Night time is when things slow down and there are less things that require your attention.

2. If you can’t Wake Up to Run, Run When you are already Awake.

If you are like me, being able to wake up should already be an achievement. I am so lazy in the morning, that I literally blend my breakfast so I don’t have to chew it (I even post my recipe here). Morning jogging is just not going to work for me.

3. A Chance for you to Unwind and Reflect on the Day.

Exercising and unwinding may not the be the words that you think should go hand in hand, but running can help you de-stress.

I look forward to my running session because it feels almost meditative, a chance for me to think about my day, problems that I haven’t had a solution for yet. Yes, your body will feel tired, but your head feel clearer after a run

Why I Start Running at Night

I read a book by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, where he outlines that even dealing in corporate business, you have to have a “Heart of a Hustler.” Despite the sound of it, what this simply means is that it is not enough for you to want to work hard and be successful.

You have to commit to lifestyle choices that allow you to have the energy, focus and stamina to actually do the work and the way for you to do that is to prioritize leading a clean lifestyle and proactively try to preserve your body. The best way you can do that is through eating right and working out.

Jackson, 2020

Despite what you think about his public persona, if a guy is pushing 50, looks like Curtis Jackson and have the success that he has, he might be on to something.

At that point, I had been having shoulder and neck ache almost daily due to bad posture. There were days where I couldn’t even turn my neck 45 degrees to the side and my fingers feel numb and tingling (The chiropractor says that because of my posture, there were nerves that are pinched around my shoulder cuff area which leads to the numbness)

It was the quote above that made me really think about my health at the time. I do not doubt my work ethic and willpower when it comes to business but I do not think I will be able to maintain if I wake up in pain everyday at my age.

The Beginning

Admittedly, in the beginning it was difficult to get used to running at night because I am used to unwinding in front of my laptop or iPad after 8:30 pm. I had to keep reminding myself that my day is not over until I ran.

There are days when I don’t feel like running. On those days, I tell myself that I will just go out for a walk. Usually after walking a distance from my house, my body just go into “might as well make the best of it” mode.

The point is not to be too hard on yourself, a short run is still better than no run. A walk is still better than sitting on the sofa in front of the TV for the rest of the night.

If you ran for half a mile today, great, if you walk for a quarter mile tomorrow, that’s fine. Just get in the habit of walking out the door to exercise. Before you know it, even when you are not motivated, you will fall into the habit of running just because it is a routine.

One hack that I used is the “2-Days Rule.” Allow yourself a break or a cheat day, but do not go 2 days without running (hence the 2-days rule). You can learn more about this rule from Matt D’Avella’s YouTube Video here.

The Result

As of the time of this post, I have been running an average of 3 km (or 1.86 miles for my imperial system using friends) everyday, which I plan to increase gradually.

I wish I can tell you that it has been life changing and I feel drastic improvements. I don’t, but what I do notice are

• No more shoulder & neck pain. There are still days when I feel a little pain, but in general it has been very manageable.
• Weight loss. This was not my primary motivation, but I noticed a significant weight loss (3 kg) without changing my diet the first month I started running.
• Much better energy level. I cut down my caffeine intake from 7 – 9 cups of coffee a day to 2 – 3 cups a day just because I feel more energy throughout the day.
• More healthy decisions. Running leads me to drinking more water. Now I automatically reach for water instead of coffee when I am thirsty. This is also why I have been drinking less coffee. On days that I can’t run (rain or Mason), I also find more activities where we can be more active (chasing a balloon in our front yard).
• My body moves better and less sluggish. It’s not like I suddenly turn into Spider-Man but, I feel like my body moves a lot better, which may also due to the lack of shoulder and neck pain.

Note that the above results are based on my observation and not something that happens overnight. I slowly notice that I can play with my son longer without running out of breath. I woke up more often to find that my neck could turn with my body without feeling pain. Everything comes gradually.

How about you? have you been on the fence about running but couldn’t wake up in the morning? well maybe you should give night time running a try. Put on your headphone, play your best playlist or that podcast you have been wanting to listen and just run.

Come back and tell me how it goes.