When Excitement Gets In The Way
One week has gone by. I was too excited to get into the exercise portion of The Happy Body program that I failed to follow it properly.
I didn’t realize until Friday that the reps and sets I was doing weren’t enough. This reminded me of that time I jumped into the pool even though I didn’t know how to swim.
I was either 10 or 11 or maybe younger. Going to a swimming pool was like going to Disney (for me) back then.
I overheard from one of my cousins that there was a pair of swimming goggles no one was using. My spider-sense tingled – the thought of looking clearly underwater excited me. So as soon as I heard of the unused goggles, I rushed the hell out of the (shallow) pool to get it.
As soon as I got a-hold of the goggles, I put them on and rushed back to the pool area.
I jumped into the first sight of a pool I came across and canon-balled myself in it.
But here’s the detail I totally forgot about: there was a shallow pool and a deep pool.
Anyway, I kept going down the water…to what it seemed like an eternity. It then dawned on me that I was in the deep pool.
That realization got me to swing my arms up and down and all around, just anything to help me get back up to the surface.
Luckily, one of my cousins was walking by and saw the whole thing and pulled me up to safety.
I don’t know if he still remembers saving my life. But it was a story something we could laugh about. If he’s wondering what the hell was I thinking…well this is why.
The moral? Don’t let your emotions whether it be excitement or anger get the best of you.
Circling back to The Happy Body, I jumped into the exercises without reading and understanding how the program works. Most people don’t take the time to read instructions and we pride ourselves on figuring it all out without reading. Because we are smart. But that’s our ego talking.
Man, I really thought my flexibility improved after following the exercise section of the program for one week. But that was a biased thought.
Coffee at 6:30…PM
6:30 PM is the time allocated to wash the dishes or play video games or read e-mails or watch Youtube videos.
It’s that time of the day I use to wind down, go all out on things that aren’t “important”.
But this week was an exception. That time slot was spent to catch up with a friend (from out-of-town) and my cousin (whom I haven’t talked to for years).
Topics discussed include each others’ daily life, weekly hang out with friends, business ideas, raising kids and future plans. Topics that don’t typically come up on family gatherings or parties.
Honest opinions were shared by both sides.
Is it the decaf coffee?
Or is it the vulnerability that naturally happens between two or three people talking?
As an introvert, I prefer 1-on-1 coffee talks as opposed to going to a catch-up dinner with a big group.
Wait, I don’t have anything against going out with a big group. All I’m saying is that people are less likely to share what is really up with them when they’re with a bigger group.
In most cases, we only touch on the “surface updates”. No one really wants to share the details of what’s really going on with them. “Everything is good” or “Same old” are the ones you usually hear. I’m sure everyone has something they’re excited about or (at least) complain about.
But I also understand why we hesitate to share (and I can respect that). It’s to avoid criticism.
The truth is: we only share our real story to the people who (we believe) deeply care about us.
One-Month Review
I had my one-month review and I performed with flying colors.
But before I pat myself on the back, I wanna know HOW I’m doing well.
My supervisor explained why and I don’t disagree. He also made a point that he wasn’t bullshitting.
I need to get better at receiving compliments. But at the same time, take everything with a grain of salt.
It became a habit for me to dismiss good criticism and embrace the bad ones. I thought it was essential for improvement. But it’s unhealthy.
But I’m a work-in-progress. The feedback received is going to be used for course-correction.