Tuesday Tidbits: Life Lessons Learned From Exercising

I like exercising. Because I like food, mostly. I also like the feeling I have when I’m done. Reminds me of an old joke: A man sees his friend hitting himself on the head with a hammer. “Why are you hitting yourself with a hammer,” he asks. His friend replies, “ Because it feels so good when I stop.” Not a really funny joke, and I don’t remember the last time that I heard it — Probably very long ago…

Running and cycling are my favorites. They allow for inward and outward explorations of different locations both inward and outward. Sometimes, I will get lost in my thoughts – not enough to ignore traffic – but enough to make time fly by. Exercise can be an escape, a way to burn off some negative energy (and calories), focus on things that really matter, and be a stress reliever.

I started this list with the quote in the picture. I claim to have made it up, but maybe someone said it before me. If it matters, I wrote it in 2019 (that’s my way of copyrighting…). The rest followed soon after. So to begin:

“I do my best writing when I am running or hurting. Often, that is the same time…”

Which led to:

• Going downhill is easy, the challenge is getting back to the top.
• One foot in front of the other is the way to move forward.
• No pain, no gain is unfortunately true.
• The wind is rarely at your back, so take advantage of it when it is.
• Quitting is a sure way to fail.
• Personal bests are more rewarding than victory over others.
• Sometimes you just need to take a break.
• Take the hard road as often as you can, save the easy one for when you really need it.
• Sometimes you can go it alone, other times, you need help.
• Goals are like chin-ups. Spread out, anyone can do 10.
• Sometimes, all you need is a smile and encouragement to get you to the finish line.
• You may come in last, but there are more people that never even tried.

Are there more? Probably. I have many more miles to go before my life journey ends, and I intend to make the most of them.

-Leon

Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.