There is always a “second best” choice. But it seems like that a second best can be even better than the best.
There are different ways to get old. A few years ago I wrote about a demented president of a micro company that I worked for. He tried hard to find and point out other people’s mistakes to show he was smarter than others, but it never worked out. He was around 60 years old then. On the other hand, there are amazing elders. I was impressed by this internet article, 70-year-old woman runs 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days. Even a 70-year-old woman who runs a full marathon is amazing enough. And she did SEVEN marathons on SEVEN continents in SEVEN days! This fact is incredible enough, and her comment impressed me further.
“I live a stressful life. Every day, I work 10 hours a day … but I always feel better,” Smith said. “How I feel after I put in my running, I think that’s important. It makes you feel good. I can’t really put it into words.”
Many people spend a busy, stressful life today. But how many of them can turn it into good feeling? Not many. When people work long hours daily and feel stressed, while some people simply live with it, probably “the best” solution is to reduce the workload and avoid stress. However, when the best one does not work, it seems like that some people choose “a second best” solution to do something else in their rare spare time to make themselves feel better. I admire them. In her case it turned out to be an amazing story and encourages others.
As I wrote in the previous post, my lifestyle will change soon, which I expect to be an opportunity to see how this year’s resolution would work; to mind my breath to be mindful. If workload cannot be reduced, another second best choice is to see the situation from a different perspective. Let’s see.