Become Like the Wind…or, um, not

I am in Week 6 of the Couch to 5k Running Program for super beginners. Looking for some inspiration, I keep returning to Tenno Haruka’s beautiful poem on the album “Uranus, Neptune, Chibi-Moon Plus.”

Some awkwardly translated lyrics can be found here. This poem reminds me strongly of the flashback episode of Sailor Moon S when Haruka and Michiru first meet.  Titled, “The Bond of Destiny! The Distant Days of Uranus” (運命のきずな!ウラヌスの遠い日), the episode begins with Haruka as a track star. She runs and runs like the wind, for all the wrong reasons.

But after meeting that sly cat Michiru, Haruka accepts her destiny.

She is still obsessed with speed, but not as a form of escapism, letting the world blur together and fly off into space.  When exhausted and confused, she runs to become the wind as a source of strength.

When that happens, I will become the wind. I will become a wind, more beautiful than anyone. I will become a wind stronger than anything.

For me to be me…I cut through the haze of heat. Sweat slowly pours down. Exposed to the light, the world is fully exposed. That is the one space that’s just mine. For me to not be me…

If I don’t keep running, I won’t be able to see anything. If I don’t keep running, nothing will end. ..When that happens, I will become the wind. I will become a wind, more beautiful than anyone. I will become a wind stronger than anything.

 

 

RECORD SCRATCH.

So I was unsure how to post this and have been sitting on this post for over a week. According to this TED talk by entrepreneur Derek Sivers, you sabotage yourself when detailing your new goals.

Here is the transcript link if you don’t want to listen and his elaboration on the topic on his blog here. The bottom line is

Announcing your plans to others satisfies your self-identity just enough that you’re less motivated to do the hard work needed.

So, don’t discuss your goals. And if you end up doing so, he advises that you present it in a way that gives NO satisfaction. For someone that keeps two blogs on goal making, I was all

Well, having read this, I stopped blogging for a bit because I didn’t have time to go through it more carefully. Here is a more nuanced explanation.

if we say we want to be a great lawyer, we will do anything to convince ourselves that we are on our way to being a great lawyer. We like to feel consistent with things we convince ourselves of, and saying that we want to be a lawyer is vague enough for us not to have to really be on the hook for any work that would help us become a lawyer...In other words, a public proclamation has adverse effects when we make a far-fetched commitment to an identity goal without putting anything on the line, such as, “Hey everyone, I want to be a doctor!” This is when you should “keep your goals to yourself” as Derek Sivers put it.

Otherwise, it is good to make your actionable goals public, because it helps keep you accountable.

So in conclusion, I am not saying I’m going to be like the wind. I’m not saying I’m a runner now and yay go me. I am just saying, I am in Week 6 of C25k and it is tough…but even evil villains make time to run on the treadmill in their evil basement of mad science, so what is my excuse?