Why can’t I just relax like any normal person? Maybe my brother is right that I have something chasing me.  Perhaps it’s because of the restless nature seen in my StrengthsFinder number one strength, “Achiever.” One shouldn’t look at that word and think it’s about being a high achiever or a very successful person. It’s more about a relentless internal push to do more, to finish things. It’s like having this tiny, invisible taskmaster that spurs me on to always do more, to tick off the boxes of my ever-growing to-do list.

If you read this and think that sucks, I must agree to some extent, since it is tiring, and there is always doubt if I have done enough. What is enough?! But it also has some value in that I get to learn more, experience more, and sometimes, yes, achieve more than others with similar talents.

I always find myself starting new things. Against my own better judgment, I started following a half-marathon running program on Garmin with Coach Greg. I wanted to see if it would help me overcome the current slump in my running. I hope to learn something that I can use and maybe even help others with. I completed week one, which had me jump from 32 km a week to 45 km – a 40% jump!

This program called for a long run today of 17 km. And obviously, while I’m running, I must utilize the idle (!) time to learn something, right? So, today while running I…

  1. Listened to my daily Bible reading from 1 Kings, where we learn how going away from God causes so much pain and misfortune. I see it everywhere, people who want to go it alone, who take pride in being a self-made person. But we need God.
  2. Listened to Ask Pastor John (APJ) talking about battling worry after experiencing loss. This was very relevant to me currently as I am battling loss on different fronts and the worry that creeps in. The answer here is to know and believe the promises in God’s word. He will never leave us or forsake us.
  3. Enjoyed the Focus on the Family podcast called “Focused on Parenting” that talked about keeping mobile phones away from children as long as possible due to the addictive and destructive effects they can have on younger children. As a dad and assumed dad to some teenagers, this highlights a big problem! I am still wondering about the solution. Any ideas?
  4. Listened to an AI podcast called “The Next Wave” that spoke about the new AI PCs and the chips that go into them called NPUs (Neuro-processing units). It is exciting and scary to see what will be possible very soon. Our access to AI will become multifold faster and easier.
  5. Followed it by the Clifton Strengths Podcast that spoke about Discipline this time. Discipline is down at number 28 for me! Discipline shows up in different ways for me. But, I do admire those who can keep everything so well organized on their desks, in their homes and even on their schedules!
  6. Finally, I listened to my audiobook for Spanish, which is currently teaching about using the Preterite and Imperfect past tenses. Spanish tenses are hard! I may write a blog post about the different ways verbs bend in Spanish. Just as a sample for the verb ir (to go):
    • Yo voy (I go/am going)
    • Yo fui (I went)  [Preterite]
    • Yo iba (I used to go / I was going) [Imperfect]
    • Yo iré (I will go)
    • Yo iría (I would go)
    • Yo vaya (I go – subjunctive present)
    • Yo fuera (I went – subjunctive imperfect, option 1)
    • Yo fuese (I went – subjunctive imperfect, option 2)

This is the book:

All of this during 90 minutes of running.

There is another podcast that I cannot recommend highly enough, which I listen to most weekdays: Daily Hope by Rick Warren. You can find it on Spotify or anywhere you usually get podcasts.

He has a rare combination of truth, humor, and practical living in all his talks. There is nothing boring or “churchy” about them. It is wholesome, transformative, and accessible to anyone. Give it a try!

Do you listen to something while you run/cycle/exercise? Let me know what that is in the comments. Is there something you would like me to write about? You can use my contact link. Or be generous and share my post on your social media.

Keep running, Stephan

Credits:  The image may look vaguely like me, but it is an AI generated image done by using FLUX.