Recently, I started to use an app to keep a record of my running. Each run I wanted to go a little farther, run a little faster and burn more calories (卡路里). Last night I finished an 8.3-km run in 46 minutes and burnt 468 calories. In comparison, my run two days ago was 8.6 km in 46 minutes with 483 calories burnt. This inner self-comparison left me feeling disappointed. I became so focused (专注的) on the numbers that I forgot to consider what I achieved.
These tiny differences in numbers kept me away from the bigger picture: how did I actually feel after completing my most recent run? Well, honestly, I was completely tired out. What good is running to beat your top score if you don't feel on top?
We should exercise for the purpose of building our confidence. And working out harder and faster may serve that purpose. But confidence building comes with being able to do more in our day-to-day life, experiencing less pain and more freedom in movement, and feeling good after a workout. Fitness should help us with our quality (质量) of life, the ability to sleep, good memory, among other things. Fitness should not just come with the eagerness for the success in numbers.
In our busy lives, we only have limited time for fitness. When we do physical exercise, we should value what feels good over what looks or sounds good. Sometimes what serves us and our health is coming home and doing a light workout, like going on a short bike ride. Sometimes what serves us is simply going to sleep at 9:30 p.m. instead of forcing ourselves into a workout. Apps of this kind are a great way for us to keep an eye on our health. But don't read into the numbers to the point where you lose out on feeling proud that you are taking care of yourself. So my advice is: when you do physical exercise, make sure you feel good about yourself over feeling good about the numbers.
