Perfect for: Long Distance Running, Training Montages
I've been feeling kind of sick for the past week. Just a general malaise - achy muscles, sore throat, exhaustion, culminating in a low-grade fever yesterday. On top of that, I was feeling a little bit of delayed anger and annoyance from something that happened earlier in the day. I brushed it off at the time, because that's what I do. I keep the peace, try to make people feel at ease, even when I shouldn't. But on the way home, I just kept getting angrier and angrier. I was going to skip yoga, because I was tired, but I decided not to. I thought maybe it would help, especially if I did one of the videos that focused a lot on meditation. It didn't. With my mind empty, my thoughts kept coming back to it, elevating me to new heights of rage. At one point, I was thinking, "Fuck that guy. What did they ever do that was so great?" Ego speaking. A nerve was hit, an insecurity I thought I'd long since overcome had reared its ugly head. This idea that, no matter how hard I work, I'm not good enough.
It's kind of disappointing. To do all this work and still fear that it all amounts to nothing in the long run. Especially when you do something really well for a long time, that people don't even really notice until you're not investing the time in it anymore. No, disappointing isn't the right word. Infuriating. "It's not that they don't miss you, it's that they didn't really appreciate your energy when it was there." God, that burns a little, maybe because it just might be true. However, I believe the best revenge is by continuing to be amazing. Much like Lady Gaga, I too would like nothing more than to prove those sorry bitches wrong and make sure they never fucking forget my name. Sorry, not sorry. That's how you win. You walk across the stage and accept the Oscar you were never supposed to win. You write the bestseller that was never supposed to be published. You become a household name. And when some nobody comes up to you and mentions that you worked/went to school together once upon a time (knowing damn well they were an asshole back then), you smile and say - with a sickening sweetness - "I'm sorry, but who the fuck are you?"
They never lose hope when everything's cold and the fighting's near
It's deep in their bones, they'll run into smoke when the fire is fierce
Oh pick yourself up, 'cause
Legends never die
When the world is calling you
Can you hear them screaming out your name?
Legends never die
They become a part of you
Every time you bleed for reaching greatness
Legends never die
This song is an excellent training song. I'm a big fan of parkour and free-running - so much so, that a few years ago, I decided I'd start just jumping over things during my run for practice. I'd like to take a real parkour class at some point, before I get too old and decrepit to do that. This song was produced by League of Legends, to support their annual gaming competition. Considering they're a video game company, they're surprisingly good at coming out with really catchy songs. Most of the songs they write are themes for their characters or specialized songs that they showcase during competitions. All of them are pretty epic. This isn't even the only LoL song I've chosen for this month, it just happens to be one of my favorites. It follows the same lines as "Whatever It Takes." You can't give up. In order to become Immortal, you must keep going. No matter how lonely it is. No matter how many bruises and cuts you collect. Work through the pain. Keep trying. And, no matter what, hold onto Hope. Because that's all you have, sometimes.
When this song comes on, it prompts me to push myself. At 140 beats per minute, it sets a good pace where you're not quite sprinting, but you're maintaining the fastest speed you can endure to keep running indefinitely. That's some of the best running advice my dad ever gave me. Focus on your breathing and you can keep running until you physically can't anymore. Another great piece of running advice he gave me - which can double as some sage advice for living life - is it doesn't matter how slow you go, as long as you don't stop. You don't want to succumb to inertia, in anything. Wanting everything to stay the same, trying to keep everything the same when you know it isn't and it shouldn't be, just causes more problems. Every little movement forward counts. So even if it seems like nothing is changing, as long as you're making the effort to keep going, everything is changing. Consider the calm a respite, a time to rest, to consolidate. Because if it seems like nothing is happening, that's when you know everything is about to change.
"Legends Never Die" Video
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