I’ve been running recently, and it’s giving me time to think. Some people say that they could never run without music, but I think that’s a relative matter.

  When I was in China this past summer, I stayed at a friend’s place in Chongqing for a couple of days. One night when having dinner with his aunt, I pondered over something that she said. The food was really good, and I expressed my enjoyment. His aunt responded with: “好吃你就吃多一点!” which translates roughly to “If it’s good, then eat more!” I know that this line is customary between the “host” of the meal and a guest, but she way she said it was so nonchalant; without a thought. I can’t just dig in and eat more, what about courtesy, moderation, controlling weight gain while traveling? The phrase seemed primitive and unreasonable.

There’s this idea of being mindful and in control of your actions. What if there is a negative effect in all this?

  Last weekend I went to Porter Robinson’s concert in San Diego, mainly because of two reasons. First, I like his music. Also, I bought the ticket and could not resell or get a refund. I cannot deny that a driving factor was the fact that I did not want to waste the ticket, but in the end, I went by myself. How many people would go to a concert by themselves? I am definitely not the biggest Porter fan. However, I realized that maybe I should just go because I want to go. There shouldn’t be happiness derived from the fact that your friends are going, but purely from inside yourself. I like Porter Robinson, so I should go to his concert.

  I feel like too many people base their decisions on external factors, whether that be certain situations or other people. “I’ll only go if you go.” “I shouldn’t run today because I woke up a little too late.” I for one do it myself. Do I really like a girl, or do I like her because I want her to like me? I should be hanging out with a girl with a purpose of trying to decide if I truly like her. Does it matter if she likes me? To be in a relationship, most likely yes. But the driving factor should be derived from my own intent, not the other way around.

  There shouldn’t be this invisible force stopping someone from doing what they want. Cultural factors may be responsible for instilling this psychological inertia, which might likely be a double edged sword. If you want to get fit, then stop eating as much. But do we really have to stop eating as much? There are many different approaches to becoming fit. If there is the true intent to become fit, there will be a way to achieve it. Being forced to prescribe to a paradigm is not the same thing.

  “I can’t continue this relationship. I don’t have the time right now.” This could be true, but the truth is that there is an intent that outweighs the intent to continue the relationship. That intent could actually be something that takes up your time, but it could also be the lack of intent to spend time in the relationship. If you like them enough, you will find the time to be with them, no matter the circumstances.

  I find that I experience this mental inertia all the time, and I have realized that there is something wise in what my friend’s aunt says. If you like it, then eat more. If you want to do it, then just do it. This somewhat simple correlation inspires more than what it seems.

Maybe you should go out there and do it. It might make you a bit more happy.