The Art of Hanging Loose in An Uptight World
Posted by Mert Erkal on Sep 13, 2007 in Personal Development | 2 comments
The Art of Hanging Loose in an Uptight World was the name of the book which was written by Dr. Ken Olson in 1984. It was the first book i read about the stress management and relaxation.
I think in 1984 the world was a peaceful place when compared to today. Hence what was relevant for 1984 might not be valid for today. Today we are living in a stressful world. The traffic in big cities more or less the same as Mad Max movie series of Mel Gibson.
We all have to do some exercise or hobbies to hang loose in this uptight world. Only this way we can keep our brains and bodies in good shape. Personally i choose running as a hobby for hanging loose and keep my brain working properly. Do you know that your brain uses 30% of the oxygen you intake ? That is why aerobic sports are the best for your brain to work smarter.
Actually i wasn’t a good runner when i was a teenager. Even though i enjoyed doing sports since my early childhood, namely basketball, karate, football, body building, swimming, water polo, i did not feel comfortable when it come to running a long distance.
Years passed and i started working in Maersk Line. I occasionally do sports like basketball, football, riding bike. Then i met Joe Hoe from Hong Kong in Istanbul in 2006 who has joined a half-marathon in Hong Kong before. He guided me on how to run a long distance.
I worked hard in 2006 summer by running 6-10 miles almost every weekend to catch up Joe. We then decided to join Intercontinental Eurasia Marathon in Istanbul. You can find the blog post i published last December, after finishing the marathon by clicking Istanbul Marathon.
Suat Ozcan, me, and Joe Ho, 5th of November, 2006, the weather is around 2-3 degree centigrade, very very hot !!
Last weekend i started again to prepare for this year’s half marathon. I think i like this kind of challenges a lot. In every step your feet tell you “please stop torturing us!!” but you keep on going. This is a kind of self-discipline. By running a marathon you learn how to control yourself and never give up whatever the obstacle is.
To me, blogging is just like running a marathon. You should never give up and keep your momentum. No matter what kind of obstacle is on your way, just keep on going. I believe this will bring you the success.
yeah i agree…in this society we have now, stress is inevitable…it’ll just come whether we look for it or not…so we have to learn how to cope with it and not be affected by it..all it takes is discipline and following a regulated life wherein you base it on principles…it might seem difficult at first but afterwards, it’ll be easy as pie…especially when you do it with others in that way, everyone can encourage each other and help one enjoy it instead of looking at it as a drag after sometime….exercise is good and its what our body needs to stay in shape…otherwise it’ll turn sickly…aerobic exercises are the best coz it nourishes our brains and cells with the much needed oxygen and it facilitates energy flow throughout the body.