The last workout

Hello again. Well I write this with some sad news. Well sad news to me, no biggie to pretty much everyone else heh. My beloved gym, ol' Fitness First of Sheung Wan is closing down in a week's time. I know, I know, it's just a gym! But what I've come to realize, my going to he gym, the ritual of this workout, has become part of my life/lifestyle to the point it's like saying you're not going to be able to eat your favorite egg tarts because you're going out of town for good.

Well, looking back, having joined this gym in November 2009, it's been almost 5 years (sure feels longer!) and the gym has grown and changed alongside myself! It's weird seeing the regulars there today talking about where they're going next and how it's been a good run while it lasted.

As they say, it's about survival of the fittest and the strongest are those who are able to change with the times. I mean I bet in a month's time I'll have found my new routine for workouts but it just sucks to see this place go, especially since it's more than just a gym to me. It was like a spot for me to mentally get away from my frustrations and also squeeze in a quick shower between meetings in summer (ahah!)

But oh well, all is good one way or another. At least the gym's been emptying out lately (probably because members have found another gym and are trying them out heh), so I've been having great and uninterrupted workouts :), at least it's de-stressing.

Speaking of stress, I came across a fantastic TED talk that discusses the idea of how we perceive stress:

Basically it's not stress that we should be worried about, but how we perceive it. Which is very interesting and true. I mean many people have asked me about nerves before comedy shows and I admit that as much as I'm nervous, I view it as a necessary aspect of my performance. Like I'm getting into that zone where I've revved up my engines. The fact that I don't fear that stress, allows me to handle it better. At the same time, going for a workout creates a lot of stress on my mind/body but it's a necessary evil for me to feel better afterwards. If I viewed my workouts as a stressful chore, chances are I wouldn't be able to get through them (I'm proud to say, I'm pretty intense on myself with my workouts).

Ultimately, the only thing that gives me genuine negative stress is when I'm overwhelmed with work. It's not the work that stresses me out, it's the feeling (fear) that I wont' have enough time to deal with it before the next wave of work flows in. But I have to say, after watching this video, it's definitely shifted my view on stress to a better direction where I don't let it consume me but realize that that's just a natural reaction to the situation and it's part of the game.

Then again, I guess everything in life depends on how you perceive it really. A person with extra money might perceive it as an extra opportunity that enriches them, while another person might perceive it as an extra responsibility that burdens them.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing how life changes in a few weeks' time (well technically 10 days is when the next entry comes, but heck, who's counting? :)) for me and perhaps I'll come out happy? I guess it depends how I perceive things eh?