Until recently, I used to do most of my running on the treadmill.
These days I am going outside.
Fresh air… people walking… some alone, some in groups… and some talking so loudly that you cannot miss them.
No… no… I am not comparing treadmill running with walking outside.
That is not the point of this story.
I noticed something funny.
The faster some people walk, the louder they seem to talk.
So naturally… I started listening.
Not intentionally.
But when people are talking that loudly, you do not need to make any effort. The conversation comes to you.
After a few days, one group started catching my attention.
Around eight or ten people walk together every morning. And among them is a man who looks around 65.
I do not know his name. I have never spoken to him.
But you cannot miss him.
He walks fast… talks continuously… and laughs loudly.
Very loudly.
Around 6 AM, when most of us are still trying to wake ourselves up, this man already seems full of energy.
And this is what started bothering my mind…
How does he do this every single day?
Talking. Walking. Laughing. Enjoying himself.
At first, I did not think much about it.
One day is one day. Perhaps he had a good morning.
The next day, I saw him again.
Same speed. Same laughter. Same enthusiasm. Then again. And again.
That is when I started wondering.
How does he do it?
How does someone stay this energetic every morning?
I can have one great morning. Wake up full of energy… Go for a run… laugh… Talk to people and enjoy myself.
But every day?
That is the part I cannot understand. That is different. And this man seemed to be doing exactly that.
Every morning.
I started observing him more closely.
In fact, after some days, I felt I was going to the park not only to run.
I was also going to see him walk, laugh, and enjoy himself.
Listening to his laugh became a small, satisfying part of my morning.
And slowly, I began to think that perhaps his energy was not accidental. There may be a few things behind it.
He does not wait for energy to come.
Most of us think energy comes first… Then action follows.
We say, “Today I am feeling energetic, so I will go for a walk.”
But perhaps it works the other way around.
You get up. You step outside. You walk. You meet people. You talk. You laugh.
And somewhere during all of this, the energy arrives.
Movement creates movement.
He starts moving… and slowly the body and mind wake up. Perhaps he does not wait to feel energetic.
He just starts.
He starts moving, and the movement may be helping him create the energy he needs.
His walking group may be giving him another kind of energy.
There is another thing I noticed.
He is not walking alone. There are eight or ten people around him.
- They are talking.
- They are responding to one another.
- They are laughing.
- They are sharing a part of their morning.
That matters.
A treadmill gives you exercise. But a group can give you connection.
You may go to the park because you want to walk.
But after a few days, you may start going because people are waiting for you.
That is a completely different reason to get out of bed. Perhaps this man has something many of us slowly lose as we grow older.
A regular place where people know him. People who expect to see him. People who notice when he is absent.
And perhaps that itself gives him energy.
Sometimes we do not need another motivational speech. We need people.
Maybe enthusiasm becomes a habit.
This is what interests me most. We usually think enthusiasm comes from a good mood.
- Something good happens… We feel happy.
- We get good news… We feel energetic.
But what if enthusiasm can become a habit too?
Maybe that man has made it part of his morning.
What if you practise being engaged with life every day?
Wake up. Get outside. Move your body. Meet people. Talk. Laugh. Participate.
Do it again tomorrow. And the day after that.
After years of doing this, perhaps enthusiasm does not feel like something you have to manufacture.
It becomes part of you.
The energy we create
I do not know whether this man thinks about any of this. He probably does not.
For all I know, he may simply enjoy walking with his friends. But watching him has made me think about my own mornings.
I started going outside because I wanted something different from the treadmill.
I wanted fresh air. I wanted a change. I wanted to run in a different environment.
But I ended up noticing something I was not looking for.
A man around 65 who seems to carry the same enthusiasm every morning.
And now there is something funny about my morning walks.
If I go to the park and do not hear his laugh, I feel something is missing.
It is almost like the morning has not officially started.
I never thought I would say this… But that man’s laugh has become part of my morning.
Perhaps that is what real energy looks like.
Just having enough reasons to get up, step outside, meet people, move your body, and participate in life.
Maybe the real question is not…
“Where does that man get all his energy?”
Maybe the better question is…
“What are we doing every day that gives us a reason to have some?”
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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Photo credit: Aysegul Aytören on Unsplash
