Learn Chinese with Running: Escaping Daily Stress

Li Ming, let me ask you a question.

Hmm? What question? Go ahead.

Do you ever feel like... sometimes, life is a bit boring?

Boring?

Why the sudden question?

Did something happen to you recently?

It's nothing big.

It's just... every day is the same.

Waking up in the morning, going to work,

getting off work in the evening, going home to eat, and sleeping.

The next day, it's waking up and going to work again...

I feel like a robot.

I see.

You feel like life is repetitive and tiring, right?

Yes! That's the word: "tiring".

Not just physically, but mentally exhausted too.

It feels like there's so much to do, but I don't know why I'm doing it.

I feel so stressed.

I completely understand.

A lot of people feel this way.

But... I noticed you seem a bit different today.

You look very energetic, and there's a spark in your eyes.

(Laughs) Really? Is it that obvious?

You seem really happy, quite different from usual.

Have you found some good way to solve this problem?

Tell me quickly.

Haha, you caught me.

Actually, I started doing something very simple recently.

What is it?

I started running.

Running? Really? That's great!

I remember you used to say your least favorite sport was running.

Yeah, I used to think running was both tiring and boring.

But I really didn't expect that after I started running, I would feel completely different.

Oh? How is it different?

I'd love to hear your story.

Well... it's a bit of a long story.

It's about a feeling... when life feels suffocating,

and you start running, it's as if a breeze starts to blow.

That feeling is amazing.

"When life feels suffocating, start running, and a breeze will blow."

That's beautifully said.

Let's talk about that today.

You just mentioned how you feel—going to work, getting off work, life being repetitive.

Where do you think this "suffocating" feeling mostly comes from? Is it work?

I think work is a huge part of it.

My job is busy; I have to reply to many emails and talk to a lot of people every day.

By the time I finish work, I often feel like my brain doesn't belong to me anymore,

it's just completely filled with work stuff.

I get it.

Like a cup that's full of water, it can't hold anything else.

Yes! That's exactly how it feels.

When I get home, I just want to lie on the couch and scroll through my phone, not wanting to do anything else.

Watching some entertaining short videos seems to help me temporarily forget about work worries.

And then?

When you wake up the next morning, do you feel like the problems are still there?

Yes.

The next day, you still have to face the same work, the same pressure.

So I feel trapped, like I'm stuck in a loop every day and can't escape.

What about you?

Your work is busy too, do you ever feel this way?

Of course.

I think everyone does.

For me, when I'm under a lot of stress, I also get easily annoyed and don't feel like talking.

Sometimes, I'll go sit by myself in a quiet place for a while,

like a park or a café.

Staying by yourself? Does it help?

A little bit. It allows me to think quietly.

But if I'm just sitting, the problems in my head keep spinning.

Just like you said, that "loop" is still there.

So, I feel like we need to do something to break this loop.

So that's why you went running?

When did you start running?

I started a few years ago.

At that time, I had just changed to a new job, the pressure was huge, and I couldn't sleep well every night.

I went to see a doctor, who said I was too tense and suggested I exercise more.

That's a bit like my situation.

I also felt stressed,

and a friend said to me, "Go for a run, you'll feel better once you sweat."

Haha, it seems we both started running because of stress.

When I ran for the first time, I actually felt terrible.

Really?

Me too!

I thought I was the only one.

Of course not.

I think change is always hard.

Especially for us modern people who are used to sitting all day, to start

"running" again,

it really takes a lot of courage.

Tell me quickly, what did your first run feel like?

I remember it clearly.

It was one evening,

I finished dinner, put on my sneakers, and walked out the door.

I told myself I had to run for at least twenty minutes today.

Twenty minutes! That much!

At the time, I thought twenty minutes shouldn't be hard.

But after running for probably less than five minutes, I felt like I couldn't go on.

My legs were heavy, my heart was beating so fast, and breathing was difficult.

The first time I ran, I only lasted three minutes!

Seriously, after just three minutes, I felt like I was going to die.

At the time, I thought running is definitely not meant for humans.

I'd better go home and lie down.

It seems we were exactly the same.

I wanted to give up too back then.

A lot of people on the road were walking faster than I was running.

I felt so embarrassed.

So I stopped and started walking.

Right, me too.

While walking, I was thinking to myself:

I'm never running again tomorrow.

It's just too hard.

But as I walked, I thought about

the doctor's words, my friend's advice... I felt I should try again.

So I started running slowly again.

Very, very slowly, just a little faster than walking.

And then?

Did you stick to it for twenty minutes?

I ran for about ten minutes, then walked for ten minutes.

But just when I was feeling exhausted and really wanted to stop,

an evening breeze blew over.

Ah! The breeze!

Yes, the breeze.

It was a bit hot that night, and I was sweating a lot.