I Commuted Over 40km for 5+ Years as an Undergrad.
I Commuted Over 40km for 5+ Years as an Undergrad.
Monday motivation of some sorts
Disclaimer: This is not the most inspiring story there is. But if you do pick something from today's newsletter, I hope it motivates you to keep going, even when everyone else says it's impossible.
Photo by Flo Dahm on Pexels
Hello,
I hope you're starting Monday on a positive note. Are you?
When I was in my first year in the university, each time someone would ask where I lived, I'd say “in town”. And if the conversation ever got to me explaining where exactly in town I lived, I almost always got a “that's too far. Don't worry, you will soon move when it stresses you”.
And when I added that I planned to commute throughout my undergraduate years, I'd get “haha (insert annoying, mocking laughter), that's what I had planned to do too but it's impossible. You'll see.”
Spoiler: I never saw.
For context, a one-way trip to/from school covered a little over 20km and, depending on road conditions, could take anywhere from thirty minutes to over two hours. No kidding. That took a good part of what was my colleagues’ reading time, so to many people's minds, there was no way I could study to get good grades. But I did.
Why or how I commuted such a distance for five years isn't the point of this letter, though. The point is that they said I couldn't. But I did.
So what is it people – or you – are saying you can't do?
If you can dream it, then you very likely can do it.
I mean, there's a lot of variables – is it realistic? Do you have an actionable plan? Are you putting in the work? If the answers to these are all ‘yes’, then listen. You're going to achieve things people say is impossible to do.
Remember,
Whatever it is, it needs to be humanly-possible (realistic) to do and you need to have a plan and put in the work. And don't give up. (Yeah, I said it. Too many clichés.)