In my last post, I made up my mind to develop some good habits as my new year resolutions. And in the past about two weeks I have been working on that. The results? Well, let me just say it is tough to correct bad habits before you remake better new ones.
I started with getting my schedule consistent and sustainable. It supposes to be easy. I plan to fall asleep between 10 to 11 PM and get up between 6 to 7 AM. Further than that, in daytime/work time, I should remain productive and energetic. I should be able to finish planned work and also learn new subjects. Now I have to stop writing here. Considering the fact that I am sleepy and tired at this very moment as the result of staying awake until 1 AM last night, I am fully aware that I have some distance to go before I have full control of my time.
But fortunately, I can always find motivation for self-improvement. This time, it is from the book Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery by Scott Kelly.
There are books that can get readers hooked and we have to finish them immediately after opening it. There are also books that flipping to the next page takes so long that you almost give up it before learning what the book is about. Since day 1 of 2018, I found two books falling into the first category and one book that I can barely read. Endurance definitely is among the good ones. The book was organized in a way following Scott's last space mission. He recalled the details of the one year he spent in International Space Station. In between the developments of events he included his (kind of) legendary personal life experience in chronological order. The book is unbeatably hilarious. Scott absolutely used the most bluntly honest words to express his opinions and himself. More than anything, this book is so empowering. Scott barely made into college because he never had any interest in studying. It was up until his life-changing moment (reading the book The Right Stuff) that he suddenly realized he wanted to be a pilot. And amazingly, he reformed himself and eventually became the ultimate type of pilot--commander of a spaceship.
I remember feeling both embarrassed and inspired when reading how Scott advanced step by step professionally. It made me reflect on the facts that I also struggled with studying (not as bad as him), and I am still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. I know not many of us can be lucky enough to realize what we are really passionate about regarding career choices. And even if we do, it is not usually the case that we are allowed to do what we would like to do because of, circumstances.
It is surprisingly warm to witness someone progress from an "underdog" to a legend. I guess it is because for a moment we believe that "if he can then I can too". Now I just need to extend that belief longer so I can develop better habits.