I woke up at 10 today. I took a shower and put on sunscreen. My skincare routine has completely become a habit now. I'm really happy about that. To form a habit you first have to do it every day for more than a week. And set it as 'do it after X' so it sticks. Having the flow of doing skincare after the shower come naturally was a good system.
Postcards, laundry, and khao man gai
While getting ready to go to the gym, I dealt with the piled-up laundry at the same time. There was a post office nearby, so I went to send a postcard first. Five baht and it was done. While walking I was introspective, thinking about how great it would be if this were 8 a.m., and all sorts of other things.
While the laundry was running, I went to a nearby khao man gai shop. I asked them not to include the liver, but it didn't get through and it came anyway. Oh well, can't be helped. I recorded my diary in French while I ate. I need to get some protein.
Can't help grinning during front raises
After putting the laundry in the dryer I went to the gym. Today I trained my back, shoulders, abs, and chest. My arms seem to be used in every exercise, so even without training them specifically they feel like they're getting naturally bigger. Since I'm genetically thin to begin with, that was a pleasant discovery.
When I was doing front raises — a shoulder exercise — I caught myself grinning at my reflection in the mirror. There were two reasons: I was happy because my shoulders were being worked and felt like they were growing, and the other was that looking at myself seriously training another part of me said, 'Kota, you're doing great,' and I couldn't help but laugh. I panicked wondering if anyone had seen me.
If you keep going to the gym, you get more familiar faces. Oh, that person is here again, I think. Those small changes are interesting.
Outward kindness and the inner face
After training I had a protein drink at 7-Eleven, ate an omelette at a nearby stall, picked up the laundry, and returned to the hostel.
When I got to the hostel I saw the receptionist who had always treated me politely speaking roughly to the cleaner. Someone who seems really kind and nice on the outside can have a totally different attitude on the inside. Conversely, people who are polite with their family can be curt on the outside. I thought humans are deep.
I can say 'Hi' to people I make eye contact with
At the hostel I can now say 'Hi' to people I make eye contact with. I think this is really a big step. As I keep traveling, changes like this happen naturally. I felt that the environment really matters.
However, staying in the same place for a long time makes you get used to it, and the wonder you felt when you first arrived fades. You stop taking photos, and you start thinking 'it's fine.' I think how much you felt moved in a day helps make the person you are. So the willingness to try to be moved, even if forced, is important.
The problem of having overly strong metacognition
I ordered a hojicha at Starbucks and studied and worked. A voice message arrived from a friend — a French friend who had lived in Japan for a long time and apparently just arrived in Malaysia. They were crying because the Japanese people were so kind that leaving was painful.
At times like this I end up stepping back and viewing things from a distance. I thought, 'Ah, this is like a scene from a movie.' I wondered why I was so calm, and when I looked into it it turned out my metacognition is too strong. I have a habit of taking things in by their background and meaning rather than the immediate experience.
Come to think of it, it was the same when I was in Japan. When the news comes on I analyze it — what's behind it, is this staged? As a strategy to avoid being deceived, metacognition may have become a habit.
I'm full of feeling, a romantic, and see life like a story — so why do parts of me become so calm? It's really interesting to learn about myself. I think humans are mysterious.
Daily accumulation builds who you are
What I learned from the book I read yesterday: write what you learn from books in a notebook. Just reading and feeling satisfied has no meaning. Only when you take action and your life changes does reading a book have meaning.
Daily accumulation builds who you are. Let's end today by making it another great day.
