Every step was an agony that year.
And it all started because I forgot what it meant to go Easy.
Running changed everything for me.
It was a new way (besides cycling and swimming) to relax and become a better athlete. I ran a 5k, a 10k, my first half-marathon, the second, and the third.
My long runs were casual 20 miles until one day, I felt this burning pain in my Achilles tendon, and I could barely walk.
I went to the doctor, and they confirmed.
I was really close to tearing my Achilles. I had to stop doing everything I did to stay in shape, recharge, and relax. I felt terrible and had severe pains, no matter whether I had to walk to the toilet or the store down the street.
I haven’t run for four years.
I tried to get back to it. Every year around February, I started running, which has been going on for the past three years. Then, the pains arrived, and a month later, I quit.
I discovered NRC (Nike Running Club) Guided Runs, and I’ve been running for almost two months now because of one thing it has taught me:
Easy is an effort.
Easy is not slow; easy is smart.
Easy is not something to be ashamed of.
Going easy when you know you can go fast is discipline and strength.
Easy is sustainable, and sustainable is good in sports, life, and in your career.
You should never be afraid of going Easy.
Last week, I posted about accepting a Senior Software Engineer role. Some people asked why I was going backward on the title ladder.
I have two answers for you:
Titles are inflated. Get over it. It might look good on social media or LinkedIn, but they are inflated.
I’m taking it easy.
Title Inflation
For the past nine years, I have been a Senior Software engineer, Team Lead, and CTO, but I have also sold software and services for years while engineering and developing them for my clients.
So, what is my title again?
Taking it Easy
If you look at your career through the lens of Earning and Learning, titles don’t matter.
You should be either learning or earning at any given point, ideally both.
During my self-employment, I worked about 50 hours a week and tried to optimize my time for earning and learning.
I could go on like this while also following my aspirations to write, publish books, and record courses like these, and this would probably lead me where running did.
Taking it easy right now means letting the earnings drop for future returns on learning. This learning will come through working with big teams and bigger, high-availability software that works with AI and big data. Of course, I’ll be continuing these newsletters and creating content for my technical blog on the side. But I won’t be chasing clients, doing marketing, or selling.
Think about if it’s time for you to take it easy.
📰 Weekly shoutout
This week’s shoutout goes to my wife, who’s taking immense care of our newborn. The lack of sleep, obligations, and new job left me limited time to read all your great writings, but I’m getting back on track soon!
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A big shoutout to your wife, and congrats on the baby! ❤️
I can relate to the story - my Triathlon coach is a fanatic of going easy. Small and measured progress is much healthier for you body - even if in some session I need to fight the urge to run faster…
We are always taught that the ‘hardest’ parts were what really improves the body - the last push-up, the sprint in the end of the training. His tactic is different - a measured pace, no climbing heart rate, steady improvement.
I was surprised how much I improved in a few months, much more than during my all in runs!! Even though I finished the training with lots of energy, and not exhausted, the body got much stronger.
Easy does not mean giving up on progress - it just means doing it in a healthier way.
Good luck!!