12th of February Mindfulness Vlog
via YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbJ-bMl_dWs
Mindfulness & Progress – 12th of February
A Day Packed with Wins: Gym, Running, and Cooking Experiments
Started the day with a dentist appointment at 3:45 PM—got there early and used the waiting time to read my book (habit stacking for the win!). After the appointment, I hit the gym for a solid pull day session, then took a step toward my personal training goal by inquiring about part-time fitness courses.
I also attempted to finalize my Japan trip by calling Flight Center, but they gave me the wrong branch number. No stress—I’ll sort it out tomorrow and pay the deposit.
One of the best surprises today was discovering that some of the people at my gym share my interests in anime, manga, and reading. I had a great conversation with the gym manager, who turned out to be a massive anime nerd like me. We ended up talking about different series, books, and manga recommendations. One of the personal trainers also noticed my Psyduck bag, and we got into a discussion about Pokémon. Turns out she crochets Pokémon plushies and even offered to make me a custom Psyduck! Moments like this remind me that finding like-minded people in unexpected places makes life a lot more enjoyable.
Workout Highlights & Progress
- Pull Day Session – Focused on rows, pull-downs, and rear delt flyes. The gym was packed, so I had to adapt and substitute some exercises.
Pushing My Limits: Treadmill Run
- 🏃 Started at 10 km/h, gradually increased speed
- 🎯 Goal: Run 3 km before the 20-minute mark
- 🔥 Result: 3.34 km in 20 minutes – Fastest pace yet!
This was a huge win, breaking past mental barriers about my endurance. No pre-workout, no excuses—just pushed through.
Other Wins for the Day
- ✅ Inquired about personal training courses—considering in-person classes over online.
- ✅ Confirmed gym sessions with my brother and gave him my old Xbox controller.
- ✅ Experimented with cooking ribs in a pressure cooker—first batch lacked flavor, so we adjusted with a honey soy marinade and nailed it.
- ✅ Avoided soft drinks for the entire year so far—huge change from drinking 24 cans of Pepsi Max in 3 days before Christmas.
- ✅ Had an awesome anime night with my best mate—caught up on shows and discovered a new series.
- ✅ Made new connections at the gym—turns out there’s a whole anime-loving, book-reading crew that I never noticed before!
Lessons & Self-Reflection
What did I learn today?
- 🍳 Cooking is a skill worth improving – Adjusting flavors in real time made the ribs 10x better.
- 🏋️ Mental barriers are just excuses – I thought I couldn’t run that fast, but I did.
- 👥 Surrounding yourself with the right people makes a difference – My gym community is filled with like-minded, positive people, and it’s making a huge impact. Sometimes, the people who share your interests are already around you—you just have to start the conversation.
What scared me today?
💪 Going to a crowded gym at peak time – I normally avoid it, but it was a good challenge.
Looking Ahead
- 📌 Pay my Japan trip deposit and finalize flights.
- 📌 Hit the gym again—maybe another run.
- 📌 Start tracking calories more consistently.
- 📌 Continue looking into personal training courses.
- 📌 Do some website work if time allows.
Final Thoughts
Every day is a step forward. Even when things don’t go as planned, progress beats perfection.
“Go kick some ass. Go crush some goals. You’re enough, you’ve got this!”
