Exercise
Exercise used to be an optional ordeal. If I wanted, I would exercise and more often than not, I actually did. But again and again, I had long phases of inertia. Phases of full-on couching. Weekends, where I lounged and did nothing but play video games. Me and my couch. There were other weekends that fell in a similar category, where I binge-watched 90s sitcoms, instead of playing video games. And of course, there was the home office. Oh, glorious home office. A human invention that allowed me to make a living without having to leave the house at all—I mean, who could have ever imagined a world like that? Yup, exercise had become very much optional. And I became very much lazy.
All of that changed one not-so-sunny day, two years ago. I was in the midst of yet another months-long phase of optional exercise when it happened: I bowed down to tie my shoes and crack. My back made this shattering sound that still haunts me to this day and the pain I had felt was like a dagger inserted into it.
Ever since that defining moment, back pain has been my constant companion. Ever since then, the tides have turned and exercise has suddenly become mandatory. The truth that I had learned was that I was nearing my forties. Slowly, but steadily. It reminded me of another sign of getting older that I had witnessed years before: a prolonged episode of knee pain, which had manifested itself after a multi-day hike where I overestimated my skills.
The only way I had been able to get rid of my knee pain (and yes, I actually did get rid of it) was thanks to gruelling, unyielding exercise. And the only way I'm going to get rid of my back pain (and yes, I will get rid of it) is also exercise.
The era of exercise is upon me and this time around, I'll be smarter than my former selves, because one thing is very obvious: In this life, exercise is no longer optional.