Random photos taken in 2022

Just after the lockdown had ended (1st wave), I booked an impromtu 1 week solo trip to Portugal.

In retrospect, going during the height of the COVID pandemic was probably not a great idea. I had to test for COVID on the way back, which involved going to public testing centres which had around 4-5 hour queues. I stood in the queue with an American traveller chatting to him and random passerbys. At the end of the line, the American man came out +ve with COVID and therefore had to quarantine for an addition 14 days (at his own expense) in a designated hotel. I had a brief moment of panic before accepting my fate. Somehow, I ended up -ve and thanked whatever Gods I could think of, and flew back the following day.

Going on this trip made me realise, I do enjoy solo travel, but it is fundamentally different to travelling with friends/partner/family. It’s about figuring out what you like doing alone.

Often times, I wish I could have shared some moments with someone else.

A reminder for myself. When a task or project looks overwhelming, that’s just the mind projecting and creating fantasy stories/problems. You can reframe it.

Nothing is hard if you break it down into enough steps

To write a novel, you just have to write one page a day for 365 days.

In gymnastics, progressive overload over 10 years will get you to >99.9% of the human population.

To get through an exam, just practice an hour a day for a long enough time, so that the information sticks.

The thread tying these together is consistency.

Often when we look at a big goal or task, the enormity of it is demotivating.

Instead, split the goal into many sub goals, and take them day by day. You almost want to forget the grand ‘overarching’ destination, and focus on the process.

We overestimate what we can accomplish in a short time frame, but underestimate what we can do over a long time frame.

Consistency is everything. Show up every day.