It’s the week before Spring Break. Feeling a little down? Or stressed? Are you nervous or excited about the rest of the semester?
Let’s slow things down with a little inspiration to keep you truckin’ along. The world’s oldest marathon runner retired. He turns 102 years old April 1.
“I fear that when I stop running, people will no longer love me,” said Fauja Singh, who is nicknamed the “Turbaned Tornado,” according to the Malaysian Insider. “At the moment, everyone loves me... I hope nobody will forget or ignore me. When you become old, you become like a child and you want the attention.”
He started running when he was 89. Why?
The Associated Press explained he started running as a “way to get over depression after his wife and son died in quick succession in India,” and the death of his son in 1994 “took a particularly hard toll on Singh because of its grisly nature. Singh and his son, Kuldip, both farmers, were checking on their fields in the middle of a storm when a piece of corrugated metal blown by the wind decapitated Kuldip in front of his father’s eyes.”
The rest of his children have since moved away from their home, so he decided to move in with his youngest son, who lives in London. That’s where he found other Sikh marathon runners.
Can you imagine being in his position? He was definitely in the twilight of his life when he decided to run his way out of depression instead of completely giving up.
“‘From a tragedy has come a lot of success and happiness,’ Singh said before the race as he explained how running has changed his life, allowing an illiterate farmer to travel the world, meet dignitaries and stay in five-star hotels,” according to the report by the AP.
His story is incredible, and there are countless lessons we can learn from it.
Singh certainly sounds like one of the most positive and strong people alive on this planet right now. He has overcome an immense mental and emotional hurdle to find a way to thrive.
How do you do that? How do you pick yourself up and keep going? How can you strive to find the bright side of things and push through the terrible times?
Singh is amazing and handles situations with a level head on his shoulders.
“The reason for my good health is that I exercise daily and follow a proper diet regime,” he said, according to the New York Daily News. “I take happiness in biggest proportions though my actual diet is very small.”
His mental health is probably directly connected to his physical health. If you’re eating healthy and exercising at least a little, then odds are you’ll be doing better in the brain department, too.
We can’t forget there are millions of people who are going through tougher times than we are.
There’s no need to compare personal problems to those around the world, but maybe we can turn to Singh’s story when we need a pick-me-up.
