The 54th Edition

The power of experiences no one else needs to understand.

Something to Think About

Your experience doesn’t need to be understood by others for it to be meaningful.

Something to Ask Yourself

Am I cherishing my experiences for what they truly mean to me, or am I waiting for someone else to give them value?

Article of the Week

A refreshing take on why no amount of books, podcasts, or expert advice can replace your own lived experience. You’ll explore how relying too heavily on external wisdom might actually stunt your growth and why fumbling your way through things is where the real magic happens.

Track of the Week

From one of the best Electronic Musicians alive.

This week’s track of the week is…

By the way, if you didn’t know, I put all these tracks in a Spotify playlist…

Personal Lesson

After last weekend, struggling through one of my hardest ultras yet, I felt a strange emptiness. I’d battled through brutal conditions, fallen over and overcome a moment of high stress on the mountain, doubted myself countless times, and crossed that finish line feeling like I’d conquered the world. But when I tried to share what it meant with others, I couldn’t communicate what it was like in a satisfactorily. It felt like nobody really understood what it had taken, how deep I’d dug, or what that finish line symbolised for me. For a moment, this left me frustrated, why weren’t people as moved by it as I was?

It took some reflection to realise I’d been looking in the wrong place for validation. How could I expect someone else to feel what I felt? They weren’t there when I questioned everything on the side of a mountain. They hadn’t walked in my shoes, literally or figuratively. The power of that experience wasn’t in how others saw it, but in what it taught me about resilience, courage, and self-belief.

This taught me to hold my experiences close, like treasured memories. When we achieve something, or when we struggle through something that shapes us, we shouldn’t seek external applause. We should remind ourselves: This was for you. This was yours. And that’s more than enough.

Running – Life’s Metaphor

Running teaches us that no one else can run our race. Others can cheer us on, but the steps, the sweat, the struggle, the triumph. They belong to us alone. Just like in life, our journey is ours to value, regardless of whether anyone else understands it.

Final Thoughts

It’s natural to want others to “get it”, to understand why a race, a training run, or even a quiet moment in nature moved us so deeply. But the reality is, no one can fully step inside our shoes. The magic of an experience is felt from within, not handed to us by external validation.

When we stop expecting others to feel what we felt, we free ourselves from unnecessary disappointment. We open the door to fully embracing our moments, letting them nourish us rather than hoping they’ll impress others.

Your journey – whether in running, work, or life – is shaped by your perspective. That means you are the best person to cherish it, reflect on it, and grow from it. No one else needs to “get it.”

So next time you achieve something meaningful or have an experience that shapes you, pause. Take it in. Celebrate it for what it is: yours. And let that be enough.

Thanks again for reading and subscribing.

Run the runnable, and keep showing up for yourself!

Tommy 🙂