If You Had Another Life
What would you keep, and what would you let go?
Imagine you had another life. Not the one you’re living now, with its routines and compromises, but a second life. A blank page.
What would you choose? Would you run more or work less? Would you live somewhere wilder? Would you put family above ambition or ambition above comfort? Would you dare to choose differently?
When I think about this, I realise my imagined second life is not so far from my current one. There are differences, of course. More mountains, less screen time. More time with the people who light something in me. More patience. More stillness. But also more risks that scare me.
Here’s the uncomfortable question: if we can see that other life so clearly, why is it not part of this one?
In running, we accept that small adjustments, made daily, transform who we are over time. It’s a simple equation. We know that if we want to improve, we have to shift habits, even in the smallest ways. Life works the same. That imagined second life isn’t a fantasy. It is a mirror, showing what we’ve been willing to set aside. Take a minute to really think about that.
The harder truth is that we might not be as stuck as we think. Some of what we imagine is within reach now, if we can bear the discomfort of change
What would you carry over from your second life into this one, starting today?
I’ve also been working on a short film called Space to Return. It’s a reflection on what it meant to come back to the mountains after months of not knowing if I ever would. I filmed it in the far northwest of Scotland; just me, Alice, and Mya. It felt like something shifted while we were there. The film goes live on YouTube this Friday. I’ll send the link when it’s ready, but for now, I just wanted to say: it’s coming. And if you wanted to watch any of my other short films, you can subscribe to my film channel.
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Thanks for being here.
Let’s keep going.
I wrote this on Steve Magness’s recent post which relates a lot to this post. Hope you read this brother.
Pull out a singular decision from one's life and their whole lives will be totally different but we are not accustomed to think this way. It is kind of default- if one has success then it because of their hardwork and if they couldn't succeed then it is because they didn't work hard. But if we see it from the 10000 foot view, then only we can see the tiniest of things that contributed to one's success or failure in any domain/walk of life. Take for it you enrolled in a PHD program and then dropped out after a year, if you would have completed it- it might have led you to a different path. If you didn't talked about the Oregon project and kept silent, how different the whole scenario would have been till date for thousands of people. a lot of athletes would have been facing adversity because of using enhancing drugs in the long term.
I highly look upto every athlete in every sport but I don't put anyone on the pedestal for myself. A recent example- Jannik Sinner won the Wimbledon, that dude works harder than almost everyone in tennis. He has got the ferocity, tenacity and he keeps himself cool as ice even during the toughest of moments in matches. He would have worked harder after RG for sure but what about Dimitrov getting injured 2 sets up against him in the Round of 16. If Dimitrov would have won, the story would have been totally different. There would not been Sinner comeback story, might be Alcaraz have won or Dimitrov could have been or any other player. It is all about showing up and not worrying about the uncontrollables.