“The key to life is running and reading” – Will Smith
I’ll admit it, I’m not a morning person. I love sunrises, the feeling of a warm cup of coffee in my hands, and early morning radio talk, but getting out of bed is just not fun. The soft pillow that through the night has formed to the perfect shape around my head, the warm blankets wrapped around my body in a bear hug, and the strong and handsome man in my dream, all seem to beg me to stay confined to my bed. I’ve listened to many talks on how getting up early is more health, more productive, and if you’ve ever watched Tim Ferriss’s youtube video you know that to win the day you must first win the morning. I know all of this is true, but that doesn’t make waking up any easier. You see, I can love sunrises and I can know all the benefits of waking up before 6 am but in order to actually reap those benefits I have to have the self-control to say “No” to my body and that handsome man in my dreams. The key to waking up in the morning, or any activity that is less than enjoyable, is self-control.
When Will Smith says that one of the two keys to life is running, he is referring to the act of enforcing your will power to keep going even when your body says stop. If you desire to have a productive life where you are in control then you must exercise and strengthen your self-control. A person who is dictated by their circumstances can never make a difference or impact the world because they themselves are being controlled by the world. You want to win the day, win the morning. You want to win your life, win yourself.
Growing up, my mother (who was also my teacher), would start each day of class by asking us “Why are you here?” Together, each of my siblings would recite the answer we had been taught since as far back as we could remember. “To learn about the world, so we can make the world a better place.” These words have stayed with me into my adulthood and are still to this day the motivation for why I’m here.
Having self-control without gaining knowledge is like buying a stang and not knowing how to drive. You may look cool to everyone around you but you definitely won’t get anywhere. When my mother asked me why I was here, she was actually saying that being in the classroom with my pen and paper wasn’t enough, I had to actually learn something. Having the passion to change the world and the self-control to keep yourself on track isn’t enough, you actually have to gain the knowledge as to how you will go about changing the world. This is exactly why Will Smith says that reading is the second key to life. No matter what obstacle you may be facing, project you need to complete, or idea you need to understand, there is someone out there who has written a book that can help you. Why re-invent the wheel when you can learn from those who have already mastered it. There is a plentiful supply of knowledge out there for anyone who has a passion to learn. So don’t just sit in your stang, drive it.
Will Smith specifically said that running and reading are the keys to life. I believe that the true message behind this statement is not to just take up running and reading but that we should determine to implant in our lives activities that exercise and strengthen our self-control and understanding. Be that through waking up earlier, limiting our social media intake, or going on a daily run. Perhaps you will enroll in a class, ask those who have been in your place before or take the time to read a book. No matter how you go about obtaining these key life skills, the important thing is that you end each day with greater control of yourself and a greater understanding of the world.
Payton Grace Walter 