When Life Throws A Wrench In Your Plans

Lost In The Agorithms — Odyssey # 61

Yesterday, just eight days shy of a bodybuilding showdown, my body screamed, “Enough!” Like a bad date that won’t end, I was stuck with a brutal reminder: even the best-laid plans can go sideways. And while the muscle aches might fade, the lesson lingers — a lesson about the unglamorous side of the relentless grind, whether it’s in the gym, at the keyboard, or just getting through the damn day.

Ernest Hemingway once wrote, “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places.” But he didn’t mention the part about having to take a knee and catch your breath before you can feel anything close to strong.

It’s ironic, really…

Here I am, a writer by trade, who spends his days wrestling with words and ideas, pushing narratives on paper as relentlessly as any set of deadlifts. And just like in the gym, sometimes I push too hard, forgetting that the mind, like the body, has its breaking points.

Recovery, I’ve learned, is painfully undervalued in our hustle-hard culture.

It’s not the sexy choice. It doesn’t sell books, pump up crowds, or go viral.

But it’s real.