Actionable Book Summary - "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami

This is the kind of book you can read in one sitting and come away refreshed every time.

I first read it when I was running a lot, and something about the pace of the writing and the voice reminded me of the feeling I got when I was running. Murakami somehow captured the feeling of the running movement, in words. That’s magic.Even if you’re not a runner, there are a lot of key takeaways such as when he says “The most important thing we learn at school is the fact that the most important things can't be learned at school”. For someone like me who is, by all standards, pretty well educated, this blew me away. I had seen that traditional education was taking a shelling from thought leaders, but he succinctly makes this statement that gets to the point. It pops into my head at least once per week when I think of my learning and growth and approach to new opportunities.“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” I had heard this sentiment before but never really “got” it. When I read this line feel, I immediately though of the Stoic leaders, and Shakespeare. When Shakespeare writes in Hamlet that “There is nothing good or bad, only thinking makes it so” he is saying the same thing that the Stoic philosopher Seneca said when he stated “A man is as wretched as he has convinced himself that he is”. Its fascinating and a great rule to have in your back pocket.

This last one is mega. “For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day: to raise my own level. I’m no great runner, by any means. I’m at an ordinary – or perhaps more like mediocre – level. But that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.”

Only ever seeking to outdo your own past self is something I have grown to understand deeply in the past few years. External measurements are for everyone else. When you are seeking to better yourself in the name of being of use and service to others, there is no greater growth. Too much of the world today boils down an individuals worth to a number; salary, number of degrees, size of car. It’s a shame and it’s a downward spiral because in doing that focus is purely on the external, and not the internal, not the self.

This book is fantastic. Easy to read and well written. Read it then read it again. Read between the lines. What I have described here is only scratching the surface in terms of the depth of this book. And I’ll say it again; even if you’re a non-runner, it’s worth a read.

Ok one more. “Being active every day makes it easier to hear that inner voice”. Brilliant.