I’ll let you all in on a little secret that could very well change the game of life for you. You’re allowed to be motivated by spite.
That’s right, there is absolutely no rule against using your capacity for spite to accelerate you towards your goals. A crappy teacher said you’d never amount to anything? Show that dirtbag who’s boss. Your peers are constantly laughing in your face? Use that ire to give yourself the last laugh. A narcissist has devoted a fair share of their time to making you feel lesser? Ruin their life by being the greatest you can be.
The best part? Spite is flexible. These two besties down below, for instance, are exploiting it for cardio mileage.
Indeed, TikTok‘s @rosiesparrow and her friend Mei seem to have found the ultimate exercise hack in running to cleanse yourself of situationship residue. The process is simple, when either your running pal is close to throwing in the towel, you say something like “Remember when he convinced you it was okay to see you every three weeks,” and watch as the adrenaline skyrockets and you’re left in the dust.
Among other such unfortunate residents of Rosie and Mei’s memory banks include “Remember when he was unemployed and didn’t have time for you,” “Remember when you [two] spent the most romantic night of your life together and then [he] never spoke to you again,” and “Remember when his phone magically died every time he went out.” Needless to say, these get the heart racing in more ways than one.
The only downside to all of this is that Rosie and Mei might have trouble forgetting these mediocre matches at this rate. Not only are they motivated to run by the memories themselves, but running isn’t the best thing to do if you’re trying to forget something. According to Harvard Health, exercise directly and indirectly improves one’s memory. Not only does it reduce inflammation and insulin resistance while stimulating the release of brain-specific growth factors, but it also tends to affect one’s mood, sleep patterns, and other manipulators of cognitive potential.
But, even though remembering these thoroughly disappointing romantic encounters is probably none too pleasant, the fact remains that such memories are sensational boons for Rosie and Mei’s cardiovascular actualization. Couple that with the fact that it seems they can both laugh about their past misfortune at this point, this is what we in the industry call a “win-win.”