I couldn't even spend the early mornings feeling at ease like I used to.
Because of the book title, I got a call at 4:30 as if we had made an appointment.
I was listening to music on my phone, and message alarms would go off every now and then, breaking my concentration.
"Eugene, are you awake now? I woke up at dawn after reading your book, too. It's really great! Even if it's not every day, I'll send you a text when I wake up to check in!"
“Sister, are you awake now? I’m going to sleep now!”
At first, I thought it would end like this.
But after one, two, three days, text messages came every morning.
Even though I was stressed, I found it difficult to openly express my displeasure to people who contacted me with good intentions.
I've tried replying with short answers or not replying at all so that the other person can sense that I want some alone time.
Still, I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy in my heart.
But I soon found a solution.
It was very simple.
I closed my eyes and turned my phone to silent mode.
And I put my phone away out of sight.
--- p.21

What is "me time"? "Me time" means "time spent immersed in myself," or "time alone."
As we go about our busy daily lives, we tend to get lost and bump into things here and there.
My time is a time to escape from the chaos and focus on myself.
It can be a time to prioritize myself, a time to check in on myself for some, or a time to give myself a moment of rest for others.
No matter how I spend this time, I must look inside myself rather than just rushing forward.
The important thing is to actively plan for this time.
Rather than thinking that you will be alone when you have time, you should make a promise to yourself, 'This is the only time I will have time for myself.'
Why is that? For modern people, who fear isolation, finding alone time is harder than you might think.
--- p.28

We don't like seeing ourselves hurt or depressed.
When I'm in this situation, I blame myself, thinking that I'm weak and that I did something wrong.
Rather than trying to recover from your weakness, you are busy whipping yourself.
But humans are beings who can become weak as well as strong.
All the pain and emotions I feel in my body and mind right now are signals that tell me my current state.
If you ignore the warnings that only you can see and don't treat yourself with respect, no matter how hard you try, you will only become more and more exhausted.
To move forward steadily, I must acknowledge that I too can be weak, observe myself, and pay attention to myself.
As I took some time for myself, I soon realized that the issues that had been troubling my mind weren't really that important.
It wasn't because something had changed.
It was just recovered.
--- p.36

It's the same at home.
When a child disobeys their parents or misbehaves, they are punished by saying, “You are grounded!”
When I was in middle and high school, I often saw my friends cancel plans because they were grounded.
The main purpose of this, like self-discipline, is to reflect on one's own behavior at home or in one's room alone without going outside.
These days, they say that people aren't allowed to use their phones or play games at home, but when I was young, being grounded was the hardest punishment to endure.
I haven't been subjected to many disciplinary actions or grounding orders, but perhaps because I grew up in this culture, I naturally take time to reflect on myself when I make a mistake or cause trouble.
When I'm feeling down after getting scolded by someone or arguing with friends, I take some time to reflect on the cause of the problem and my actions.
Then, as the intense emotions subside, you think, 'Oh, I was wrong today.
'I deserved to get scolded' or 'I was short-sighted, my friend
I think it is worth feeling bad about.
And I sincerely reflect on it.
This is possible because I took the time to calmly figure out what I needed to fix.
--- p.55

Now that we've looked at why you need to have some time for yourself and how to secure that time, let's look at some specific ways to make the most of your time.
I divide this into two stages: the first is reset, and the second is development.
--- p.94

Unrun, simply put, is the act of erasing the messy doodles I drew on my drawing paper a long time ago.
If you are not satisfied with your current life, erase all the rules drawn on the canvas.
If possible, it is better to replace it with new paper.
At this time, it is important to erase the image of myself that I think of, but it is also important to erase the image of myself that has been unilaterally determined by others.
Also, on the other hand, I have to completely let go of the image of other people that I have in my head.
That is, it evaporates the thought, 'This is the kind of person I am! So I should act like this!' and tells someone, "This is how I see it.
You need to erase the memory of hearing the words, “This is the kind of person you are.”
The same goes for the stereotype that 'That person is like this, so he will act like that towards me too.'
It's about getting rid of the habit of trying to predict things that haven't even happened yet, whether about yourself or others, as if you already know all the answers.
--- p.98

“I also dreamed of becoming a writer, but now I don’t have the opportunity to try it because I’m working at a company.”
“I also once dreamed of becoming a lawyer.
But after I got married and had children, time flew by.”
“I also want to try taking a body profile picture.
But when on earth do you exercise?”
“My dream was to be a singer.
"Audition shows are all the rage these days. Should I try one? But honestly, it's been a while since I've sung… ."
These are all stories I've actually heard.
Actually, we know.
There are definitely people who work as writers while working at a company, people who got married and had children but went to law school late and became lawyers, people who worked out hard despite being busy to take body profile pictures, and people who mustered up the courage to participate in auditions.
What's the difference between those who achieve it and those who don't? It's whether they took on the challenge or not.
Of course, there are personal reasons why I couldn't put it into practice.
I'm sure you'll hear that.
It's not talent that changes us.
There is bound to be a gap between those who take on challenges even though they have nothing and those who do not take on challenges even though they have a lot.
The problem is that even though we know this fact, we find it difficult to challenge it.
Because we are waiting for a dramatic turning point that will make us break away from reality and choose a new path, a moving event that will make us repent of our past and become a completely different person.
I always stay in the same place, hoping that someday the inspiration will strike to actually do it.

--- p.168