大家好, Angel here!

Have you ever had a goal that you kept putting off? Something you told yourself you'd start "tomorrow," but tomorrow never seemed to come?

For me, that was running.

For a full 十年 (shí nián) - 10 years, "going for a run" was always on my plan. I would tell myself every single day:

“明天我要跑步。” (Míngtiān wǒ yào pǎo bù.)"I will go running tomorrow."

But you know what happened? 结果明天总是明天。(Jiéguǒ míngtiān zǒng shì míngtiān.) - But tomorrow was always tomorrow.

Sound familiar?

Well, I’m excited to share that I finally did it! 今天我终于终于跑步了! (Jīntiān wǒ zhōngyú zhōngyú pǎobù le!) - Today I finally, finally went for a run!

In this post, I want to share my story and, more importantly, the powerful Chinese words and phrases that kept me motivated. Let's turn my running vlog into your next Chinese lesson!

The Magic Phrase: 千里之行，始于足下 (Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià)Every time I run, I repeat one sentence to myself. It’s a famous Chinese proverb that you absolutely need to know:

千里之行，始于足下。 (Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià.)

Let's break it down:

千里 (qiān lǐ): a thousand miles (a metaphor for a long journey)行 (xíng): to walk, a journey始于 (shǐ yú): begins with足下 (zú xià): under the foot (meaning "a single step")意思就是说 (Yìsi jiùshì shuō) - What it means is: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

This perfectly describes my 10-year running plan! 就像我这个拖延了10年的跑步计划，今天我终于迈出了第一步。(Jiù xiàng wǒ zhège tuōyán le shí nián de pǎobù jìhuà, jīntiān wǒ zhōngyú màichūle dì yī bù.) - Just like my running plan that was delayed for 10 years, today I finally took the first step.

And remember: 当然呢，第一步有可能摔倒。但是没关系，爬起来就行了。(Dāngrán ne, dì yī bù yǒu kěnéng shuāi dǎo. Dànshì méi guānxì, pá qǐlái jiù xíngle.) - Of course, you might stumble on the first step. But it's okay, just get back up.

The Rewards of Starting: Beautiful VocabularyWhen you finally take that first step, you discover amazing things. Running by the seaside, I found so much beauty and learned to appreciate these words:

日出 (rì chū): sunrise你看今天的日出。(Nǐ kàn jīntiān de rì chū.) - Look at today's sunrise.I described it as: 这个太阳圆圆的，红红的。(Zhège tàiyáng yuán yuán de, hóng hóng de.) - This sun is round and red. It even 让我想起了中秋节的月饼蛋黄。(ràng wǒ xiǎngqǐle Zhōngqiū jié de yuèbǐng dànhuáng.) - reminded me of the egg yolk in mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival!彩云 (cǎi yún): colorful clouds今天的天空有彩云，红红的，非常漂亮。(Jīntiān de tiānkōng yǒu cǎi yún, hóng hóng de, fēicháng piàoliang.) - Today the sky has colorful clouds, red, very beautiful.海浪 (hǎilàng): ocean waves听海的声音。(Tīng hǎi de shēngyīn.) - Listen to the sound of the sea. It’s so peaceful!彩虹 (cǎihóng): rainbowOne morning, I even saw one! 你们看彩虹！(Nǐmen kàn cǎihóng!) - Look, a rainbow! 感觉今天是个好日子！(Gǎnjué jīntiān shì gè hǎo rìzi!) - It feels like today is a good day!My "Black History" and a Lesson in Persistence 不要放弃！(Bù yào fàngqì!)说到跑步 (shuō dào pǎobù) - speaking of running, I have to share a super embarrassing story from university, my 黑历史 (hēi lìshǐ) - "black history" or embarrassing past.

My 50-meter dash time was over 10秒多 (shí miǎo duō) - over 10 seconds! I was 比乌龟快不了多少 (bǐ wūguī kuài bùliǎo duōshǎo) - not much faster than a turtle! The result? 不及格！(Bù jígé!) - I failed! I was 全班倒数第一！(Quán bān dàoshǔ dì yī!) - last place in the whole class!

But my PE teacher, 高老师 (Gāo lǎoshī), was amazing. He told me:

“Angel，不要放弃！你可以的！” (Angel, bù yào fàngqì! Nǐ kěyǐ de!)"Angel, don't give up! You can do it!"

He practiced with me every day, and 结果一周后，我居然能跑到8秒5！(Jiéguǒ yī zhōu hòu, wǒ jūrán néng pǎo dào bā miǎo wǔ!) - As a result, after one week, I could actually run it in 8.5 seconds! I went 从不及格到良好 (cóng bù jígé dào liánghǎo) - from failing to getting a good grade.

I still remember his words:

“不要小看自己，只要开始坚持一下下，你就会比昨天的你更好！” (Bùyào xiǎokàn zìjǐ, zhǐyào kāishǐ jiānchí yīxià xià, nǐ jiù huì bǐ zuótiān de nǐ gèng hǎo!)"Don't underestimate yourself. Just start and persist a little bit, and you will be better than you were yesterday!"

Your Turn to Start!So, what about you?你们有没有一个一直想做，却没有开始的事情？(Nǐmen yǒu méiyǒu yīgè yīzhí xiǎng zuò, què méiyǒu kāishǐ de shìqíng?) - Is there something you've always wanted to do, but haven't started?

在评论区告诉我！(Zài pínglùn qū gàosù wǒ!) - Tell me in the comments section! I’m very curious.

Remember the most important phrase:千里之行，始于足下。 (Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià.)

只要你愿意迈出那一小步，坚持下去，你就会看到更好的自己！(Zhǐyào nǐ yuànyì màichū nà yī xiǎo bù, jiānchí xiàqù, nǐ jiù huì kàn dào gèng hǎo de zìjǐ!) - As long as you are willing to take that small step, and persevere, you will see a better version of yourself!

所以别等明天呢，就今天开始！(Suǒyǐ bié děng míngtiān ne, jiù jīntiān kāishǐ!) - So don't wait for tomorrow, start today!

我们一起加油吧！(Wǒmen yīqǐ jiāyóu ba!) - Let's cheer each other on!

If you enjoyed learning about 千里之行，始于足下, you’ll love exploring more classic expressions in this collection of famous Chinese sayings and proverbs — perfect for deepening your understanding of Mandarin language and culture.

Angel