Tough Times - 12/01/2025

A Personal Reflection

I don’t know where to start, these last weeks have been tough. Life in Lisbon is not easy, even though I got my dream job and I don’t hate Mondays anymore. It’s tough because it’s frustrating, it’s frustrating because I feel I’m doing everything I should be doing to build a good future, but the results take time to come.

I keep studying after work, I do side projects in my free time, go to the gym, run, don’t drink alcohol, read books… Well, the common blueprint from one of these mainstream books.

So I’m having an internal discussion with two parts of my mind. The first is saying:

“I’m sacrificing so many enjoyable things but you’re still living in a crappy shared apartment. I can’t eat as many sweets as I’d like, I can’t enjoy a late party, but in exchange for what?”

On the other hand, the other part says:

“You are doing well. Good things take time to arrive. You can’t lose your focus right now, you have to fight and get out of that negative spiral that can pull you away from your goals.”

So yeah, I’ll try to listen to what that last part says. My body can suffer in the environment, but my mind must be at peace outside of myself because I’m not the money I have in my bank account, I’m not the phone or clothes I have.

Signed, a random Spanish guy who lives in Portugal.

Is there someone reading this? I don’t know, but it feels good to write.

Whatever, let’s focus.