Stop at 80%, in 2026

There’s a Japanese concept to eating called hara hachi bu, translated to be “Eat till you’re 80% full”.

I first wrote about hara hachi bu in 2021, then revisited in 2025. Now, in 2026, again.

Stopping at 80% never stops.
In other words, I never learned.

All those years of pushing myself in sport training to 110% proved more sticky than an abstract, intellectual, romantic concept from a well-loved country.

So I burned out.
Again and again.
And still burning out.

Knowing how to brake, and maintaining at steady 80% is a lot harder than pushing with all I’ve got at 110%. The latter is simpler, because it doesn’t require nuance, mindfulness, sensitivity, and discipline.

Going at 110% is a brute’s way.

Just because you could be doing more, doesn’t mean you’re not doing enough.