Adrenaline Junkie

the thought of impending death is fun

Summer break just ended and yes, I followed up with the wherewithals of my favorite celebrities which are mostly sportsmen.

The textbook definition of summer break could be the time you take during the summer to unwind from the stress of work during the winter and fall in preparation for another winter.

Previously, the sportsmen I have been following were mainly footballers but due to my interest in Motorsport this year, the athletes I followed this summer were Formula 1 drivers.

It had been quite a season from the Bahrain GP to the Belgian GP to close out the first half of the season and the drivers had a two week break to unwind.

“Unwind, you say”

Let's get one thing straight, Formula 1 is a very physical sport - the most extreme and possibly the dangerous sport there is.

An unwinding period should typically be a week or two close to the beach with no skateboarding. At least, for me.

These drivers would rather ride high waves and skydive.

Skydiving, seriously?

Then I remembered the term, Adrenaline Junkie.

“Adrenaline junkie” is a term used to describe a person who feels a compulsion to take part in exciting, dangerous, or intense activities.

That's it.

Lewis Hamilton, aged 39 was asked during an interview what his interests were whenever he's not racing a thousand horsepower machine around a given track.

He first said that once he's off the grid, he doesn't think about racing anymore… a pretty good intro but I was unprepared for what followed.

Skydiving

I did a little backtrace in my memory and remembered when he talked about why he can't just retire from the sport just yet.

“...the feeling I get whenever I'm behind that wheel and charge through the first corner of the circuit is priceless.

I wish you can understand how it feels… I don't know where else I can get that feeling from. Maybe driving a fighter jet”.

Maverick (Top Gun 1986), just when he was about to give up on his career in the air force was told that he would never be a normal person out there in the world if he's not maneuvering a $20m fighter jet at 50 000 feet.

Yes, there's the death risk but that's where the fun is.

Thing is, I'm finally beginning to find that “high” when I'm working on my projects and I'm loving it.

Even when I'm off that project, I'm looking for something else that would give me that same level of “high”.

It's productive for me and maybe it could be for someone else out there.

Note: This Newsletter was written during an unhinged state.