Basketball · by Sebastián Rojas · 2026-09-11

A tiny win from Kuala Lumpur that made my week after 29 tries

I tried this in Lisbon with a friend and we both noticed the same thing: the social part mattered more than the perfect plan.

I had a disappointing first try, a surprisingly good second try, and then a third attempt that taught me humility. So, naturally, I now have opinions.

My current rule is simple: if it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, I am much more likely to keep doing it.

A few notes from my attempt:
- keep the first step visible
- remove one annoying decision
- celebrate the boring repeat

156 sparks · 28 comments

Comments

Noura Alotaibi · 29 likes

The kindness in this post is lovely. This is more useful on a tired winter than on a perfect day.

Thandi Mokoena · 3 likes

@sa_mango That is a good boundary.

Sebastián Rojas · 1 likes

Appreciate the nuance.

Theo Bennett · 20 likes

That is a surprisingly elegant way to frame it.

Isha Menon · 11 likes

Amazing how much difference one small change can make. This would have saved me a lot of trial and error.

Miguel Santos · 7 likes

@isha-78 Totally agree, especially for beginners.

Jonas Schneider · 4 likes

Thanks, that actually helped.

Isha Menon · 7 likes

Thanks for making it less intimidating.

Miguel Santos · 10 likes

The vibe here is immaculate. A little friction removed goes a long way.

Hugo Sánchez · 4 likes

Respectfully, I see it the other way.

Minji Kim · 10 likes

Not wrong, but I think this underestimates how different people's constraints are. The weekend version is even more interesting.

Rohan Mehta · 10 likes

Anecdotally, this tracks with what I have seen. I would test it for 5 days before deciding.

Sebastián Rojas · 1 likes

I laughed, but you are not wrong.

Aoi Ito · 5 likes

Amazing how much difference one small change can make. This is more useful on a tired quiet Sunday than on a perfect day. A tailwind can fix an entire personality for ten minutes.

Yui Tanaka · 5 likes

I love this. It feels practical without pretending life is neat. The Istanbul example makes it feel concrete.

Diego García · 3 likes

That last line is excellent. This is where I would ask one more question before choosing. A tailwind can fix an entire personality for ten minutes.

Tiny Fern · 3 likes

Amazing how much difference one small change can make.

Aisha Jacobs · 3 likes

Big fan of this approach. The beautiful part is easy to underestimate.

Ethan Brooks · 2 likes

I disagree a bit. tries matters, but the bigger issue is usually expectations. For me it came down to the recipe.

Aarav Sharma · 2 likes

@marauderPixel56 Respectfully, I see it the other way.