I gave my bicycle the same name: SPARK.

This book—often described as a classic about how exercise can change the brain—was something I tried to read back in 2019, when I first thought about starting to exercise seriously. At the time, it felt too academic, and I gave up halfway through.

Last year, for reasons I can’t quite explain, I felt drawn to it again. I bought the original English edition, intending to keep it as a book worth collecting. I read it slowly, on and off, and didn’t truly finish until early January this year. I didn’t expect it to become the very first book on my 2026 reading list, and that made me genuinely happy.

Why SPARK Is Worth Reading

The subtitle of SPARK is “The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.” It’s an especially good book for anyone who wants to build a lasting relationship with exercise.

If nearly 300 pages of science-backed evidence still can’t persuade you of the value of movement, then perhaps you’re simply not ready yet to treat exercise as a lifelong habit—and that’s okay. Readiness matters.

While reading, I often found myself thinking how lucky I was—to have stumbled into exercise as my chosen habit almost by accident. My life hasn’t been completely transformed because of exercise alone, but it has become the fulcrum that lifted change in so many other areas.

Exercise as a Foundation for Change

The book revolves entirely around movement, weaving together a wide range of scientific studies to explain how exercise affects the body and the brain. It also clears up common misconceptions and helps beginners build healthier mental frameworks, theoretical understanding, and practical readiness.

This is not a book to rush through. Read it while exercising, and you feel as if you’re actively reshaping your brain. Read it when you’re feeling lazy, and it might gently push you to step outside.

Either way, it’s a book worth keeping.

Change Comes Faster Than You Think

People rarely notice their own transformation. But I believe that if you stick with something long enough, real change is inevitable—like water slowly carving through stone.

With exercise, those changes arrive surprisingly fast. Not necessarily on the outside at first, but on the inside. Mental strength is usually the first thing to show up.

After exercising, those moments of feeling genuinely good begin to last longer. They quietly pull your thoughts toward a more positive, brighter direction. Before reading SPARK, I didn’t fully understand where those feelings came from. I’m grateful to science for giving us a language—however imperfect—to interpret our emotions.

How Exercise Changed My Body

From a physical health perspective, I had chronic stomach pain starting in high school. I tried many medications, but nothing really worked.

Over the past few years, I’ve rarely experienced stomach pain. When it does happen, it’s usually brief and caused by something I ate—nothing long-lasting.

People often say the stomach is an emotional organ. Maybe after sweating and releasing all that dopamine, my body simply followed my mind toward better health.

Confidence, Rewritten

It’s not that people who exercise become confident. Exercise itself is an expression of confidence—confidence in our ability to inhabit and control our own bodies.

Growing up in a society obsessed with thinness and beauty, I never struggled with being overweight or dark-skinned, but I also never felt truly confident about my appearance. Most of my confidence came from male attention, so I was constantly in relationships.

I rarely paid attention to my body itself. Like many women, I always felt I wasn’t thin enough or fair enough. The societal definition of beauty shapes us far more deeply than we often realize.

After I started exercising, my anxiety about appearance gradually faded. I now look at myself in the mirror a little longer each day. Even when I see stubborn belly fat, I don’t panic. I know that if I truly want to change it, abs are simply a matter of time. I stopped using beauty filters in photos. I accept the wrinkles that appear when I laugh. I still find myself beautiful.

My confidence no longer comes from men or from praise. I know how beautiful I am. I know how strong I am.

Learning to Be Alone Without Being Lonely

If I had to name the biggest change exercise brought into my life, it would be this: it taught me how to truly enjoy being alone—without feeling lonely. I can go almost anywhere in the world, put on my running shoes, and feel as comfortable as if I were running outside my own home.

I once wanted to learn tennis and dance, but those activities require partners or specific venues, so I set them aside. I prefer being able to move when I want—no appointments, no coordination, no waiting. Doing things alone slowly made me fall in love with solitude. I’m still open to tennis or dancing. Maybe one day I’ll meet someone who shares that interest. But if not, that’s fine too.

When the Body Starts to Crave Movement

At this stage of my life, my routine revolves around running, cycling, and strength training. I exercise almost every day. Going a full week without movement is extremely rare. It’s not willpower pushing me—it’s my body asking for it.

I’m deeply satisfied by the fact that I can rely solely on myself to meet my inner needs. Exercise became the fulcrum Archimedes spoke of—the point that allows me to lift all the unknown possibilities within myself. Since I started exercising, I’ve slowly let go of the old version of me who always felt bound by something or someone.

I spend more time alone now, but I don’t feel lonely.

Anxiety Still Exists—and That’s Okay

As long as we’re alive, anxiety and emotional ups and downs are unavoidable. Life is never perfectly smooth. But exercise may truly have changed my brain. It taught me not to rely on any person or relationship for stability. I still feel anxious sometimes, but I trust that it will pass.

No matter how bad a day feels, I still make time for an hour of movement. That hour is pure joy. Because of it, no day is ever entirely bad.

Exercise as a Lifelong Companion

Building an exercise habit isn’t easy. But once it becomes part of you, it turns into your most reliable companion. You become your own strongest support.

If you’ve always wanted to start exercising and are looking for reasons to convince yourself, SPARK is an excellent place to begin. Science may not move you immediately, but change has always started from within. You may not put on your running shoes and run five kilometers tomorrow. But if you pick up a book about exercise, you’re already on the path.

It’s a long road. You can take it slowly. Even if this book doesn’t speak to you, that’s okay. There are countless books to read and countless paths to walk. Even without exercise, you can still live a good life—please believe that.

I hope that one day, you’ll also come to accept this truth: you don’t need to rely on anyone or anything to prove your worth. Walking alone does not mean being lonely.