everyone wants to achieve something. but why is it so often that many people fail in doing just that?
it is not important how you start, but it is how you finish. true, but the most important thing is to START!
we keep on saying we are going to change who we are, we want to be better, and so on and so on. but what do we do about it. relax around hoping that the change fall from the sky? fat hope.
once you start the engine running, the rest of the journey will be smooth and easy. this does not apply everyday, but generally, people find that when they make the decision to get up from their bed instead of continuining to lie down (note: OWN will), they will be feeling good for the rest of the day.
we are always saying "don't worry, i will start tomorrow". well, when is that tomorrow ever going to come? if you want to do something, start NOW. for instance, you want to start running the next morning, if you are not going to sleep early now, how are you going to wake up in time?
true, we make mistakes when we attempt anything, we are not perfect, but at least we do not commit the biggest mistake of all, not trying. when you try, you have a chance of succeeding, when you don't, what chance is there?
change only comes with action
"one for all, all for one"
one of the most common phrases used in cheers and encouragement. why? easy, it is impactful, meaningful and most importantly, easy to remember.
now when we say meaningful, do we really understand what the phrase means?
there are two parts to this phrase, "one for all" and "all for one". simple enough? =) the first part is what almost everyone succeeds in doing, one giving his all to help his team to glory and such.
but what i want to emphasize on is the second part. "all for one", ever wonder what it means? it is about everyone doing their best to help a person to achieve his best. how many times have we ever practiced that?
in class, it is not unusual to see someone ostracized from rest, ridiculed cause of getting the lowest grades in class or because of his body size. in groups, how often have we seen the same situation occuring?
excluding someone does affect him. if there is no one there to help him, how is he expected to improve? all for one? it is time to practice what we preach.
simple things like a word of encouragement, a helping hand goes a very very long way in helping someone. the person just have to feel that you are there for him and that is all that matters. all for one? let's make it a reality.
the team is as strong as the weakest member
hillary challenge has ended. will not be posting about what happened, can refer to francis' blog for that - http://thepresent-isagift.blogspot.com =)
i guess in any competition, in anything we do, there are lessons we can learn from, hillary challenge is no exception.
friendship is something most people take for granted. but often, people find that friendship is something most people count on to pull them through.
when one is down, hurt, sad, depressed, one longs for someone else's support, encouragement, or just simply the presence of someone else. conversely, when one has achieved something, succeeded, accomplished, one longs for someone else's appreciation, someone to share one's joy with.
i really saw this in our team during the whole duration of the 3 days 2 night super tiring competition, we were there to push each other on, serve as encouragement to each other, joke with each other. ah, the bliss of friendship.
of course, friendship is not only limited to competitions. in our everyday life, in our work/school, in our leisure time, we need friends. life without friends is just so sad.
but there are loners in this world, people say. people can live without anyone else's support. what about hermits, the ones who live by themselves on the mountainside? true, there are exceptions to everything. the question here though, is whether you want to be like them? think about it
do treasure the friends you have around you, the good friends that is. (note: the term "friends" in this post do not apply to bad company). life is so much more meaningful with them as a part of it.
shared joy is double the joy, shared pain is half the pain
life is never the same. Like the machine in the hospital that shows the pulse of the patient, there are ups and downs in life. Thus came the phrase: life is never a smooth-sailing journey.
one might wonder, what cause these ups and downs? i feel the answer lies within us, who we are, what we have. everybody have their weaknesses, this is expected, because nobody is perfect. BUT, similarly, everybody will also have their strengths. never thought of it that way before?
some people might be stronger than others, some smarter than others, some more technically skilled, some more artistic. though some "seems" more all-rounded than others, others may have hidden talents they never knew of. you just have to work hard and find them.
nobody likes being teased about their weaknesses. nobody likes having their strengths ignored and unappreciated too. spare a thought for others. in the news, people are making their worries about a heartless society known. by just making the effort to praise someone for his strengths, and help someone with his weaknesses (note: him is a general term), it will make a world of difference in his life. and as many people will testify, this is a give and take relationship, you will be amazed at how good you will actually feel after helping others.
in a soccer team, you cannot expect a top striker to be able to play defence. in order to succeed, you need a team where one person's strengths help make up for the other team members' weaknesses and others' strengths help make up for that person's weaknesses. this philosophy can be applied to us too.
if you're physically strong, help the weak, not bully them. if you're smart, help the not so smart, not make fun of them. if you're fortunate, help the less fortunate, not ignore them. after all, you want to be helped too, don't you?
with great powers come great responsibilities
if you read through interviews in the newspapers, the most common question that pops out would be "if you get to live your life again, what would you change" and the usual reply would be "nothing, i am happy with what i am"
cliche maybe, but if you think about it, has quite a deep meaning.
the events that happen in our lives, both good and slightly worse, helped shaped us to who we are today. it is because we went through the experiences in our lives, that we are able to be simply ourselves.
think about it for a moment, if we never face failures, how will we learn perseverance? if we have never fallen before, how will we learn about getting back up? if we never face rejection, how will we understand the true feeling of success?
basically, we should be grateful for what we have been through, for they are what shaped us.
having said that though, it does not mean we should be too comfortable with ourselves. how many football teams do you know that have consistently won the championship with the same players every time? most probably none, even if manchester united did win the league a few times with the same few key players, they still needed to have fresh back up players, that's why they have macheda the previous season and chris eagles two years back.
being too comfortable with yourself can be compared to being complacent. it will only lead to your downfall. we must always strive to be better men, to constantly improve oneself. only then will we truly enjoy life, past, present and future
to truly appreciate life, you must first appreciate yourself
almost everything said or written has a double meaning, it could be an intended pun or just simply a phrase
like when you say that you are grateful for achieving so much. some people may take it as you demeaning those that did not achieve as much as you. then when you say the opposite, like say you being humble. some people may take that as suanning.
so how are we supposed to speak without hurting others? the truth is you can't. you cannot control what other people is going to react to your words. actually, what matters in this case is your intent.
with great power comes great responsibility. we are given the great power of expressing ourselves, we should be careful in how we utilise that power. the same phrase may mean different things, but what do you mean by saying that phrase?
when you say the phrase with a good intent. it will naturally be felt by the other person, don't ask me why, it just does. it is like how you can easily detect sarcasm from another person. it is the same thing, works both ways.
so in fact, you need not worry about how others will react if you meant it with a good intent. however, if you have a bad intent, then woe to you, you will get a bad reaction from others.
it takes two hands to clap. when other people are saying those phrases, we should not over-react to them too. there are many things in the world we cannot control, such as what others are going to say to you. we may be able to predict, like how Light Yagami did in Death Note, but in the end, it is still the other person's choice whether they want to say it or not.
but, there is definitely one thing we can control, and that is how we are going to react to the situations we face, the words told to us. before we react, we must think carefully, put ourselves in the other's shoes, think about what the person was actually trying to say. you know after all, there are people who have a hard time trying to express themselves.
live your life with a good intent
well intentions help reduce tensions
winning isn't everything, or is it?
that actually depends on who you are competing agaisnt. yourself or others. when competing agaisnt others, obviously winning isn't everything. if it was everything, then the world would be a sad place. look at it this way, in a competition, let's say the Olympics, only 1 person can be a winner in a race, so does that mean the rest are nothing, nobodies? what a joke.
anyway, the main point i am trying to push through here is this, we are constantly fighting battles everyday, without fail, the most important battles we fight are always with ourselves. are we winning them? you may be a loser on the outside, getting second place or worst, finishing in last place, but are you a winner in your heart?
even abraham lincoln himself, one of the most successful American presidents of all time, lost so many times in his life. he failed in business at 22, defeated for state legislature at 23, failed business again at 25, his sweetheart passed away when he was 26, suffered a nervous break at 27, defeated for speaker at 29, defeated for congress nomination at 34, lost renomination for Congress at 39, defeated for senate at 46, defeated for vice-presidency at 47, defeated for senate again at 49. despite ALL these setbacks, he turned out to be a president who won the people over.
he was a winner in his own heart. even though he failed times and times again, he knew deep down inside that he was a true winner.
when setbacks come, what do we do? do we just sit down and feel sorry for ourselves, or do we rise up again and push onwards towards our destinations. you know the term "destination" is derived from the term "destiny", whether we reach them or not is our destiny. and our destiny is decided when we decide whether we are a winner or a loser.
forget what other people say, forget what failures you may have, you are what you believe you are. when you start winning your personal battles, your doubts, your limiting mindsets, then you will emerge stronger than ever.
you don't need achievements to be proud of yourself. in the words of Lightning McQueen and Hudson Hornet, a trophy is in the end, just an empty cup. achievements won't last, a record will always be broken by another person, once these are gone, if your life is centred around achievements, you will "die".
you should be proud of simply who you are. everyone is a winner, it is just up to them whether they want to accept that or not.
only you can be you
)o3L l!M aka iCeD kiD
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Tell Me That You Came
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Paths That Lead Away
Samuel Lopez
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