5 Values to Uphold

I am nearing the twilight years (10 more if I am lucky), I am blessed by so many things and am very appreciative of that fact. Yesterday, I met with some old school friends from Johor Bahru and we were reflecting on how COVID had adversely affected their lives, and what we planned to do now that the endemic phase of this awful disease is all around us. We have to Stay Calm, Take our Boosters and Carry On.

I have had several good hobbies which I cultivated for the last 22 years starting from March 2020. These hobbies have seared into my mind some lifelong values which I will continue as long as I live. Here are 5 such values 

Discipline 

Waking up as early as 5 am, doing my toiletries and going out for a 10 km or even longer 14 km practically 4 weekdays and 1 weekend (Saturday) has imbued upon me this value. If you want to attain a high goal, you must have discipline to see it through.

In fact, what I have learnt is that if you want to run a Marathon, which is 42.195 km, you need to set at least a 6 months to 12 months planned running schedule where you have to start with what distance you are comfortable running.

Say, you can run 2.4 km, all National Servicemen who have completed their obligations to the country, can do this without  breaking much of a sweat. So, start from there, and do longer runs, from 2.4km to 4km to 5 km. Have realistic set goals, and rest days, eat properly and raise the length, duration and your running speed as you get fitter.

Once you manage 5 km, then again raise the bar to 6,7,8 and finally 10Km.

Motivate yourself by going for short 10K races (there are plenty in S'pore and the region). Set yourself these mid term goals and reward yourself once you have done the first 10K.

And so you will then continue to run, extend your running lengths, find running partners to motivate you even further and if you are dedicated, and resilient enough, you will finally be able to run 21K.

And then, you repeat the same formula as stated above to extend (if your body can take it) till you can run a full marathon. If not, run the distance which your fitness, time and body can adequately do. Build up your stamina in the meantime. 

Break down the large goal into numerous smaller more achievable goals and once you have regularly hit those small goals, incrementally raise the bar, bit by bit over the months, and years until your are finally ready to tackle the BIG GOAL.  

If I didn't have the discipline to wake up at 5am, I would not have the body stamina and capacity to run numerous marathons and half marathons.

Discipline has helped me tremendously in my business, with family and my friends.

Clarity of Thought - Knowing Myself

I play Sudoku almost on a daily basis, I get to organise my thoughts and realise that my mental capacity to memorise, apply logic, make decisions come mainly from having a clear and organised mind. The Art of Thinking Clearly by Ralf Dobell is a tremendous book which has many chapters which point out the innate biasnesses in our minds and with those whom we interact with.

My mental agility has improved, as has my maths arithmetic. Logic must and always supercede emotion, though this is a difficult pathway. This is especially important when making major financial decisions which will impact my quality and standard of living for the next 3, 5 and 10 years.

Resilience - Abie to bounce back from failures 

I have had numerous setbacks in my business, each one had impacted me financially, emotionally and created some (minor thankfully) health issues. The failures have steeled me to even stronger mental fortitude and to be able to take as many hardships and setbacks in my stride. 

Its how you bounce back from failures that people view you in retrospect. 

Integrity - Say what you will ultimately do 

I know of friends who chose to enjoy the day recklessly and end up being bitter or with some chip on their shoulder for many unfullfilled potentials in their lives. I would like to write to them and say, "hey, it is still not too late..".

If you state you want to accomplish this or that, then study the road map to achieving it and do it. Bear in mind the economic, time and emotional tradeoffs which you need to discuss with your immediate family, spouse, friends, colleagues and whomever you are interacting on a daily weekly, monthly and yearly basis.

Plan, Do Check and Action - always take stock along the way to see how far off you are from reaching that goal, and tweak or even backtrack if the set goal is too far away from being achieved. 

Honesty and Kindness - to yourself, loved ones and those I come across 

I try not to kid myself and be in denial. I also try to honestly tell my close friends their flaws and in the hope we can all gravitate to a better relationship bound by the right values.   

With these 5 values, I am still a work in progress, I am ever vigilant of the running down of the clock in my life and want to be a positive force for good to the next generations so that these values can be properly imparted and dwelled upon to ultimately make my little 'sphere of influence' a better place. 

Happy May 2nd 2022 friends and readers !