I have come to the last entries of my Journal entries for my creative writing! Enjoy reading! =)
Inspirations for entry 8 and 9 came from a couple of sermons...
Your Words Matter
I have been pondering, have you ever actually thought how the words coming out of our mouth can be quite powerful. In fact, how those words can actually make a huge impact on us or others? This is a quote I heard from a preacher once, “The tongue is like a fire. We can use it to bless or curse others.”
Let me share a scenario, imagine if this boy who in school has classmates who would always tease him of how fat he is or tease him with names or even scold vaguer words to him. I believe those hurting words said to the boy will be emotionally painful enough to be worst then someone hitting him. In fact I believe such words said to even a big grown man can bring the person down. That’s how dangerous words use in the wrong way can bring harm.
Another example, imagine if every single day, you go in front of the mirror and say “I’m a loser, I don’t see any purpose in living anymore”, and say this for thirty days straight about yourself, I can imagine that person actually really believing in what he says and inevitably commit suicide after awhile. If that’s a little too morbid, how about doing the same thing but saying different words like, “I can do it, I will give and make the best in everything I do”, I’m sure that this psychological method is so powerful that if you do that everyday, you will actually start believing in those words and I’m positively sure your outlook in life will be so different.
Personally to me, I strongly believe to make the best of the words coming out of our mouth, by using it to bless and encourage others instead. I really believed that encouragement is one of the most powerful tools in the world that anyone of us can actually do if we make the effort to use it. In fact, I feel very joyful my self if I’m given opportunity to just bless someone or encourage someone, so not only you make others feel affirm and assured, your words coming out of your mouth can somehow give you this intrinsic feeling yourself too. Such words are so powerful that an encouragement to someone can actually bring a person who is very down up again. And most of all personally I feel its something not hard to do. I believed that we all need such encouragement in life; I can’t imagine someone going on living his or her whole life without any affirmation or encouragement from anyone.
Personally to me, if I put myself in a scenario where the boss affirms me with encouraging words like “you did an excellent job” in front of the whole company, the intrinsic feeling of that, compared to the extrinsic factor of a pay rise would be more important to me. That’s how powerful words are.
In conclusion, personally I feel that our words we say matters a lot. We should always watch what we say to our selves or others. And I hope to encourage everyone to speak words of encouragement to bless others when ever you got the chance to.
The Great Game
The Great Game is a British term for what the British saw as a strategic rivalry and conflict between the
Soccer is one of my greatest passions, there’s so much history between soccer and me, from the times when I watch my first ever soccer match on television, to the time how I first supported my first English Premier League club. And over the years how I have been so influence by it, playing soccer almost everyday in my primary school days, from kicking water bottles during recess times, to upgrading to tennis balls at upper primary and continuing to real soccer balls after. Playing for the school soccer team over the years is another story. Actually I can go on and on sharing about the history of soccer and me, but what I actually been observing and wondering about are how the culture of soccer has grown over the years and impacted so many lives.
Just looking at the people around you, male or female, the growing number of soccer fans has seemed to have grown, to me at least. Especially, when ever big games happen like during the “World Cup” or big matches between some of the biggest English Premier League clubs, it will be like the talk of the town. Even some non soccer friends will suddenly just become soccer fans for the night just for the sake of watching a match with friends outside. Well then there are others who watch not for the game but for the players itself, especially many young girls.
You will be surprise how such big matches can have an impact on avid soccer fans. One such example is the recent big match between Chelsea and Manchester United in the “Champions League Final”. I read the reports on how people would even go the extra mile to take leave from work the next day so they can spend the wee hours of the night to watch the big match.
Not only that, avid soccer fans get so passionate about their clubs that they actually feel they are part of it. The emotions they get from watching their favourite team as they win or lose can bring out the inner most happiness or sadness in them. I have seen many soccer fans that literally jump and shout for joy when their team wins and then there are times where I see fans crying when they see their teams lose, some even go the extend of feeling depressed. And then a common sight I see or even I do is when we jokingly taunt our friends who support our rival clubs. Such passions are so real that you can really see it in their faces and actions.
Another example of how soccer has impacted large number of people around here and hit the news is when, our very own nation, Singapore, take on other countries in big matches like “Tiger Cup Finals” or against the better countries in the world. With families and friends coming together, going to the national stadium or watching in their homes or coffee shops to support our very own country. It’s a very pleasant sight to see, uniting the nation in a common way.
Non soccer fans may not comprehend why fans would feel so much for their teams, I believe they maybe wondering in bewilderment how such people can experience the same feelings as the players of the team they support even though they are not the ones playing. Well, it’s hard to explain how that feeling comes, but it’s something which I guess only soccer fans will know.
Running
Have you ever thought how one can actually learn a life lesson in a simple thing like running? Well, running is one of my favourite forms of exercise and as I ponder about this, there are so many insights to learn from this. I hope to share some good insights as I reflect upon and write this last entry.
Not many people will know this, but there are so many benefits of running besides just keeping you fit. I have come to learn that running is the fastest and healthiest way to lose weight. And in this stressful environment in the world today, I believe that running is one good way to overcome stress as it just makes you happy after completing a run.
I like running long distances, like five to ten kilometers, and there was once I started to wonder why that each time I finished the run instead of feeling just tired there was this feeling of joy and this thing inside me that just make me so “high”.
I was thinking could it just be the satisfaction of completing a long distance? Or there was more to just that? So I went home that day and did a little research on it and found out that, there’s a name for this feeling, It’s called the “runner’s high”. This is where chemical in our bodies called “endorphins” are release when we do strenuous exercises.
Another thing I have learnt about running is, if we set ourselves a goal, like a certain timing to complete the run and when we actually attained that goal at the end of the run you also attain a high like no other. When you see your progress over time, and just look back to see where you have come from, you really be amazed also excited by the fact that what ever you want to achieve, is within your control. A personal stretch goal achieved, gives a high far greater than any business stretch goal achievement.
Remember I shared at the start of this entry that you can even learn a life lessons from running. Well, there was once I was running the ten kilometers trails in MacRitchie Reservoir, and I was reflecting and thinking about various issues as such reflections keeps my mind going and away from the tiredness as well. And when I was at the last quarter of the run I was getting a little tired, to me I feel running long distance is sometimes more of a mental challenge then a physical challenge.
Anyways, I started to notice that there were many steep hills that can just knocked you off your pacing and if your not focus and not pushing yourself your mind will tell your body to give up. And if you do not know this, in running long distance, you really need to pace yourself well if you want to complete a run in a good time. And we shouldn’t stop to walk as it will actually spoil one pace in a run.
Well, I realize that after each steep slope that I conquered I knew there was going to be a steep down slope too where it will be a breeze down. And it actually makes me reflect about the situation of how our life is like a marathon. There will be steep up hills that will just make our life so miserable, and if we don’t preserve through such times we may actually just give up and it will bring us down even more. And then there are those down hills, where if we preserve enough those up hills we know that there will be a down hill after that. To summarize that, I have learnt that tough times will actually build out our character if we preserve through it with a good attitude. And sooner you know it; better times will come as your character has been molded from the tough times.
I want to share a quote which I found that sums up my sharing, "Top results are reached only through pain. But eventually you like this pain. You'll find the more difficulties you have on the way, the more you will enjoy your success." quoted from Juha "the Curel Vaatainen”.
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