If youre used to lying to yourself, your life will be ruined forever. An excerpt from A Singapore Love Story: Many people are afraid of change, because change is scary. It means a venture into an unknown; a journey into a new world. Just like death; we are all afraid of death because we fear what lies ahead—if there is any. We cannot change the world; we can change our mindset. Once we change our mindset, physical change becomes a walk in the park. Just a simple tweak in the mind does the trick. In my room was a trophy that I had won in a 10 km run I participated in, in 2001. I joined the under-19 category then, and had checked the result of the previous year’s winner. The winner clocked forty-five minutes. The fastest 10 km run I clocked was fifty minutes. You cannot change the world, I told myself then, so change your mindset. I went to the race and told myself that I usually took forty minutes to run 10 km. “Forty minutes,” I said while I was doing my stretching. I was with a few of my track and field friends. They had joined the run for the branded vest; I had joined the run to show others, maybe Michael, that a journey into a new world merely meant a slight change in the mind, not in the world. “But your fastest—” “Shut up, Pauline,” I cut in immediately. Forty minutes, I told myself again. The first ten minutes was simple. I remembered that only five women were in front of me; the rest were men. I maintained my pace and knew that should I continue at this speed, I would be able to see the five women soon. Twenty minutes later, I did not see them. I could not increase my pace. I looked at my watch but not at the numbers. There are five women in front of me! The day before the run, I had memorized the route of the race. The organizers even showed where the timing mats were, where the marshals were, and where the water stations were. I realized if I turned left at a point, I could cut through the forested area and skip one kilometre. I would not meet any marshal nor miss any timing mat. It doesn’t matter if you win by one second or one minute. What matters is you win. I cut through the forest. I calculated the time I would save. If I could run 10 km within forty minutes at a constant pace, that meant each kilometre would be four minutes. With about one kilometre shed, I would be able to finish the race within thirty-six minutes. I exited the forested area after one minute. Neither runner nor marshal was around. I recalculated, adding that one minute in. That would be thirty-seven minutes. Still impressive. I continued the run. The five women should be behind me; I had overtaken them. When I saw the finishing line, I sprinted forward. I stopped my watch the moment I crossed the line. “Well done! I’m the first!” I yelled. That should be a good story to motivate Michael to upgrade himself. I had run 10 km in forty minutes—something that I thought I could not achieve. All it took was just a change of mindset—and nothing else. I did not change the world. I changed my mindset. That evening, my parents asked me about the trophy. I put it atop my table and instructed Yanni to wipe it clean daily. “I won the race.” “See, I’ve told you, again and again,” Mummy said. “If you strive for the best, you’ll be the best.” Daddy, his eyes still on the trophy, whispered, “Nothing is impossible. Everything can be won by hope and determination.” “Yeah. Nothing is impossible.” “What’s your timing?” After the race, I had thrown away the watch. “Thirty-seven minutes,” I said. A Singapore Love Story, Page 59 - 60 Read it for free here: goodybooks/asingaporelovestory/asingaporelovestorychapter1/
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 09:00:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015