Things I wrote a long time ago.... part 1

The Truth

The truth is
Love binds 2 hearts together
So tight
Yet not to suffocate them
But to nourish them
To make them tender
To make them stronger against all odds




The truth is
Love can be hurtful
If one tend to forget its meaning
Which is embedded
With care and responsibility
of one's action to the other






The truth is
Love is something beautiful
That surrounds itself with torns
Making it difficult to hold
But once sought
It is all worth it
 

From the web : Tips to get fit and motivated

Let’s face it. When it comes to staying healthy and fit, we’re all battling our inner demons. We struggle everyday to get out of bed – or the sofa – and wonder in amazement at how others could do it. Staying motivated has much to do with the psychology of the mind and social support.

 

First, understand that we all are creatures of positive reinforcement. No one likes to be told to do something. So when it comes to workouts, choose something that you enjoy doing. Alina Kamaruddin speaks of her gym class, “When choosing a gym, I make sure that it has a variety of classes that fits my personality. I don’t do workouts that I dislike, in this case, zumba. But that’s just one class out of a week and my gym still leaves me with plenty of option to do something else.”

Rewarding yourself after a workout also helps get you committed to more workouts in future. Personal trainer Jonathan Quek says, “I encourage my clients to reward themselves after a good workout – whether they want that ice-cream or that burger bakar.” There is nothing wrong with indulging, especially in food, says Quek “because you have worked hard at burning off those fat, and so long as indulgence is done in moderation, it is a good motivator.”

Self-control is another way to motivate you to exercise more. Understand that every one has limited self-control, and that this resource thins out the longer the day wears on. For example, you have better self-control to plan your day if you start in the morning. As the day goes by, and more variables go into it, you will keep on losing control of what you can or cannot do.

This is why some fitness experts encourage us to exercise in the morning. This is when you’ll have less hurdles and excuses to overcome, for example an over-extended meeting at the office or running errands after work. If a morning workout is simply impossible, then come up with an alternative plan that can help you remove those hurdles or have you work around them.

 

Finally, embrace the concept of social support. Human beings are by nature, sociable. We like to feel we belong, and whether you admit it or not, we sometimes seek a group’s approval of our actions and behaviour. This is the reason why people who work out in groups fare better in sticking to their exercise routine than one who works out alone. MetCon X founder, Daing Daniel Fitri, explains, “In a group workout such as with MetCon X, you never feel alone. There are always people in your group to motivate and cheer you on, regardless of your fitness levels. Sometimes when you feel like giving up, you won’t because you see others marching on.” 

Another reason group workouts are great, he says, is they also motivate you to work harder. “You don’t realise this but in a group, when everyone’s doing it together, you’re more likely to go beyond your comfort zone.” So the next time you plan to workout alone, try roping in a friend or a group. Committing to a workout with others is the best motivating factor to get you out the door and onto the road of fitness.

(FMT : Free Malaysia Today - Anis Ramli ) 

Life is like a glass of water...really!

Well, this is the topic i'd prepared for a public speaking competition earlier this month.

Just wanted to share it here...

' Life is like a glass of water'. 

 

 

Water is a free-flow entity which needs a vessel to contain them. Without it, well...you'll be wet! Some people had said life to a glass of water. It is interesting to know how they relate it together. There are few anecdotes which details this and below I'll share 2 of them.

A chemistry professor decided to teach his students a different lesson one day. Holding a glass of water in his hand, he asked the students,  “How much do you think this glass of water weighs?” 

“1/2 litre!” came a voice from the back. “1 litre,” said another student. 

“Well, even I don’t really know!” said the professor, holding the glass up to make sure everyone could see it. “And unless we weigh it, we won’t know.” With the glass still in his outstretched hand, the professor continued, “What will happen if I hold it like this for a few minutes?”

“Nothing!” came the reply. 

“Right, and if I hold it for an hour like this, what might happen?” 

“Your hand will begin to hurt,” said a student.

 “Indeed. And what would happen if I held the glass in my hand like this for 24 hours?”

“You would be in tremendous pain,” said one student. “Your hand will probably go numb,” said another.

“Your arm will be paralysed and we’ll need to rush you to the hospital!” said a student on the last bench.

“True,” said the professor. “But notice that through all this, the weight of the glass did not change. What then causes the pain?”

The class went quiet. The students seemed puzzled.

“What should I do to avoid the pain?” asked the professor.

“Put the glass down!” said a student of the floor,

"Well said!” exclaimed the professor. “And that’s a lesson I want you to remember. The problems and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. But think about it a bit longer and they begin to hurt.  And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralysed – incapable of doing anything. It’s important to remember to let go of your problems. Remember to put the glass down!”

We may not have been in that classroom that day, but it’s  a lesson we would all do well to remember. Put the glass down! 

Always!

It’s not just problems and worries. Sometimes, we feel hurt and betrayed by a friend. And we carry that grudge through our lives. It grows and causes us anguish and pain. Learning to forgive – and forget – is not just good for the other people, it’s great for you. 

It is the same with our fears too. A failure or an incident in early childhood becomes a deeply entrenched fear over time. Fear of public speaking, fear of rejection. You name it, and chances are, we have it. Someone gave us that glass to hold when we were little kids – ‘you are no good, you can’t do it’ -  and we have faithfully held on to it all our lives. ‘I can’t’ - becomes a thought that stays in our mind and grows – leading us to complete paralysis. Time to put the glass down!

Another anecdote is to compare my mind to a glass of water.

It’s small, mostly transparent, and limited in capacity. I can add water to the brim of the glass, but once it’s full it can no longer fit any additional water. Instead, it just spills over the side of the glass and runs all over the table. In the same way, my mind is continually filled with bits and pieces of information – thus when new information is added, the old tends to spill out.

Does this sound familiar?

A friend asks me to stop at the grocery store on my way home. I can do that. While I successfully make the stop to pick up bread and milk, I subsequently forget to stop at the bank and post office. It’s as if my mind was filled to full capacity and could no longer add anything additional.

Pouring out your glass. In order to truly relieve the stress on your mind, you need to empty the glass of water. In order to do this, you need to have a system you can trust. You probably can think of examples of how you do this in your own life. For example, have you ever put your keys next to the door at night just so you ensure they are not lost in the morning? By doing so, you have created a system you trust and probably did not add any “what if I lose my keys” stress to your sleep that night.

There are hundreds of ways you can structure your system to make it work for you. If you have a smartphone, learn to use the calendar or reminder features. Use posterboard to make a plan for specific tasks. Perhaps even buy and carry around a personal notebook planner. Whatever your system is – make it yours and learn to trust your system.

Hopefully by reading this you'll learn something relevant to your life. Stop stressing around. Instead, take your time and tend to it. It's better for your mental health.

Kita minum dulu...

Di dalam sebuah kelas falsafah, seorang profesor berdiri di hadapan dewan kuliah, meja di hadapannya terdapat beberapa barangan. Tanpa sepatah perkataan, kelas bermula dengan beliau mengambil sebuah balang mayonis yang besar dan mengisinya dengan bola golf.

Dia kemudian bertanya kepada para pelajarnya, adakah balang tersebut penuh, dan pelajarnya menjawab "Ya!". Profesor kemudian mengambil sekotak batu kerikil halus dan menuangkannya ke dalam balang yang telah dipenuhi bola golf tadi, lantas menggoncang balang tersebut dengan lembut. Bebatu kerikil mengisi ruangan kosong di antara bola-bola golf. Sekali lagi dia bertanya akan pelajarnya sama ada balang tersebut telah penuh, pelajarnya lantas menjawab "Ya..."

Tanpa menjelaskan apa-apa kepada pelajarnya, profesor tersebut lantas mengambil pula sebuah kotak yang berisi pasir dan menuangkannya ke dalam balang tersebut. Pasir yang dituang mengisi ruangan di antara batu kelikir dan bola golf. Seperti tadi dia bertanya lagi kepada para pelajarnya sama ada balang tersebut telah penuh. Dalam keadaan yang penuh persoalan, rata-rata pelajarnya menjawab "Ya.."

Sejurus selepas itu, profesor itu kemudiannya mengeluarkan dua cawan kopi  dari bawah mejanya dan menuangkan kedua-duanya ke dalam balang yang telah sedia ada diisi batu golf, batu kerikil dan pasir tersebut. Air kopi mengisi ruangan yang terdapat di antara pasir. Para pelajar mula ketawa dan tersenyum meihat tindakan profesor tersebut.

"Sekarang..." profesor mula bersuara apabila riuh rendah dan gelak ketawa pelajarnya berkurangan. "Saya mahu anda semua menganggap balang ini sebagai kehidupan anda...Bola-bola golf mewakili perkara penting - Tuhan, keluarga anda, anak-anak, kesihatan anda, kawan-kawan dan semangat anda - Jika anda kehilangan segalanya dan hanya perkara penting ini yang masih anda ada, hidup anda masih penuh. Batu kerikil halus ini pula mewakili perkara-perkara lain seperti kerja anda, rumah atau kereta anda, manakala pasir pula mewakili perkara-perkara lain, yakni perkara-perkara kecil."

"Jika anda memasukkan pasir ke dalam balang dahulu...anda tidak akan mempunyai ruang untuk batu kerikil dan bola golf. Ini sama juga seperti kehidupan anda. Jika anda menghabiskan masa dan tenaga untuk  perkara-perkara kecil, anda tidak akan mempunyai ruang untuk perkara yang sebenarnya lebih penting untuk diri anda." 

"Ambil perhatian untuk perkara yang kritikal untuk kebahagiaan anda.Luangkan masa gembira untuk anak-anak. Sentiasa melakukan pemeriksaan kesihatan, bawa pasangan anda untuk makan malam, yang pasti, anda akan masih ada masa untuk membersihkan rumah atau urusan lain. Sila ambil berat akan bola golf dahulu - iaitu perkara yang benar-benar penting. Tetapkan keutamaan. Perkara lain cumalah pasir..."

Salah seorang pelajarnya mengangkat tangan dan bertanya apakah pula yang diwakili oleh air kopi. Profesor tersebut tersenyum. "Saya gembira ada yang bertanya. Ianya  menunjukkan bahawa tidak kira bagaimana penuh pun kehidupan anda, akan sentiasa ada ruang untuk secawan dua kopi bersama rakan-rakan..."

P/s : Renungan untuk semua. Apabila kehidupan kita seakan terlalu penuh dan tampak sukar untuk diuruskan, apabila 24 jam sehari seperti tidak mencukupi, ingatlah kisah 2 cawan kopi ini...

How to be productive at work...

Getting started

Start with understanding and doing your assigned task. Remember, taking the first step is always difficult, but if you do not take that one step you can never achieve your goals. Don't get worried with the task assigned, if it is new to you.   Ask required questions to better understand assigned task. Once you get started, everything will come in easy.

Stay Healthy

Bad health can also be a possible reason for being unproductive. Before you go to work; take your breakfast, rest well and research about your duties.

Make an appointment with yourself

Give yourself at least 30 minutes during the day. This will enable you to concentrate and focus your attention on the matters at hand. Give yourself time to think and concentrate as you tackle your job and projects. These uninterrupted 30 minutes will give fruitful results in the long run.

Utilize your prime time

We all have a specific time of the day when we have lots of vigor and zest and a greater ability to think and concentrate. Work out when you have your high energy levels and tackle your most important work at that time. Try to arrange meetings, appointments and other activities at another time of the day.

Avoid unplanned meetings

Spontaneous meetings are real interrupters as well as huge time-wasters and productivity destroyers. They break your concentration, disturb your thought process while undermine your momentum. The next time someone comes into your office or sits by your desk and start making him/herself comfortable, say that you are in the middle of an important project. Then ask if you could get together at a mutually convenient time later in the day or week. This is called a polite excuse.

Schedule your meetings with staff and colleagues

In most offices, time is wasted when people get up from their desks to ask their colleagues a question. Fix a specific time to meet colleagues for queries. Best is the time slot which does not fall in the peak hours of work.

Take breaks

It is a fact that taking breaks periodically during the day relax your body and nerves and refreshes you for the tasks ahead. Ensure that you take small breaks all day. It could be a walk to the water cooler from your office/room or a visit to the photocopy machine/fax/ printer.

Planning required

Establish a routine of listing your daily and weekly tasks. This will allow you to have your most productive week all the time. Start your day an extra 15 minutes early to do this planning every day. Write down the top 3 important things you must do that day. Plan your upcoming week on Sunday evening.

Drop unimportant tasks

Delete the non-essential items from your to-do list. The best way to do this is to prioritize and complete your most important things first.

Enjoy your time at work

Being productive and competitive in official business doesn't mean that you have to be serious all the time. Smiling doesn't mean you're not working hard. Be enthusiastic as well as competitive. Stay positive, that way you can face and win challenges better.

Be a Team Player

Don't be afraid to collaborate with others. Don't wait for your boss to tell you what to do.

Learn from criticism

Be a sport and never immediately reject critiques from others, even if you do not like or respect them. Sometimes people you do not like may be giving you more honest feedback than you can get from others.

Acclimatize

Adapting is in the nature of living beings. Those who do not adapt, become extinct.

Upgrade your learning

Always be on the lookout for opportunities to learn and improve your skills. Look for good seminars and training.

p/s: Lots of tips here, some i just can't do yet. It takes time...

A deskjob it is...

Week 2 on the job...

Is it a boring job? Not really. Is it so interesting? Not really also.

By definition, it is a deskjob. You are pushing papers to get approval. Everyday.

Calling vendors to make sure they get the orders. Every other day.

Users calling you making sure you pushed the papers and call the vendors. 24 hours? It might as well be!


P/s : Someone told me that whether the work interesting or not, it's entirely up to you. You are the one who can make it exciting, interesting. If you look forward for the job, the job will not bore you. If you wake up and thinking, it'll be a boring day...for sure it'll be full of boredom.

P/s 2 : Finding the motivation is not easy. You need to push yourselves. You need to know what makes you excited. You need to make your day wonderful. Noone would make it wonderful for you.

P/s 3 : Think it like this. This is the work the company pays you to do. Do it. The company could always pay other people if you are not interested. This is the fortune God had given us. Aren't we grateful?

P/s 4 : 'Ikhlas' is the word. The more we moan, the more we complain, it's like we are not grateful. This is even harder to achieve but it is achievable. I am like other people, digging deep for motivation, tunneling further to search for 'ikhlas'... trying to do the job with heart.

Yup, it is so hard...