Planking

My colleagues gave me a 30-day plank challenge chart.

Ever since I started plank exercises, I begin to have better posture and less lower-back pain. I plank not to sculpt the six-pack but to strengthen the core because when the core is strong, there is less discomfort with sitting long hours at a desk and improved ability to perform daily activities

Human being, not human doing

"My friend was 57 when he died of cardiac arrest last Tuesday," Patrick said, sadly and softly. "I am trying to manage my stress at work"

One of the strange and false ideas is that an important and successful person is always busy. As a result many rush around in a frenzy, dressed in designer label clothes, trying to give the appearance that they are busy and earning a lot of money - after all, these are the signs of success! I am learning to slow down and access life. Life is about being and not get carried away with doing. After all, we are human being and not human doings.

The passion of LKY

The legendary Lee Kuan Yew is laid to rest today. To me, he ranks up there with world legends like Gandhi, Lincoln and Mandela.

The one standout of the great man is his overwhelming passion....for his country, for the love of his life and for his values.

So forget who you were. Forget what you've done. And forget what others are going.
Simply ask, What am I passionate about?
Now go do that.
And bingo!
That's who you are.

Can you hear the music?

There was the annual lion dance performance at my apartment today. I was in the gym, watching through the window, hearing both the drums and gongs compete with Ellie Goulding singing "Love Me Like You Do" on the radio.

For me, one of the greatest joys in this world is music. Can you imagine a world without music? What a weary, weary world it would be.

Life isn't always easy. I have had many mountaintop experiences, but life isn't always lived on the mountaintops of the world. Sometimes we find ourselves in the valleys of fear and doubt. At those times it is easy to become discouraged, to let critics get us down. The people who cannot hear the music think that the people who are dancing are crazy.  

Adult human male

I attended SJS' 60th anniversary dinner last Saturday and caught up with some of my school teachers. A common thread Evelyn Lee, Joyce Chew and Joseph Chia said to me was: "You have changed, Paul."

When a man - knows who he is, is confident in his own body, knows how to deal with his emotions, face his fears, can stand resolute when needed, hold his own in conversation, doing so with compassion and integrity - he is now an adult human male.

After all, it's been said...being male is a matter of birth. Being a man is a matter of age. Being a gentleman is a matter of choice.
 

Don't just hope...decide

"My best friend, Patrick, called me a couple of days ago. ""Are you free to meet up tonight," he enquired. It's been such a long time since we last connected."

Brother Pat as I addressed him has been a colleague and friend since 1987.

Great relationships don't come to those who hope for them. Hope is worthless unless coupled with real effort. Great relationships belong to those who decide to put in the effort and make them a priority.

Five-O

I turn 50 tomorrow, which is young for a tree, mid-life for an elephant and ancient for a footballer. Last week I was in New York and there are 50 states in the United States of America. The TV show Hawaii Five-O is so called because Hawaii is the last (50th) of the states to officially become a state.

The percentage (50%) equivalent to one half, so that the phrase "fifty-fifty" commonly expresses something divided equally in two; in business this is often denoted as being the ultimate in equal partnership. Nowadays there are also 50 shades of grey.

Fifty is supposed to be my dad's age, it is not the number that I was prepared to have hung on me, but now I am stuck with these elevated digits and everything they mean.

A youth-and-beauty-worshipping culture dominates Singapore, where what is "new" is generally presumed to be better than what is "old". Hence it is more important to maintain physical and mental fitness. Our sunset may lack some of the brightness of our sunrise, but it has its own special beauty if we learn to see and appreciate its possibilities.

President Reagan was re-elected to a second four-year term in 1984, when he was 73 years-old.

The essential ingredients for a fulfilling life in the vintage years are the same for young and old. Love, friendship, a feeling of connectedness with others, a sense of humour remain critical to our sense of well-being. As time goes by, we should not forget the redemptive power of smiling, laughing and hugging. The secret to happiness - I read somewhere - is having something to do, something to look forward to and someone to love...