Having "Me" Time

This morning I went off to run before work as normal.  I push my lazy self off my comfy bed and whilst driving to the fitness, I wonder if there will ever come a day when the "lazy me" is gone and dead.  It's been almost two years since I've started running and every morning it's a battle to ward off the "lazy me."  Some days, it's quiet and weak and I can easily push it away, some days it has strength and wants to take over the "active me."  Nevertheless, as long as I keep my head, the "active me" remains in top place.  This battle, however, stops the minute I am in the car and once I start running it is as if I am transported into a different dimension. Another world. This morning's world was one of peace and tranquility.  I ran without my headphones. Usually I'd spend my runs catching up on the morning news, watching Haslinda Amin recap on Bloomberg or perhaps the BBC news, but today I wanted to try running without ...

If you were wondering about the title, "No my blog isn't having any "down time" anytime soon but please do have some "me" time :)  Everyone sooner or later needs to have "downtime" for themselves.  I was reading two lovely articles today shared by a good friend about how to be happy and how to have work-life balance.  I think what they say is definitely something we should take into account a bit more consciously.  Not just as a passing thought, but as an action.  Afterall, it's the action that counts. One of things they mentioned was "downtime."  It mentioned that we should schedule "downtime" for ourselves every week to ensure that we get the rest we need.  A little relaxation can go a long way and instead give you more focus, energy and a clearer mind. Sometimes when we are stuck in the everyday rut of "work, work, and more work" we can't seem to even find time for ourselves to take time for the bathroo...

Ever since I've moved house earlier this year, I've had the opportunity to see another part of life I had never previously seen.  I now live next to a military base that is also open to the public. Cars pass through in and out to get to the main road on the other side of the base.  Most mornings and evenings that's the route I'd take.  Unexpectedly though, on a quiet day you can be most certain to hear the sounds of soldiers in training.  Just half an hour ago as I lay on my bed relaxing, a beautiful sound came through the window.  It was the sound of trumpets playing a tune that reminds me of war movies. It was 9pm.  Like an alarm clock, every evening and not a minute late,  the sound of trumpets playing a tune will echo through the air and flow through all the houses in the surrounding area.  It sounds magical.  If you wake up early, you're hear the same tunes being played at the wake of dawn.  5am.  The...

The weekend is over and I've returned to busy Bangkok after a peaceful weekend in the mountains.  I have to say that when I'm there the days seem longer and the nights more relaxing.  There isn't any traffic for us to get stuck in and when you wake up, you are greeted by temperatures of 18 degrees celsius.  It's just sublime.   You feel light as a feather.  You also find yourself when you are there.  So I found myself a little more this past weekend and a little more I realize who I am.  How can I NOT know myself?  Believe me, I don't yet fully know "me."  (By knowing, I mean you truly evaluate all your actions and your thoughts and you know EXACTLY where and why they are the way they are.  I don't mean your name and your place in life.  That we all know.  I'm talking about a much deeper level of understanding "me." )  It's all about understanding the motives, reasoning, and emotions behind our a...

It's a day after the run, and although I only did 5K somehow my legs are still sore.  It must have been the way I "tiptoe" run or perhaps I'm just not used to so much running.  Funny though, even with sore legs,  the exhiliration from the run still lingers on.  I'm still very much stress free and happy.   I ran not for someone else but rather for myself.  It's something one does to challenge oneself.  When I signed up for 5K, I knew it wasn't much at all if you talk to a "real" runner, but for me who a year ago was still 15kgs (32lbs) heavier it was quite something.  I had started running to lose weight.  Prior to that, the last time I remember running was during my childhood days.   I had forgotten how it was to run and be "active."  So used was I to sitting in my office chair for 10 hours on end staring at the computer screen.  I had derived comfort from sitting, eating, and websurfing....

Yesterday morning I went running as usual.  Unlike other days, instead of watching Bloomberg news, following currencies and stock market movements, I decided to watch Oprah Winfrey.   There was an interesting show in which she had brought a bunch of obese teenage boys and girls to attend a workshop. I guessed most of them must have weighed over a 100 kgs.  It wasn't their size that fascinated me, but what they did during the workshop.  It changed their lives. They faced up to their fears and acknowledged what it was that had been gnawing at them inside and causing all this unhappiness and emotional overeating.  It's something that many many people succumb to without realizing it and then they get stuck in this vicious cycle that becomes hard to break and detrimental to their health. The workshop had these teenage boys and girls start sentences with " If you really knew me, you'd know I ......"   A lot of things came out.  A lot of ...

One day, I'll turn off all my gadgets, disconnect from the online world and just disappear.  I've had this on my mind awhile now, but its easier said than done.  If I'm not on the phone checking my email, updating my facebook, writing out a "To Do" list, making notes on thoughts that cross my mind, checking the news or messaging a friend; I find myself on the computer or in front of the television.   I'm perpetually connected.  You can find me easily just like that.  Send me a message or an email. With my first advent into the world of connectivity with first the symbian Nokia E71 and now the iPhone, I have become addicted to this world of "accessibility."  Everything is available at the touch of my fingertips, whether it's checking out the latest news, my portable notepad, my emails, photographs and of course facebook.  Whenever I get tired or distracted, I end up picking up the phone and go through the motions of checking my emails, mes...

For everything we want to achieve in life, I think the most important factor to its successful achievement depends on our ability to control how we think and keep ourself motivated. When I first started out running, I was so unfit I could hardly run for 1 minute.  I gasped for breath and my face would turn completely red.  My stomach and chest would feel a pain and a little voice inside my head would start telling me to stop running and just walk!   The little voice would get louder and LOUDER the longer I ran.  It would tell me all sorts of things, such as "You've done enough running, you've done a great job, just stop and walk."    Sometimes it would say "Your chest hurts and your stomach is having stitches, something must be wrong.. therefore STOP!"   On other occasions it would tell me the time and say "You are running late today, cut your workout short.  You have a long day ahead, save your energy." At times, it would tell me, "I hate thi...