Keep up

The problem of the Saturday tragedy could be because of not keeping up from the start. After the gun fire, I was trailing behind the leading back. After 5 mins, I was still trailing. My race was sort of over.

So the issue here is to keep up, no matter what. No matter what the stakes are. Because that has become some sort of a fundamental tactic.

So step number one is to keep up. And after keeping up is the work of surviving. Which has become the most current agenda now.

Jack of all trade and none

I realised tt being able to secure a good job in the future depends on an important factor: being unique. The more unique a job is, the greater the pay it commands. If you have a skill many others have, your pay will be moderate or even low.

There are many kinds of skills available. Linguistic skill, mathematical skill, organizational skill, social skill, leadership skill, persuasive skill and many many others.

It is a paradox that to survive in this new world, you need to be a Jack of all trades and not one too. Because it is an advantage that you have a wide spectrum of skills and at the same time specialises in a few.

Cross- country nationals 2009

Many times we think we've realized our mistakes, we thought we've got certain formulae and ways right and we hoped to get just better only to face the harsh reality which sends us back to square one. I got that last Saturday, the cross- country nationals of 2009.

It was one of the most fantastic competition fields i have ever encountered. Sunny, Mok, Feroz, Dave, Darsha, Kannan, Madan, Marc, Rui Yong and the Gurkhas. It was like almost all the entire superstars were on show. I said almost cos Kien Mau was loitering easy beside the podium.

The start was a crazy- speed bottleneck frenzy. It was like a stampede. It was a rush. It's survival. Of the fittest, strongest, fastest.

The drawback of the competition is how it lived up to its name. I prefer cross- country to be in the pristine evergreen forests, not on acrid, barren Bedok Reservoir.

Thinking of you

There are many reasons that keep you in the game. Reasons that keep you going on. Factors which make you still wanna train hard.

One good reason is to stay in the game. To be ahead. To be relevant. Even though you trailed last season, you still wanna make it next season. There is enough energy, both in mental and physical terms. You do not wanna be in the game over zone.

If you take a look around there's still a lot of work to be done unless you are the best.

And the road to being the best is special.