On leading a more productive life.

Image Credits: Pinterest

Good Sunday morning my dears! :) It's such a beautiful day today, and I sure hope everyone's enjoying this long Easter weekend. Whether or not you're at church or simply spending time lazing out at home, it's a beautiful day here on my side of the world and I'm feeling splendid :) 

I've finally started exercising again, I'm proud to say I accomplished my fitness goals for this week! :) Maybe its the adrenaline or the hormones, but I'd like to thank the exercise for my mood as well. I don't think I've felt this energised and happy in a long while. 

I was inspired to write this post today because being productive is something I lack in my life. I'm sure I'm not the only one here who succumbs to procastination, but procastinating is really something I major in. It's an art form in itself, and requires the least effort to succeed in. Yet this very art form is something that should be rid of in its entirety, although I suppose a very mild case of it won't bring too much harm. My case on the other hand is severe because I'm able to procastinate for weeks on end. Let's use some of my make-up posts that have been saved in drafts for weeks now. *waves frantic hands up in the air*. So, though I may not be the most reliable person to produce tips on leading a more productive life, I thought I'd share some things I've tried in the past and am hoping to inculcate now to put me back on track: 

1) Keep your area neat and tidy.

This may seem like the most mundane yet it is also the most important thing to do. I'm not a very neat person, and when I'm at my worst there's hardly space on the floor to walk around! I'm not proud of this, and the clutter makes me frantic and uneasy. Very often you'll hear people say they need to clear their rooms before attempting work, and this is for the very reason that the clutter around you represents that in your head! I've been keeping my room neat and tidy, and I have found that it has helped me tremendously as it makes me more energetic to do something. It's not easy to keep spaces clean, but with a little effort you'll thank yourself for sure in the long run! 

2) Integrate at least a half hour of exercise each day.

Let's not deny that it is no easy feat to get our butts off the chairs to head out for a run/exercise. Did you know though that exercise doesn't necessarily involve leaving the house and sweating profusely? Besides, there are several videos you could search for on YouTube to work out at home! I personally love Yoga, and my go-to YouTuber is Adriene. She has tons of videos to choose from, and I work out on these videos even after having gone to the gym! Plus, yoga is relaxing and you'll feel so much calmer after :) I also like Cassey and Sean, their videos are all simple to do and hardly require equipment of any sort. Let's not forget apps you can download like the Nike Training App, it's free and is super useful to do at home :)

3) Plan out your day.

To-do lists are definitely one way of keeping yourself on track for the day and week ahead, but I personally prefer writing out a schedule for the day. Use a vision board, or a wall in your room and fill it up with sticky-notes to let yourself know what you plan to do throughout the day. I find that doing this helps me better in organising my time for the day. This way, not only do I have a to-do list, but I know how much time I'm planning to spend on each activity and how much time I'll have to do other things. You'll be surprised at how much you can plan (and not squeeze!) if you write out a detailed plan.

4) Have a routine.

Just like an exercise schedule, it's important to keep a routine. What this means is what you do in the morning when you wake to when you fall asleep at night. Undeniably, being more productive means waking up bright and early in the morning. Set yourself a time to wake each day, and perhaps a different one during the weekends (there's nothing wrong with a little sleep in during the weekends ;)). What do you do each morning when you wake? Prepare yourself some tea? Take a shower? I know I always feel productive when I have a routine. I always start my day with a shower and some tea, and then end it off with a candle before I go to sleep. Having this routine keeps me more in check with my life and I know I have complete control over it. 

5) Constantly fill your mind with positive vibes.

There will be good, but there will also be bad days. During days like these all you want to do is cuddle under the covers and hide yourself from the rest of the world. For some, it takes a day to get over but for others like myself, this may spiral for several days and weeks sometimes. I've found that keeping myself around positive words of affirmations and vibes have been vital in the process of stripping my covers away and getting out of bed. I can't say I'm an expert in this area at this current moment, but it's something I'm still grasping to master. Instagram is definitely a wonderful place to start, follow pages that are filled with bright colours and happy quotes and vibes. They're great to look at to keep yourself going during the darkest times. 

All in all, leading a productive life is something I know we all aspire to do. Even so, sometimes procastinating and taking a day off is important to unwind too. I know some of the tips shared here may be borderline excessive, but I do hope you understand that it's not meant to be followed strictly. Either ways, may you be filled with happy positive vibes, and I hope this post has helped you albeit slightly :)

Do you have any other tips on leading a more productive life? What are your thoughts? Do share, I'd love to know! :)

xx. 

My first 10km run!

The 18th of October 2015 was a special day for me because it celebrates the day I ran my very first 10km! Looking back at it today, I can't believe I actually completed the entire 10km without stopping. Just a few months ago it seemed impossible but now that it's done and dusted I feel like I am capable of achieving and accomplishing anything.

Here's a little backstory on how I got myself involved in the first place:

Rin had signed up for the 10km run for the Melbourne Marathon. I was always keen on participating in a 10km but had never been bold enough to sign up for it because I knew that doing so would mean commitment and thus regular training. As it is, I hadn't even completed a 5km properly before so 10km to me was practically swimming before I had even learnt to breathe underwater. To cut the story short, Rin persuaded and managed to get me to sign up for the 10km, and from that day on I knew there was no backing out.

Now my physical fitness was never on 'expert', but I definitely know I'm fit enough to run and carry out strenuous exercises. My physical strength wasn't so much my concern as my mental strength was. In all my life, I'd always run in the gym on the treadmill. Running outside was always a failure because I always gave up before I had reached the end.

Rin on the other hand, was experienced with running long distance. She'd covered a half marathon before and this girl had a healthy lifestyle (she's recently committed herself to powerlifting!!) so she knew what had to be done! Quite frankly, she was the one who opened up my eyes to the world of running and training for the run.

We only started proper training less than a month to the 10km. It's considered last minute training, but for the amount of time we - I - took to train for it, I'm pretty proud of how far I've come!

We started out by running 5km non stop outside and that very first run for me was a killer. I wanted to give up and almost did but my coach (Rin) was tough and strict on me. She told me not to stop and pushed me all the way. I originally thought we were just going to take the 10km leisurely, never did I think we were going to actually train properly for it. She even wrote a detailed plan for me!!

Training Plan

When I saw this training plan the only thing that went through my head was: I must not disappoint her. Whilst it is true that I started out with a different intention, but after seeing how much effort she put into my training plan and how supportive she was in my abilities to complete the entire distance, I didn't want to let her down.

What I learnt though, was that running long distances isn't difficult. In fact, I developed a deeper respect for athletes in general because of the disciplined plan they follow for their respective trainings. In the course of the three weeks that I trained for the 10km, I ate to exercise rather than exercised to eat, and my schedule revolved around my exercise plan. On days that I had to run the long distances outside (I did this with Rin), I used the techniques she taught me to make the journey easier. Progressively, like all things we do, it got easier to cope with as the weeks went by.

It's easier to build yourself physically than it is to do mentally. Challenging my mind was the toughest battle I had to overcome. In fact, the day we planned to run 7.5km outside happened to be the hottest day of the week. To top it off, of all times to run, we chose to run at 11.00am.

I so wanted to give up so many times, and I even tried to sneak my way out of it by faking that I was going to faint. I don't know if Rin could tell, but she made us run under the shade for a while to cool from the Sun before running outside again. I really wanted to give up and to exaggerate it: wanted to die. Even so I persevered and pushed on and at the end of day, managed to complete 7.6km. I felt so proud of myself.

Subsequently, once I knew mentally that I could run 7.5km, running the first 7.5km on the day we were scheduled to run 9km wasn't difficult at all. It was conquering the final 1.5km that was the real challenge. Even so, by this point I knew that I was physically able but still mentally weak. One method I took to battle this was by focusing on my breathing and the manner in which I was running. Channelling my thoughts in this direction helped to take my mind away from how much further I had to run and stopped me from thinking about giving up.

Eventually, the day of the 10km run came and to sum it up, it was the most incredible and amazing experience I'd ever been through. People of all ages, shapes and sizes were there to run in their respective categories. The atmosphere was so supportive and everyone was just there to have fun and to run. I'm proud to say I completed the entire 10km without stopping. I did it. It was truly a moment for me :)

Full Marathon runners

Before the run 

All smiles after the run!!

We did it!!

Huge huge huge shoutout to my gem of a friend/coach Shirin. Without you I would have been nothing.

Let this be a constant reminder to me during the times I want to give up. Giving up will bring me nowhere in the long run.

Next up: Half Marathon.

xx.

Photo Credits: myself & Shirin.

Settling for less.

Image Credits: Pinterest

Whilst we very often think that true love / love finds its way into the lives of people, the harsh truth is that there are some people who don't get the opportunity to have such experiences with a significant other.

The love I'm referring to here does not include familial or friendship love, rather I'm speaking of a romantic love, the type of love two people feel strongly about each other for.

When a person remains single for too long, he eventually starts questioning if the problem lies with him. Could he possibly be so unattractive to the point that there isn't one trait about him that's likeable for someone else? Basically, your attitude is shaped accordingly and I personally think that it creates higher and harder walls that are more difficult to break down if someone does eventually come along. And yes, I use if because I know that my hopes won't be too high if I were in that position...

But that's not the point of this post. Rather, I've begun wondering what "settling for less" means. When someone who hasn't had the chance to experience such love before finds someone who shows interest, do they simply settle for that person? So yeah, he likes me and I like him too. But are you settling for him because he likes you or because he genuinely is good to you? Just because someone likes you doesn't necessarily equate to them being good to you :/

This idea and concept was clear to me as a teenager. Stupidly enough, whatever I saw on the television / read in books was what set the bar as enough for me. Along the way, friends started falling in love and judging from their experiences, the books and shows seemed pretty accurate.

However, at an older and (hopefully) matured age I slowly am beginning to question my definition of the phrase. You see, the chase would most definitely be different according to the age group you fall in. Should a forty year old pursue a woman the same way a sixteen year old does, chances are he'd be viewed as a creep / immature man. Or as they say, he's thirsty for something. You're expected to be more matured and adult in dealing with relationships as you get older. I don't think this is a problem, it's just something that comes with age.

That said, I've come to realise that I don't know what the bar is any longer. It also made me wonder why you can't just like someone and enjoy your time with them simply because you actually like them. I mean, if it is clear that he isn't interested in you that way after you've shown him signs then obviously you're only hurting yourself by spending so much time with him. But if there is that slight chance, does it matter if he isn't fulfilling the things you've seen in the television / read in books?

Then there's the social construct of how girls shouldn't chase after the guy and invest more in the relationship during the early stages because chances are thats how its going to be for the rest of their lives. Well, lets just say I've known friends who started their relationship that way, but five years down the road the tables have turned. The boyfriends I once wished my friends saw were bad for them are now so committed and invested into the relationship. That's why I think it doesn't matter who confesses first, #girlpower.

I guess at the end of the day, I know that my definition of less would refer to him treating me with no respect. If he sees me as an object rather than a person with feelings and emotion, then I'd only be embarrassed to have seen something in him in the first place. With regards to romantic gestures and the like, I've long since lowered my expectations.

Follow your heart, but also remember that everyone expresses their emotions differently. But if at some point in time you feel like you're really settling for less, then don't ever be too afraid to end things because you're worth so much more than that.

I wish I could explain things better. What kind of blogger am I?
xx.

A lil note from me to you;

Image Credits: Facebook

You are beautiful just the way you are :) Just a little end of the week quote for anyone who might be feeling a lil' down in the dumps. Remember to keep on smiling because you never know who's day you're making with that beautiful smile :)

Xx.

Be kind... to yourself.

Photo credits: C

The weekend after Easter has arrived and just like that, the mid semester break is about to come to a close. I can't say I've had a boring week, it was exciting in it's own little way but I was able to get a lot of relaxation through it all.

Over the past few days I've been thinking about the things we think we deserve. The most common phrase that comes to mind with these words has to be: "We accept the love we think we deserve". But I think it transcends just love, there are so many more aspects in life that we feel we do or do not deserve.

I have very often struggled to come to terms with myself. People around me see the good sides of me, and even if they see the bad sides they're still able to put up with those flaws and love me all the same. Seeing as how we're our harshest critic, I found it difficult to accept my flaws. I don't mean physical flaws, I'm leaning towards emotional and (perhaps) psychological flaws.

A friend told me that we have three different personalities. Our public, personal and private personalities. Public refers to the personality we take on when we meet people. Personal refers to the personality we have amongst our close group of friends. Private of course, refers to our personality when we're alone.

Understanding things this way makes it a lot easier to see why we may seem to have multiple identities. One issue I had with myself was feeling like a hypocrite. You know, you're smiling on the outside and saying positive things yet inside you're thinking otherwise. How do you live with yourself like that? It could just be me, I've never believed in being hypocritical towards people in that sense. If I don't like someone I don't put myself out of my way to be friendly with the person. I still respect them though, I just don't make effort in wanting to get closer to them.

You may be wondering where this post is headed to. Fret not, I just asked myself a similar question haha.

In a nutshell, I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you ever feel like you're undeserving of something, you're never going to be truly happy. We have to learn to accept that we have different personalities and that the thoughts in our head were meant to be in our head for a reason. Unless the thoughts you hold comprise of you wanting to kill someone (in the literal sense of the word), then don't hate yourself too much for it. Such thoughts once in a while is common and you should still love yourself despite these.

So if you've ever felt like you're undeserving of something, hit yourself on the head and take that back. If good things come to you, be grateful and give thanks and embrace the moment as it comes. That is all :)

... I should really work on explaining my posts properly. Such abstract thoughts lead to jumbled up sentences.

xx

Farewell March, you've been kind enough.

I can't believe it's already the end of March! A quarter of the year has gone by just like that, and even though I know this phrase is used way too often, I still wonder: "Where has the time gone??".

March has been a rather interesting albeit tumultuous month. Started the month with school, made a promise to myself for change, failed in some aspects but I have to remind myself that I have to keep on trying. Has this happened to anyone else? You know, you make a promise to yourself to change some aspect of your life but you end up failing. And it's not such a big failure too - although at times the consequences may be rather big - but you deny yourself any form of pleasure because you know you don't deserve it. You beat yourself up harshly and it takes you nowhere but this huge downward spiral that doesn't promise a way out. Well, that was me then and I know that I have to forgive myself yet at the same time punish myself too for misbehaving and failing to carry out what I had promised. I don't know why I fall back into this same pattern, things go well and just as it's about to turn into a habit I give in and it's back to square one. Take deep breaths, stand up straight and march forward. That's all I have to do.

Anyway, the month soon progressed on and before I knew it the second week saw me gracing my birthday with loved ones here down under. It reminded me that love and friendship is always nearby and to count my blessings. School continued, and the weather continued to be in my favour too. I'm always a happy goober here when the weather chooses to be happy too :) (in other words, lots of sunshine and cool breezes).

Towards the end of the month things took a turn. My former Prime Minister passed away and for a long time up till now I am still mourning his death. I believe I have said all that I wanted to in my previous post, but I forgot to mention the unity I felt amongst the people of my country throughout the entire week leading up to the procession of his death. Never have I felt so united as one with the people of my country, bearing the same thoughts as well as worries for what lies ahead in the future. It was a time that I found no comfort being around people who weren't from Singapore because the truth was none of my friends from other countries would understand or feel the same amount of grief as I did. I suppose it's the same elsewhere. I won't deny that my grief over the death of the late Princess Diana ever surmounted to the level of the people of England. That is to say, neither do I treat the late Lee Kuan Yew as a king, I'm merely expressing my inability in expressing and sharing my grief with those who may not understand.

That said, there is light at the end of the tunnel and albeit the sadness that clouded the air, there were some good things too. Firstly, I think I most probably exhausted myself by attending three concerts over three consecutive days. Attended the Miranda Sings concert with a friend, watched Cirque De Soleil with a group of friends and finally, attended Ed Sheeran's concert with some friends too :) I enjoyed myself thoroughly at all three events, and it definitely helped to perk me up from all that sadness.

Anyway, here are some photos from the past week :

I fangirled a whole lot that night. I love Miranda so much, she's my inner soul. 

We customised our own t-shirts!! It was so much fun dressing up pre-concert with my girls, it made the whole experience a  lot more fun :)

And, randoms snippets from the week:

Love the smoothies from Five Plus Smoothies!! So delicious and filling. It's slightly pricey so I only ever purchase it if I've gone through a really good workout at the gym. Plus, it doesn't help my case much considering it's located just next to my gym...

Yummy gelato from Dex2Rose, a nitrogen gelato store co-owned by my friend. I'm not being biased, but I genuinely love the gelato from his store a lot more as compared to the others that I've tried. The flavours suited my palate, the price was reasonable and the location is fantastic. 

In case you wanted to know where it's located, here's the address:

Dex2Rose Nitrogen Gelato

377 Little Bourke Street

 Melbourne VIC 3000 

I love waking up to this view :)

Well, I guess that's it for March. I will be ending this month with another delightful meeting at Toastmasters and then perhaps getting groceries because I am starving myself at home due to the absence of food. Tomorrow shall be the start of a new month, and hopefully the continuation of good habits and the start of better ones.

Hope you've had a lovely March, and I hope you're as excited as I am for the coming weeks to come! :)
Xx

How fast do you walk?

Source: Pinterest

As far as resolutions go, one that I have made in particular is with regards to the speed in which I walk. Instead of "resolution", I suppose it's safer to say that it's more of a reminder and a habit that I wish to change.

There are all sorts of speeds in this world. You have those who walk really slowly, those who speed away as if they're engaged in an urgent matter and those who walk at an average speed. 

Now I happen to fall in the second category, especially so when I'm alone. With company I find myself following their pace unless we're in a rush somewhere. That said though, I'm very often leading the group when we're walking... I wonder why. Maybe it's my pace. 

I've come to realise that the speed at which I walk when alone has influenced my life and ultimately my happiness. Firstly, I hardly have time to look at the things around me and consider their beauty given I'm so concentrated in getting to my destination as quickly as possible. Secondly, I most probably appear to be rather haphazard to others given how fast I walk. Walking fast increases your heart rate and though it may prove to be a rather good form of exercise whilst out but it doesn't necessarily portray you in a very good light. I basically found myself feeling awkward whenever I was out alone. 

Simply put, I felt as if my life was a rush and I felt highly unattractive each time I reached my destination. 

This year I told myself I wanted to stop walking so fast all the time. I wanted to change the pace in which I moved around from point to point. I needed to stop feeling so awkward about walking alone. 

Believe it or not, the impact it had on me was dramatic. I felt so much more at ease once I changed my pace. I was able to breathe calmly as opposed to the rapid heartbeats before and this altogether made me feel more relaxed as I walked along the streets. I felt less awkward, less of a haphazard but above all, I felt happy. I should mention now that my slower pace was coupled with a proper posture so this may have played a supporting role as well. 

Why am I sharing this otherwise boring and irrelevant post you ask? Well, because I feel that so many of us today are trapped in this cycle of rushing from place to place that we ignore the beauty of the things around us. Above all, apart from noticing the smaller things in life, the way we walk may inadvertently affect our own happiness. I'm so glad I detected my way of walking as a problem in itself, because I think it could have very well affected me altogether in the long run. 

I do occasionally fall back into my rushed pace and I find that I constantly need to remind myself to slow down and walk properly. I am definitely seeing this habit in a positive light and hope that in the days to come I no longer will need to remind myself anymore. 

Hope this post has enlightened you somehow, feel free to share your thoughts :)

xx

The walls in my head.

Source: Pinterest

Work gives me the opportunity to inspire teenagers and others around me. Likewise, I too am inspired by them. 

I don't want to disclose too much about what I do at work exactly because I don't know what i'm allowed to mention. But I suppose it would be alright for me to say that a part (this is just a small part of it) of what we share include life skills as well as overcoming the voices inside our heads that prevent us from achieving our dreams. 

A particular segment about dreams recently came up one day and it made me reflect about my life and the dreams that I once had. What happened to those dreams? Rather, I realised that I no longer allowed myself to dream. It was as if dreaming of a good future was almost forbidden because I did not think I deserved it. Why do I allow myself to treat me so harshly? 

It all started when my colleague shared a story of his way back when he was in high school. A teacher had asked him to fold a piece of paper into eight equal rectangles. Upon doing so, she then instructed him to tear out 1 full rectangle and half of the rectangle next to it from the piece of paper (the rectangle was to be torn from the outermost corner of the paper). Each rectangle represented ten years. As my colleague was 15 back then, he had torn off 15 of the supposedly 80 years of his life from that piece of paper. His teacher then instructed him to write down what he hoped to achieve within each decade in the respective rectangles. In other words, things like "graduate from University", "get married", etc. He didn't need to be specific with the age, he only had to write it down in the appropriate rectangle. 

This story triggered something within me. Age to me after all has been nothing but a number. The reality though, is that age catches up to you. I don't mean in terms of how you look or how your joints start giving in though. To me, the term annotates the amount of responsibility I will have to take with not only my life but my family. There will come a day where I will eventually end up being the one taking care of my parents even when I'm married, and it's important that I have a stable enough income to provide for them. 

That aside, it made me realise that I've only taken up two out of the eight rectangles in that entire piece of paper. There are still several more rectangles for me to fill up and achieve the dreams that I have always wanted. Why did I confine myself within the walls of my head that told myself it was impossible to achieve greater and better things? 

"Life is not a race but a marathon."

It's not about how fast you get to the end point but the journey you make to get there. The answer was always there but I chose to cloud that with my own beliefs. Without realising it I chose to see that I had already failed to achieve anything great in life. I only saw things going downhill from here.

...what a terrible thought :( 

That said, I've allowed myself to dream again and I know that there are several opportunities for me out there. I have to take everything a step at a time. After all, it always takes time doesn't it? :) I have a dream for what I want to be in the working world once I graduate and start working full time. As it is now, I know that it will take several years before I get there but I am willing to make my way there slowly. God willing, should this be the right path for me, I only pray that it go smoothly. 

With that I would just like to end off by encouraging everyone out there to get rid of the voices around you that bring you down. Get rid of people who are negative voices in your life but most importantly, get rid of your negative voice. You are worth so much more and life has so much more in store waiting for you. Don't cloud yourself with lies. Choose positivity! :) 

With love, xx.

When to stay quiet.

Source: Pinterest

As a self-righteous person, you'll very often find me standing up for myself. That said, I humbly accept that I am wrong when the situation calls for it. I mean, you can't be correct all the time right? 

I find it easier to stand up for myself and the things I believe in when there are statistics to prove my point. It's so easy to point to a chart or a study and say "Here, this is not a true reflection of the entire population, but it comes close enough." It's not so easy on the other hand when it comes to matters of the heart and gets personal. 

Have you ever been placed in a situation where you're either getting reprimanded or are in an argument and the person you're conversing with is one who points out things about you that he / she believes to be true? I mean, the truth is that sometimes the third perspective is a lot more accurate than the first. Hey, some people don't notice their flaws until someone points it out to them right? But what if you've already reached the point where you're confident and honest with yourself about your flaws and the problems you're going through? In other words, on the other line there are strings of sentences being made and put out about the kind of person you are whereas inside you know that isn't true. 

This has happened to me a lot and I am sure it has happened to some of you too. I find myself several times in a situation where I'm with someone else who has so confidently concluded my character (said judgment obviously clashing with my personal understanding) that I always end up battling with myself if it is wise to stand up for myself. I'm not going to lie, several times I have always wanted to. In fact, I have never been so sure of myself today than I was before. My assurance of the kind of person I have grown to be has seen me keeping quiet when I'm faced with such situations. 

I guess you really do find comfort in the truth. 

Essentially, what I've come to realise is that there's no need to correct someone who thinks otherwise of the kind of person who believe yourself to be. I'll be clear of one thing, I know that I am not as kind and nice a person as people make me out to be. Similarly, I am also aware that I am not as mean and rude as people make me out to be as well. So long as I know who I am inside, no matter how harsh the judgments may turn out to be (at least those that I am aware of) I know that there is no point in standing up for myself in such trivial matters. 

... unless it's a matter of life or death then I suppose it'll be important to make my point. 

So before you say something next time to retaliate to someone's statement, think twice. Does their statement bear some truth to which you agree to? Is it important for you to prove them wrong? Will things drastically change unless you prove them otherwise? 

Have you ever experienced something like this before? I'd love to know. 

Love yourself, xx.

Back to the running grind.

Now that exams are done, it's time to get back to the fitness regime. I can hardly believe that I was actually physically inactive for four entire months. It's personally a first for me.

Exercise has never really been something I've actively pursued for health purposes. Rather, I always saw exercise as a way to stuff myself with more food. It's hard to have a passionate relationship with food without growing horizontally.

This time round though, I'm actually finding it a lot easier to get myself to exercise than I had expected. I suppose this could be because I'm currently aiming to run a 10k by mid of next year. Sounds feasible? ;) That in mind, training is my number 1 priority at the moment, and it's important for me to know that my stamina is maintained. I still remember the day I picked up running, it should be no surprise that I failed miserably. I was barely able to keep up for 20minutes straight without huffing and puffing, and I felt like giving up. I almost did, but I stopped myself from doing so. Today I can run for 50 minutes straight on the treadmill, and I can only say that it took me years to get where I am now.

That said, here are some tips that I can share from my personal experience with running to help those of you who's finding it hard to start. Please note that I am no medial expert, these are simply some tips I have found to have worked for me:

1. Start slow.
You needed to learn how to walk before you run, and this applies to running for sure. I used to find it so difficult to fun for 20 minutes straight before. If you're running for the first time, start at a slow speed (~5.0/6.0) and stick to it for perhaps 20 minutes. Stick to a speed you're comfortable with, and as time progresses, increase it steadily. I started running at a speed of only 6.0 but in due time increased it as I went along and today I am able to run at 8.0. Quite a feat for myself I must say :)

2. Set a target.
I know you've most probably heard this countless times, but I cannot stress how important this is. Running (be it on a treadmill or in the outdoors) can be mentally exhausting if you're doing it without a target. Give yourself a target each time before you run. It could be a time limit, perhaps you're aiming to run 30 minutes straight, or a particular distance you're hoping to accomplish. Either ways, setting a target in mind gives you an end to work towards while you're running, and this will hopefully serve to motivate you to persevere on during the run at the crucial moments your body tells you to stop.

3. Know to differentiate between your body and your mind.
Your body speaks to you in ways louder than you'd expect. At the same time, there will be moments where your mind serves the devil and tries to turn you away from getting out of bed. There have been many times where my body is sore, but is a sore where I know I still will be able to run. These times, my mind then tells me not to and goes against my will, trying to persuade me to rest. During these moments, it's important to understand your body well enough to know that you're not overexerting yourself. When it comes to running especially, a quote to live by is "Mind over matter".

4. Drink plenty of water before a run.
Drinking water is especially important to stay hydrated throughout the course of your run. I personally make it a point to drink at least 3 glasses within the hour before my run and another glass just before I head out. Be sure not to drink too much just before, you need to allow your body time to absorb the water.

5. Have a playlist ready.
I cannot survive running without my music. These days however, I have a YouTube playlist I've set for myself to watch whilst running on the treadmill. Time passes by and before I know it I've completed 30 minutes on the treadmill. Not only does it make running a lot easier, but i'm also able to kill two birds with one stone!! :)

6. Imagine you're a deer running through the woods.
This sounds silly, but form is always important when it comes to running. Be sure to have a good posture and form whilst running, otherwise not only are you making yourself susceptible to injuries post-run but you're also tiring yourself for no apparent reason. This article gives great insight on the importance of maintaining a good form whilst running.

Last but not least,

7. Enjoy yourself.
Running can be a chore most of the time, but the amount of satisfaction received at the end of it truly makes it all worth it. Enjoy the ride and the journey, track your progress and see how far you've come :)

Have a lovely weekend ahead! xx.

People come & go.

I'm sure we've all had those moments, times where we question why some people don't seem to put the same amount of effort into friendships as much as you did. I ask myself this question all the time. As a "giver", I tend to give my all into my relationships. As a teenager I learnt that people show love differently, you can't expect everyone to return your favour. Once I grasped this fact, it increasingly became easier for me to accept and love the people around me for who they were.

However, there are some people that you have to let go.

Image credits: Pinterest

Sometimes, and most unfortunately, the friends you cherish and love have to go. Time moves forward, and people change. You change as well, and the relationship isn't how it used to be. If the relationship is toxic to your health and you find yourself getting affected by it (which isn't how a relationship should be), it's time to let that person go. 

Now here's the thing though. There seems to be a misconception behind this "letting people go". Most times these acts come with negative connotations and emotions behind them. 

Personally, I don't believe in that. I still know that despite the battles that may have been fought, the deafening awkward silences and the nervous eye contacts that now hold so many more barriers than before, this person still once held a very important place in my heart for a reason and for this reason alone I shall always treasure the memories we had together. 

Just because someone is no longer in your life does not mean that the memories they made with you walked away with them. Those memories are there to stay, and always remember that at one point in time it was a reason for your smile :)

It really is unfortunate that life is as such, but a wise man once told me "You only have enough space in your heart to love enough people. When someone leaves your life it means their purpose in your life is over. It doesn't erase them completely, they'll make an appearance again sometime."

So for whatever it is worth, thank you to everyone who has been in my life. I know someday that the people around me will disappear one by one, and by disappear I don't mean completely but that lives move on and responsibilities change. I treasure everyone so so much and I know these memories won't disappear anytime soon.

Hope you don't mind me rambling and posting my thoughts out once in a while, I've been going through quite a period lately and am feeling rather pensive tonight. 

Hope you've all had a good week thus far dearies, happy midweek xx.

Good thoughts: Be a better you.

Image Credits: Pinterest

Up until a few years ago, I used to be someone filled with hate. It was a scary thing, and looking back I am only thankful that I have since learnt to overcome those feelings of hatred I have held against people. As a teen, I've constantly been told by friends that I have the face of a bitch and that I appear intimidating and am unapproachable. For many years I contested against that statement, arguing that it would take one time to understand and know me better to make a proper judgment on the person I truly am. However, I soon came to realise that first impressions matter and very often, what you see on the cover does to a certain extent reflect the individual's character. Essentially, there was no false claim behind my bitchy exterior. The truth was that I was indeed one.

I was a bitch.

Since I came to that realisation, I made a promise and an effort to change my ways. You see, I realised that the terrible thoughts in my head were reflected in my actions, and these thoughts motivated most of the things that I did. They were often selfish acts, and I would end up using people for personal gains.

But what exactly were these terrible thoughts that I would have? Here were some:

1. Jealousy. How on earth was someone with her personality able to get a boyfriend?
2. Hatred. Word of mouth reached me and I discovered that she hated me. So I wished for eternal vengeance against her. 
3. Someone irks me for reasons they can't control. I then behave like a nasty bitch towards her. The reason that person irks me could be for the simplest thing like an annoying laugh or for being too attention seeking.

These are only a few that I'm able to come up with at the moment. If you're able to relate to some then welcome to the group. My question to you is this. Why hate? Why waste so much energy hating on someone? All that time and effort can be used for other things. 

But here's the thing about hatred and thoughts. It can be managed. And this was how I achieved it. 

1. Before criticising someone, think about yourself. If you're about to critique someone for a terrible attitude, you doing the same thing puts you in the same spot. Besides, gossiping about another person just places within the bitchy zone. 
2. So someone has a bad habit that annoys you. Either a) Make an effort to spend less time around the person. or b) Learn to suck up that trait that annoys you if she's an important friend to you. Also always remember that you have traits of your own that are annoying too. And you have to take my word for this, act on your annoyance at another's trait and you'll find that you'll soon call that trait your own. 
3. Someone lashes out at you for no reason. You get upset and you get mad. Do you hate that person forever? No. Always remember that people are going through different things in life. That person may have been going through a hard time. Sure, you are too. And yes, it still doesn't give them the right to have acted the way they did. That doesn't mean you can't be the bigger person. Take time off to let the anger disappear and approach the person and hold an assertive conversation with him. Always remember to not confront out of anger, you usually say things you don't mean and will regret. 

It's hard to make a change. But the first step is to admit that you are indeed a bitch. After you do that, take a moment to think how truly happy you are. I know that since I've learnt to let go of hatred and bad thoughts, I've definitely felt a lot happier and I'm not just saying this for the sake of doing so. I say it because I've lived through it :)

And hey, it's not going to be an easy process. You can't change everything at once. It has taken me years to change each negative thought. I focus on one negative thing at a time and work on it first. After that then only do I proceed on to another negative thought. Slowly you'll learn to handle it and before you know it, you hardly feel angry all the time. 

Also a true fact: People are a lot friendlier towards me and I am a lot more approachable now than I used to be. It could be perspective, but even so I believe that it's the change in mindset that has helped.

You're going to fail sometimes and you will think bad thoughts. Times like these give yourself a break. You're allowed to feel that way, you are human after all. But it's important to not let it hold for too long. Go back to your routine of self-cleanse the next day. 

After all, 

Image Credits: Pinterest

So go and be a better you :) I know it's possible, and I will be with you till the very end. Don't give up, and don't lose hope. It's possible as long as you believe it to be.

Xx.

p.s. Sorry for the terribly wordy post. This is a new style I'm trying out. I've always wanted to do an advice sort of thing, something along the lines of AgabobAdvice. Let me know what you think? I'm open to comments and constructive critique! :)