Whenever I went jogging in the past, somehow a flurry of ideas would storm my brain, and creative juices would begin to submerge my synapses. I remember always attributing them to God and treating them as inspirations from Him. This once familiar and motivating experience had been absent for a while now, but today it has made a comeback!!

Today, I went for the Stan-Chart Marathon at Marina. Did the half marathon (21 km); flagoff was at 06:30. As I head for the starting point, there were already many people in line, so I was pretty far from the starting point but managed to squirm through as much as I could. Anyway, the important point is that as I began the race I recalled how one of the pastors in my church once gave a sermon on how life resembled a marathon race. Many thoughts just flooded my mind as I ran that race, which were quite insightful--at least for me. Also managed to think of two submissions for SSS.

Go for the GOLD

(some life perspectives gained from my run; tips on raising the score on the meaning metre in your life)

1. "Run a marathon" - I don't mean it literally but rather go do something that you've never done before or something you've been procrastinating about. Be adventurous and challenge yourself. In the past few years I've been looking for opportunities to do novel things (mostly on my own) and with each thing I accumulated wonderful experiences and achieved new worldviews. For example, I tried for Singapore Idol during which I witnessed how God worked for me.

2. "I'm not here to run a 42-km marathon, I'm here to finish 1-km runs, 42 times" - Read this on one of the participant tags pinned to the back of the shirt of this Caucasian lady runner who was on the plump side. It was very mind-blowing for me cos' it is so CBT! She set small goals to accomplish the big goal of completing the marathon. "Victory" may mean different things to people, but the principle of setting small and achievable goals along the way can help us work towards that final success we want for our lives.

3. Remember to take pictures - saw a runner stop to take a photo along the way. Sometimes, we are to involved in the process of "running" in our lives that we fail to stop and reflect back or recall past memories. Of course, not asking you to always dwell in the past. But learn from it and move on like how that runner did. Throughout the race, esp at the beginning when I was still pretty energetic, I really made it a point to enjoy the sights along the way (did some people-watching too). There was this scene that I took of mental picture of - running on the road at Raffles area between two rows of skysrapers with the forward arrow marking on the road before me and a group of runners in front of me - really liked it (suddenly I felt as though I was in Boston). Enjoy the process of living your life; don't just savour the results but also reflect on history and live in the present.

4. People ran for different reasons - There were people who ran so they could eat their laksa after the race (written on some tags). One guy ran for God; another for his dad; saw one that ran for his wife and kids. There was one lady who ran with a tyre, styrofoam box and some aluminium cans, publicising her cause to save the environment. Everybody was doing the same action - running - but everyone did it for different reasons. We love our lives for different reasons; we do things in our lives for different reasons - don't be too quick to judge people by what they do, be gracious enough to give them the benefit of doubt by thinking about possible motives and intentions. Find your reason for living your life; what gives you meaning?

5. "Fancy dress competition" - Though we were all given the Stan-Chart dri-fit shirt as part of our race pack, some chose to be attired in their own sports gear, while others looked real professional with their power gels strapped around their waists and cool shades and MP3 players, what have you. Some people looked real sporty and atheletic with their bright and colourful dri-fit singlets contrasting their bronzed tan and Oscar-like physique. There were people who were "flashier" than others. There were also people who had weird styles of running. You'll see some people who are more outstanding in life. Nonetheless, it is largely a matter of choice, you can also choose to "wear that shirt" and make yourself prominent by adopting a positive attitude and standing out because of that. Of course, sometimes people who try to attract attention, attract negative attention for themselves. You can choose what kind of attention you want to draw to yourself.

6. Sucess stories can boost morale - Parts of the route had two carriageways because there were U-turns and we could see people in front of us running toward the finish line. Kind of 'observed' the recency and primacy effect. People will always pay attention to those that finish the race the fastest - the CEOs listed in Fortune mag, the woman of the year in Her World - the people who rise above their peers and make it big. But there will also be success stories of people who fell but bounced back, or people who hung on to the last minute (esp in races), the "last few runners" will also be remembered for not giving up even though everyone else have finished the race. Seeing some people who were kinda obese press on in the race was very motivating.

7. Supporters and encouragers - The committee organisised a "Runspiration" whereby they get supporters to participate in the marathon by encouraging and ra-ra-ing runners along the way. Of course they were also helpers who lined the route, poured drinks for us and provided deep heat along the way. These people helped in keeping us going. There will be people who are there to encourage us during various points in our lives. Be encouraged and encourage others around. Remember reading someone's tag which said "encourage me if you see me walking". Really wanted to but I didn't. That reminded me that I should keep praying for boldness and courage. If you feel down and lonely in your life, go run a marathon!

8. "Do your stretching!" - It's important to do your stretching before and after the race just like how in life before you plunge into any action plan, do your preparation properly. It is essential to put effort into the preparation. Loading carbs is just like gathering your resources. After that do an After Action Review to see what you've done well, what needs improvement and what opportunities there are in the future. If you don't do "stretching", you'll get your aches and pains the following day.

Whoa, I'm tired now. Finally recorded everything that I thought of on my blog. Can use this as illustration for talks next time. When I was running I reflected and thought to myself about how good my life has been thus far. No hardship or "real" difficulties (praise God!). However, most inspirational speakers have gone through some kind of adversity in their lives and have bounced back (that's why they got things to share) so I can never be one *sigh*. I probably need to accumulate and actively seek experiences to be inspired so that I got something to share. Okay, gotta stop here.