The art of repeating

Repetition can be boring. Doing the same thing over and over again. Or can be scary too when you need to deal with some unpleasant experience again and again over short period of time. For example, cockroaches in your house keep showing up. =_=! (Ugh..) But one thing I realize too is depending on the gap between one and another, it can be a good thing. Because it’s like a training, like it or not, just get used to it. […]

Looking back and connecting the dots

Third weekend since new year just passed, I think I kind of used to the rhythm of this year plan. This week I had an interesting conversation with two people about what’s next for them. One of them is new to the workforce, while the other one is not. The young cub told us his dilemma about finding a permanent job. Both of us shared our journey back then, about moving forward and be selfish for our growth. I told […]

Things to tell yourself when you see a hill

Few friends and I joined Vietnam Mountain Marathon over this weekend and it’s kind of special for me. Because there are many first about this event, first trail run event, first overseas sport event, first time to Hanoi and Sa Pa, first sport trip with friends and first half marathon distance for trail. So, it’s really memorable. Although I (tried to) ran regularly preparing myself for this event, but it still wasn’t enough. As a result, when I poked myself […]

The pain needed to grow

Back in 90s there is a TV show called “Growing Pains”, and I grew up watching it. I didn’t think much about the meaning of title back then. Sometime ago, Ajahn Brahm also mentioned in one of his talks about growing pain. Pain is usually associated with bad or negative energy, unpleasant feeling, and no one wants it. It’s not always about the physical pain like bruise, but it can be one too. When you’re aiming to complete something but […]

To be a neighborhood Spider-Man 

Have you watched Spider-Man? Do you like it?  This post might have some references to the movie so, spoiler ahead. I’m actually not a big fan of Spider-Man, but I saw a lot of positive reviews from my friends. So, I decided to give it a go. (*ahem* at least I can see RDJ)  Overall, it’s very enjoyable to watch this Spider-Man movie. So, here are the 3 key things I learned from it

Mid year reflection

I did it..!! And the rest are history.. below was my day KM 22: I thought I signed up for 21km run?  KM 21: the finish line is not here yet?  KM 16: oh.. my.. it’s so hot. Legs are giving up, then heard someone called my name.. extra boost of power to the finish line!  KM 15: yay.. 6 more to go.. but at this rate seem to exceed 21km. Should I go to toilet here or at the […]

Nothing to lose

My sensei said, when we are worried about something big like exam, don’t be. Just ダメもと (dame moto). Dame moto is short form of ダメでもともと (dame de moto moto) which means nothing to lose.  Even if you fail the exam, doesn’t mean our ability decrease. We just go back to square one or our original state.  When we never challenge ourselves, how can we tell we are growing? 

My “you’ll thank me later” moment

It’s almost 2 weeks ago since I started a new habit to wake up earlier and allocate some time to do some drills in the morning before taking shower.  I have no issue waking up in the morning (most of the days) but there are times when I just want to play my game longer in the evening before going to bed. And I find it hard to wake up in the morning.  So, there are times when I dragged […]