Before I begin I'd like to apologise for not posting for so long. Had a lot of thoughts but couldn't find the time to do it as Week 8 was extremely hectic.
Peer Pressure
Well on Wednesday our school hosted a pretty interesting event. Our Annual Cross-Country Meet, an event where the people of Hwa Chong run a span of 4 km throughout the school compound. Many of us were elated by the fact that this meet would mean a day's off of work. To be frank, I was quite happy that we had Wednesday off and was contemplating on whether or not to follow some of my peers' 'brilliant' idea to walk the majority of the distance. But in the end I decided to say no. It was an onerous task to run 4km after a day of exhausting training but nonetheless I just wanted to take on this challenge. I turned out top for my classes' non-competitive run so I guess that's kind of an achievement.
But I want to point out that it takes courage to say no. Yes, it might be pretty cheesy to be referring to To Kill A Mockingbird now but I believe that that theme of the book is one lesson we should all pick up on. It's the ability to decline a game of football after school when you know the work is piling up, the ability to turn down that opportunity to unleash havoc in class when you know you want to. Basically, resisting temptation is something can come real handy in our lives. I encourage my readers to try and exercise self-discipline and fall not to the depths of temptation. So I want to conclude now at the risk of sounding like some hysterical preacher and say this: Say no when you know you have to.
The Mental Game of Sports
So now, drifting back into the topic of the cross-country meet. Yes, a blistering 4 km. For those who will retort with sentences like "4 km nia!" and such, bear in mind I had training the earlier day and because of nearing competition dates training was naturally harder. However, through this experience, I realised what a mental game sports really is. Having to endure that seemingly-endless path is a tiring thing for both mind and body. But I tend to thing of the body as a tool and it's just the psychological effect that takes a toll on you. Steeling your mind and mentally preparing yourself is extremely important and it's the determination in your mind that keeps you going. That's how Liverpool, trailing 3-0 to AC Milan at half-time managed to equalise 3-3 and take the Champion's league trophy home in that memorable night in Istanbul, that's how Manuel Orantes, in the 1975 US Open semifinals, came back from 6-4, 6-2, to win 3-2. In the deciding set, he came back from 5-0 down to win 7-5! Now that's some amazing examples of mental endurance. So, I would just like to emphasize that it really pays to have that 'never-give-up' mentality, because it is that kind of mind-set that gets us far in life.
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