Tag Archives: past life list

03/12/08

Is Motivation or Perseverance More Important

I’ve taken a 7-day stint on my goals. It’s this procrastination syndrome I suffer from.

Nonetheless, I shall take this failure as a break and reflect. At the very least, this serves as a reminder for the following.

Motivation for change is a powerful driving force. However, it is temporary. Once the mind is disillusioned by time and obstacles, motivation ceases. Therefore, the only other driving factor to keep one’s momentum is perseverance.

The more I think about it, it seems perseverance, as a force, is equal to motivation. They complement each other. Motivation is the reason behind one’s goal. Perseverance is the mysterious force, which drives one, even when there is no indication of success.

Of motivation and perseverance, one without the other, is a sure path to failure. Without motivation you have no purpose and no goal; without perseverance, you give up before succeeding.

Logen

03/1/08

Benjamin Franklin Tells You To Change Your Habits

Everyone knows who Benjamin Franklin is. Better known as an inventor who flew a kite during a terrible storm, he was also one of the founding fathers of the United States.

However, my focus is neither his scientific nor patriotic contributions. Quite the contrary and seemingly insignificant, it is his “life-list” that is of interest.

When he was twenty, Benjamin Franklin developed a plan. He wanted to attain moral perfection and therefore wanted to cultivate 13 different virtues. Each week he focused on working at one virtue.

At the end of the 13 weeks devoted to the 13 virtues, he’d repeated the cycle. Hence, moving closer and closer to his goal of moral perfection.

If you’re trying to change or inculcate new habits. Here’s what I’m trying to illustrate from this tale.

  1. Focus on a few goals at one time
  2. Practice Makes Perfect

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1. Focus on a few goals at one time

The power to change lies with the amount of focus we give. Usually, we’d take on more goals than can be handled, at one time. Needless to say, the only result is being overwhelmed and feeling smotheringly incompetent.

When we undertake too many enterprises of equal priority, it becomes difficult to focus.

Focus on few goals at a time. Change gradually by breaking each goal into small steps. You will want to do things at a manageable pace; not an overwhelming pace.

2. “Practice makes perfect“

Consider this cliche, because it is true. Eugene had kindly reminded me that an average human takes 14 days to form a habit. 14 days of repetition is what it takes.

Repetition was a key feature in Franklin’s quest for moral perfection. He repeated the cycle of 13 virtues perpetually, just to make it a part of his lifestyle.

It is easy to make change. The question is: can you maintain it? Make use of repetition to form habits, which eventually will handle the job of maintenance.

—

If you think about it, the Benjamin Franklin model of developing virtues can be used if we seek to change any habits. Weight-loss, for example, seeks to lose weight through (presumably) healthy eating habits and exercising.

Logen L.

02/23/08

Holiday With a Sense of Achievement

I was alone at Swensen’s just now, celebrating the end of the exams. I go there always to savour my favourite desert: a scoop of Peanut Buttercup ice cream placed atop a slab of crispy walnut brownie.

Logen at Swensen's with Harris and Yanna

While waiting for it, I briefly listed my holiday plans, some of which are in line with m life list. I truly need to utilise this break to feel a sense of achievement and relaxation.

This was what I wrote:

  • Declutter room by the end of Saturday
  • Portrait drawing
  • Improve my working memory
  • Meditate once a day
  • Read “Memoirs of A Geisha” (it has been sitting on my shelf for 2 years)
  • Pen a short story
  • Prepare my community that stands against discrimination (Justice Tribunal)
  • Design a new theme for this blog

That’s it. The key is to prevent myself from being overwhelmed.

Anyway, I’m determined to give you worthy updates on Logish Paradox. I shall plan and research for my entries on discrimination.

Logen

11/19/07

Was My Talk On Time Management, all talk and no play?

So, for nearly the whole week, I’ve been talking about my rotten time management. I took action but it just wasn’t enough.

Here’s the report of what I’ve done. I, Logen, completed my CATS project portion and revised the Bstats lecture topics covered in the first 2 weeks. As for Microeconomics, I have only read up half of the topic, Elasticity.

To be fair, I spent the weekend clearing my room. Perhaps with a less cluttered room (and table) I could study better. Besides, the room was like a maze. I had knocked hard into my movable drawers, while navigating through the mess in the dark.

Here’s what I have yet to do, as targeted:

  • BStats revision: lecture 3, 4 and 5
  • MIEC revision: lecture 2, 3 and 4

Mrs Loke’s gonna be disappointed because I haven’t done her tutorial questions. As for MIEC, I have to present something related to Elasticity. Good luck to me for knowing half the topic.

Yes, I’m a worrywart! Because my superb presentation skills won’t save me from appearing like a blithering idiot… “Er, Elasticity is when you stretch the rubber band and release it.”

Here’s a new target then, for today at least:

  • Get a gist of BStats lecture 5 later
  • Mindmap an outline on Demand and Supply
  • Figure out how I’ll compile the CIP report

I’ve set my sights lower. I’m happy to regain my old powers before setting of for immortality. Okay, too much Harry Potter again.

Logen

Upcoming: A post about my religion and what it means to me & A post for the repealing of Section 377A

11/16/07

To Get Back On Track

Regretfully, I’m still drifting away from studying. I’ve been busy developing my domain names and wasting my time waiting for emails.

The solution to this issue, however, isn’t to cease development of those sites. It merely means my time management sucks and action has to be taken.

Here’s the issue in detail:

I have 3 important modules to study for, namely Microeconomics, Business Statistics(BStats) and FFA (accounting). Business Statistics is the worrying module, mainly because it deals with maths, worsened by me skipping the last two lectures. I do find it interesting but I’m 4 weeks behind. Answering my question, Wen Jie said that consulting the textbok may only enable me to understand half the topic.

Looks like I’ll be slaving for BStats during the weekends. I intend to do a warm up on Friday, revising the introductory topics, and then jump into the heavier bits of week 3 and 4 on Saturday. Be positive Logen!

That’s basically my weekend study plans, plus doing some mindmaps for MIEC. I’ve left out the sickening projects, of which CATS is total bulshit.

I know, this post is shit too. I sounds like some financial newscaster reading out the stock changes to a toddler. But to be fair, I want to documents my plans to get on track. After all, this blog is about my goals which represent the reality I want, and short stories that express my inner thoughts of fantasy and fear.

Just for the record, I still think about the person in the previous entry a lot. It hurts a whole damn lot.

Not going to talk about it in this entry. I’ve long learnt not to combine two unrelated topics.

Logen

P.S. I’ve gotta cut my hair. This should prompt an entry in the near future.

11/12/07

Rotten Time Management

It didn’t go according to plan. The e-quiz link was gone from my school’s portal 3 hours before the deadline. I haven’t studied anything yet.

I need, really, to do some solid planning if I ever want to manage my time. From tomorrow, I’ll try not to say, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow/later’. Once, I manage this, things will get better.

Logen

11/5/07

This Old Kid Wants To Draw

When asked about my hobbies at the age of 7, I’d say I love to draw. But, as years went by, my interest in it dwindled.

Anxiety, whenever the teacher graded art, replaced the joy and freedom of drawing. Besides, I wrongly believed that sketching was an inborn ability that cannot be learnt. So, I eventually gave it up as a leisure activity.

And now, I want to take it up again. I hope to do portrait drawing. However, time, plus my knack to procrastinate, does not permit my desire. I admire kids for they can do stupid things without being mocked.

I shall add the below to my life list. Come the school-break, I must work on it.

To do a good portrait drawing

Logen