Karl Wallenda Mentality

What is the mentality about? High wire artist Karl Wallenda conquered many challenges in his life. He amazed and delighted people all over the world. He performed impervious to fear until one night...he had a dream and saw himself falling.

From that day onward, he couldn't get the image out of his mind. He saw himself falling on instant replay in his brain. Now, all his attention was focused on "not falling."

From the night of the dream going forward, he checked his equipment obsessively. Yet, a few months later, he plunged to his death — a victim of his own mind.

This story provides a tragic example of how negative focusing can pull us toward an outcome we're trying to avoid. If your mind is holding you back from the success you've always suspected was just beyond your grasp.

我们每一个人几乎都有过这样的经历，我们越是专注于某一件事情，越是很难做好。而许多感觉实在难以完成的任务，心里不去想了，以听之任之的心态去对待，往往却又轻而易举地做好了。

当我们能够克服掉“瓦伦达心态”，以一种闲庭信步的心态面对生活和人生的时候，你就是一个随心所欲、左右逢源的人了。

Kapas Marang swimathlon 2008

It has been my dream to swim across the island, and yes I make it. With my strong passion for swimming, I managed to finish my first open-water race in Terengganu last Sunday. It is a 6.5KM open water swim from Pulau Kapas to Pantai Peranginan Kelulut, Marang, Terengganu. No target for any timing but just hope to complete. I really enjoyed the challenge. It's completely different than swimming in the pool and the taste of saltwater gets in you. With the help of the wave, I can float easily and even swim faster. :P I would say I'm just lucky to achieve this as I had very little preparation plus without any open water swimming skills and techniques. That's really make me struggling hard whether to go or not few days before the race. The reason is open water swimming can be an intimidating and fearful one. I have to swim through undercurrents that will sweep me off course and that's very tiring. I was nervous about the swim. This was my first time out in the open water swimming with purpose since I was a little kid (not just horsing around jumping off a boat offshore or snorkeling around).

The day was a lovely, water quite warm, clear blue skies and neap tides. In this event, every swimmer felt the wrath of the jellyfish, which showed up during the race. This little cute things really turned out to be the greatest dangers on the course. The first time I swam through the jellyfish and was stung badly on my face and arms. I am suffering itchiness all over my body now. I think this is due to my allergic to the contamination of the water or the toxic from the little creatures. Of course I can't run away from sunburn too. Anyway, it was one of my most exhilarating and spectacular experiences. Thanks to my friends who shared their racing tips and experiences to me, their encouragement was very much appreciated and as well as the kayak marshals who guide me through to the finishing point.

Look near yet far

The place I stayed

The finishing point

Ending ceremony

The finisher medal

My first Yoga class

It has been my wish to try out yoga. There's a lot of hype about yoga since the last decade and now I got to try it for the first time. Thanks to the unpredictable weather all these while that make my plan become realistic.

First question of the day, what to wear. What is in my mind was no baggy t-shirt. For a very simple reason - A large number of yoga poses involve a version of standing on your head. When you stand on your head in a baggy t-shirt, your shirt falls over your face, and your belly hangs down. Not exactly the perfect scenario for true yoga enlightenment, relaxation, and ease. :P

I felt so excited when I stepped in the class. There were mostly ladies who just got off from work. And the male yoga instructor was muscular type that not what I imagined to be! The class is conducted in a heated room whereby the temperature is raised to 37 degree Celsius. The heated environment helps us warm up our body much quicker and stretch into a posture more deeply, improves blood circulation, and promotes detoxification and elimination through the skin. What’s more, proper practice will help us lose inches of unwanted body fat, achieve a better body shape and develop good muscle tone! Great, I'm a step closer to that. This is why this is one of the most demanding class here. Ladies...

The instructor guided us into basic postures and breathing techniques, moving from one position to the next, while telling us to inhale and exhale slowly. The exercise was more vigorous than I thought, apart from perspiring heavily, I almost lost my breath at one point. I'm impressed with the instructor that able to do all those amazing postures (you only normally see in pictures and shows) easily despite of his bulky figure. I felt like I was defeated by the poses. This is because of some of my muscle are not really used even though I do exercise regularly.

Despite my minor setbacks (which really I've learned to expect any time I undertake anything involving coordination), I completely enjoyed the class. I walked out feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and aware of muscles that I had forgotten I had. I'm already picturing my new self after a few more classes with amazing flexibility, enviable muscle tone, and an overpowering sense of calm. :P