Life is like a game of Scrabble

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Bo

If you appreciate a good game of Scrabble, then you’ll understand this post…

There’s a rule in Scrabble which says that when you are unable to use your letters to form a word, you can throw them all back, skip a turn, but then get to choose 7 new letters and start from scratch. You also have the option to skip a turn when you are unable to make a move.

I sometimes wish life could be this simple and have these options.

I often get so bogged down with the stresses of life that some days I feel totally overwhelmed. I am too stressed out, too tired to focus and it feels as if there’s just too much to do.

Days such as these, I wish I could throw all my problems and issues back, skip a turn and take my chances with a whole new set of challenges tomorrow.

The irony is that these complicated letters usually hold the biggest values. The Z is worth 10 points for example.

Life works pretty much the same way. If we are able to overcome the big problems, survive the painful days and get through the stresses, there is much value in store.

But sometimes, it’s so much easier to want to throw in the towel, give up, skip a turn and take the easy way out…

What exactly do you mean by personal best?

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Bo

Non-runners who read my blog often ask me what a PB is. I tell them that it’s a Personal Best – when you run your fastest time over a specified distance to gauge improvements. They look at me oddly as if, well, what does that mean?

Funny thing is that when I listen to my running buddies, it appears to me that most of them are on a sole (excuse the pun) mission to increase their running speed and get a PB. (Hey, wait a minute? So it’s not just me?)

Achieving a PB is the ultimate benchmark for most runners. It’s as if this is the signal that they are getting better as runners. But I do wonder sometimes if speed is the ultimate goal?

Is your best always measured in terms of time?

Here’s where I’m going with this …

I’ve been busy at work refreshing my Key Performance Areas (KPAs) for 2012. A new process has been implemented and apart from the normal ‘doing your job KRAs’, there’s a new section called “Stretch goals”. This is meant to be areas where I manage to perform additional tasks above and beyond the normal KRA’s. But the measurement required to see whether or not I have achieved this is the difficult part.

You see, it’s not like running where I am able to record PB’s which indicate ‘best’. I need something more concrete because I can’t just use a PB (time) to indicate greatness for everything I do. The measure has to be tangible and measureable and different for each task.

But yet, in running, it’s okay to just use time. It’s okay that getting faster and faster is the ultimate measure of improvement.

I think this is sometimes where running fails. Because runners have become obsessed with PB’s that even all their “Stretch” goals are based on time/pace/speed. Are runners also training for goals of fitness levels, endurance or overall post-race recovery…or anything else?

I do realise that all these contribute to better times and faster running. But is there an alternative measure than the PB? *just a thought*…

For runners, it’s more than just corporate stress

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Bo

For those of you who work in a corporate environment, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that 2011 and 2012 have been really tough. Since the economic downturn, it’s as if companies got a big wake-up call and since then, it’s become all about survival.

But with that, and all the many shake-ups, restructures and retrenchments it has also brought with it a change in corporate culture. It’s become a place where people are so busy pushing out work and trying to keep ahead of the competition that nothing else matters.

The sad thing for me is that people have stopped talking to one another. And I don’t mean talking… I mean really talking. Engaging with each other and finding out things about each other beyond work.

I think that sometimes we forget that work is not the be-all and end-all of most people’s lives.

Other than those that are busy planning weddings, pregnancies, sending kids off to varsity, I’m referring specifically to those that are training for the Two Oceans and Comrades marathons. It’s crunch time when qualifying times need to be in, the bulk of the training is almost at its peak and the nerves are setting in as we countdown to the biggest races on the running calendars.

I watch these colleagues at work, focussed on projects, in meetings and I sometimes wonder if their minds aren’t a million miles away. How do they possibly still make time to run, be it in the morning or evening when meetings are booked at ridiculous hours of the day? I sense their irritation when their colleagues come to work with flu, knowing that they can simply not afford to get sick now.

I take my hat off to these athletes knowing that in addition to the stress of the corporate jungle, they’re dealing with the stress of knowing that in the next couple of months, there are big races to conquer. There’s no turning back now.

It gives me *goosies* just thinking about it!

Somebody slap me!

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Bo

Call me a girl cause that’s exactly how I’ve been feeling (and acting) lately!

I’m not the mushy or emotional type. I’m not one of those types who feels the need for constant affection. I don’t like people crowding my space. I don’t feel it necessary to say ‘I love you’s’ all day long. In fact as friendly and as warm as I come across, that’s all you’re going to get from me.

But in the last week or so, I’ve been feeling slightly out of sorts and a little out of control. I’ve been feeling really insecure and “girlie”. Yuck! I don’t know how to put it, but it’s as if I need constant reassurance, especially from KK.

Being the typical quiet, introvert engineer that he is, he hasn’t exactly picked up on my insecurities which has added to my niggliness and frustrated me even more!

It was only after confiding in some of my girlfriends that I made a list of some of the valuable advice they gave me:

KK cannot read my mind. I need to over-communicate my feelings and possibly tell him what it is I’d like him to do. He will never guess.
KK will never use the words I am expecting him to use. More often than not, if I am expecting him to act in a certain way over something, he won’t.
Fact: KK loves me. All other insecurities, unless based on fact, should be dismissed.
It’s okay for me to feel needy. I should not be afraid to sometimes admit that I’d like an extra cuddle after a stressful day.

The best piece of advice was from one of my girlfriends who said, “Stop beating yourself up about it. Trust me, it’s absolutely normal to feel like this every now and then. We’re all the same! We’re woman! ”

Yeah, I guess.