A friend mentioned to me the other day that she finds my blog a bit difficult to follow because I write about so many random things. I recognize this as a problem, a challenge and an opportunity. So I’m going to take some time to clarify what I’m writing about.

Fitness

I’m passionate about getting physically fit. I think there’s a strong connection between our bodies and minds. A healthy, effective body plays a substantial role in the development of a healthy, effective mind. I like being fit and I’d like to be fitter. A sense of strength and endurance is uplifting and empowering, and it feels great to look good, too. I’m not satisfied with my current state of fitness and I plan to get fitter in the immediate future.

My immediate goals are:

• To reach 70kg bodyweight (currently 66kg)
• To look good in my shirts and jeans (too skinny at the moment)
• To comfortably swim 10 laps in a pool
• To run 2.4km in 10 minutes or less
• To comfortably run 10km
• To have visibly defined 6-pack  abs (vanity alert!)

Finances

We live in a real world, and money matters. I plan to be financially independent- I don’t really feel a need to be outrageously wealthy in terms of financial assets, but I want to be comfortable enough to be able to buy what I like, to afford the moderate lifestyle that I desire, and to be free from day-to-day financial worries. For now, I’m more obsessed with managing my expenses than my income, which I feel I have less control over. My immediate goals are:

• To develop and maintain an effective way of tracking my income and expenditure
• To be completely debt free (I used to owe some of my friends, repaid most of them)
• To have an emergency fund in the bank for peace of mind ($500, then $1000, etc)
• To have $30 (then $50, then $100) in my wallet at all times, just because
• To build and sustain residual sources of income flow

Relationships

We are social creatures and we live, to a considerable extent, for each other. There are few better ways of sizing up a person than to pay attention to the company he or she keeps. Good relationships nourish and empower us, and toxic ones wear us down. Relationships are too important and powerful for us to be indifferent to them. It’s my long term goal to build and sustain networks of mutually beneficial relationships that inspire and empower me. Immediate goals:

• Delete random/unfamiliar acquaintances on Facebook every day
• Meet an old/new friend for coffee and conversation every week
• To on a proper date with the girlfriend every 2 weeks

Expression/Communication

I like listening to music, playing music, reading and writing for their own sakes. I’ve been toying with the idea of learning to draw. I’d like to be a more effective public speaker. Immediate goals:

• To be mindful when engaging in conversations, and to focus on the other person rather than myself
• To learn to speak in a lower register, at a calmer, more controlled pace

Writing/Blogging

– It’s a bit weird to talk about blogging as you’re blogging- I don’t want to become one of those bloggers who talks about nothing but blogging, just as how some economists, philosophers and academics spend all of their time obsessing about their own fields without being concerned about how their disciplines can contribute beyond themselves. I think it’s very important that your work, whatever it is, corresponds to reality, and has value to people outside of your field. That said, I also think it’s important that I develop my skills as a blogger so that I can be more effective in sharing the information that I want to share. My immediate goals are:

• Developing a system of writing posts such that I have at least 3 posts a week
• To post a post every day until I clear my complete backlog of “potential posts”
• To have at least 300 hits a day for an entire month
• To write, something, anything, every day

Legion of Heroes

I haven’t started on this yet, so this will be especially interesting- I plan to start a separate blog called Legion Of Heroes, where I will explore the concepts of self-actualization and heroism and stuff through video games, history and mythology.

Singapore

From time to time I do write posts about Singapore- about our culture, our government, our policies, our people. I am Singaporean and very proud of it, and I’d like to be a productive and contributing member of the Singaporean blogging community. I’m primarily interested in playing a role in influencing what I’d describe as bottom-up progress- focusing on relationships between people above all else. I’d like to play a role in creating conditions where Singaporeans treat each other with civility and respect, and I hope this becomes contagious and spreads throughout the rest of the country. I must confess that I have not always adhered to my own principles so far, sometimes eschewing them for the sake of being intentionally provocative. I’m still not completely sure where to draw the line, and you as a reader play a huge role in helping me figure out where it should be. My immediate goals are:

– Build and sustain relationships with influential Singaporeans
– Create a community of Singaporeans- It is DONE!
– Develop influence and recognition as a Singaporean blogger

Personal Development

We can have no dominion greater or lesser than ourselves. This blog began as a way for me to make the most of my life in NS, with the intention of me coming away enriched from the experience. I want to be an effective individual- I want to develop a deep understanding of the science of achievement and the art of fulfillment, to grow as a person and to contribute to something greater than myself. I have to constantly remind myself that I need to be a better man if I am to make a positive dent in the universe- which is something I feel strongly about. This sort of allows me to escape the “Why bother?” stagnation trap, because it’s no longer just about me- it’s about all the people I could’ve influenced positively in one way or another, if only I’d been a better man, a more worthy “hero”. We are all guilty of all the good that we did not do.

Self-Directed Learning

This entire blog is an exercise in self-directed learning. Fitness, finances, expression, communication, relationships- I’m trying to teach myself how to live. On top of those things, I’d also like to learn about things for the sake of learning, and for the value of serendipitous insight. The idea behind learning anything, in my opinion, is to develop an appreciation for its beauty and elegance, and to help us make better decisions.

Things I’d like to understand better, and will probably be talking about:

Ancient History
Greek/Roman Mythology
Genetics, Evolution, Natural Selection
Godel’s Theorem, the limitations of mathematics and logic
Calculus/Trigonometry/Statistics/Fractals
Game Theory, Systems Theory
Macroeconomics
Philosophy, Religion, Ethics, Morality, etc
Neurology, Behavioral Psychology, Behavioral Economics
Design
Art, the History of Art
Music Theory
Pop Culture