Day 3 - The 5 AM Club

After missing 2 days of waking up at 5 AM, managed to get back to it again today. Needed that energy boost in the morning. Also, my lower back pain started again so I think its important I do something to prevent that from happening.

To share more gems from the book:
The 4 Interior Empires:
E1: Mindset ( Psychology)
E2: Heartset (Emotionality)
E3: Healthset ( Physicality)
E4: Soulset ( Spirituality)

"Your influence in the world mirrors the glory, nobility, vitality and luminosity you've accessed in yourself. Very few people in this time of superficiality and human creatures behaving like artificial machines remember this essential life truth. External always expresses internal, without always reflect within."

So simple, yet so profound.

Brings an old song to mind which I've been listening to.

I Am by Nicole Nordeman

Pencil marks on a wall, I wasn't always this tall
You scattered some monsters from beneath my bed
You watched my team win
You watched my team lose
You watched when my bicycle went down again
And when I was weak, unable to speak
Still I could call You by name
And I said, Elbow Healer, Super Hero
Come if you can
You said, I Am

Only sixteen, life is so mean
What kind of curfew is at 10 p.m.
You saw my mistakes.
And watched my heart break
Heard when I swore I' d never love again
And when I was weak, unable to speak
Still I could call You by name
And I said, Heartache Healer, Secret Keeper
Be my best friend
And you said, I Am

You saw me wear white by pale candlelight
I said forever to what lies ahead
Two kids and a dream, with kids that can scream
Too much it might seem when it is two a.m.
And when I am weak, unable to speak
Still I will call You by name
Shepherd, Savior, Pasture Maker
Hold onto my hand
You say, I Am

The winds of change and circumstance blow in and all around us
So we find a foothold that's familiar
And bless the moments that we feel you nearer
When life had begun, I was woven and spun
You let the angels dance around the throne
And who can say when, but they'll dance again
When I am free and finally headed home
I will be weak, unable to speak
Still I will call You by name
Creator, Maker, Life Sustainer
Comforter, Healer, My Redeemer
Lord and King, Beginning and the End

I Am
Yes, I Am

Day 2: The 20/20/20 Formula

So, I managed to wake up at 5 AM again. ( Ok, probably 5 minutes late).
Wanted to talk about what was proposed that we do during the time that we wake up at 5AM.

1st 20 minutes: Exercise to get your metabolism going. You must sweat.

next 20 minutes: Reflect. Journal. ( Wow! was already doing this wayyyy back in Uni!)

Final 20 minutes: Read. Grow.

Really not rocket science. But one needs to be disciplined to keep waking up at 5AM ( at least 66 days) for this to be a habit.

Was listening to this ( instead of reading just because I don't want to wake Baby E up) and I know that God is starting a healing process in me.

Lyrics for Instruments of Your Peace (Prayer) by Don Moen

That's our prayer Lord, make us the instruments of your peace
Forgive us for showing hatred when we should have reached held in love
Forgive us for judging when we are the ones
Who deserved to be judged

Now with your help we extend
forgiveness to all who have sinned against us
Deliberately or unknowingly and asked that you begin to heal us
Renew us realign us with your will and your way
To make a way where there seems to be no way


Prayer of Saint Francis ( although apparently this was anonymous)

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me bring love.
Where there is offense, let me bring pardon.
Where there is discord, let me bring union.
Where there is error, let me bring truth.
Where there is doubt, let me bring faith.
Where there is despair, let me bring hope.
Where there is darkness, let me bring your light.
Where there is sadness, let me bring joy.
O Master, let me not seek as much
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love,
for it is in giving that one receives,
it is in self-forgetting that one finds,
it is in pardoning that one is pardoned,
it is in dying that one is raised to eternal life.

Lord, forgive me so that I can forgive others. Amen.

Day 1 (The 5 AM club)

Yes! Managed to wake up by 5AM today and did some exercise. I will start small and increase the duration each day.

Reflection for today ( taken from Robin Sharma's book of the same title above):

Those who feel more than most people sometimes believe they have been cursed. In fact, they have been granted a gift , one that allows them to sense what others miss, experience the delights that most neglect and notice the majesty in ordinary moments. Yes, such people get hurt more easily, yet they are also the ones who create great symphonies, architect dazzling buildings and find cures for the sick. Tolstoy once noted that 'only people who are capable of loving strongly can suffer great sorrow' while the great Sufi poet Rumi wrote, 'You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens'.


This spoke volumes to me since this was exactly how I felt about my life. Many days in Melbourne, I felt like I was cursed and now I finally see it in a different light. More recently, a colleague said to me: 'Don't care so much. That's why you feel upset about this situation at work.' In a way he was right about the why. But he got the conclusion so very wrong.

This is who I am: A carer. I cannot just walk away and don't give two hoots about a situation that I care about. I cannot say I don't care what happens to the people I lead. I just can't. It is not me.

When you distill it down to the core of the issue: I care because I am passionate about the work that I do.

And that my friend, is how one becomes a History-Maker.

2019: A year of miracles and new beginnings!

2018 came and went. Didn't know where all the time went. At the end of the year, I felt drained, frustrated and tired all the time. It wasn't all bad though.

Baby E has grown up to be the cutest girl I know ( of course, I am biased!). She is full of energy and life. Se is also very funny at times and comical at other times. She makes us do silly things but most of all, she makes me laugh with joy! Can't imagine what life would be without her. She's now more vocal and asking: 'Hey, what's that sound? Mama, what's that?'. All the time. Seeing her play with her cousins brings me such happiness but also at times some regret - that we don't live closer to our relatives so she could play with them everyday.

On the downside, work has been a complete bummer. Since moving on to be the clinical lead at another institution, I have just faced frustrations after frustrations. Well, no one said being a pioneer was easy, I guess. I think I was just more disappointed with my superiors who didn't care about what I did nor seem interested to grow the work where I am. Dissecting the situation to find out the root cause of my unhappiness, I guess it boils down to these few things:
a) Overworked
b) Lack of demonstration of leadership by my bosses ( i.e no overall planning of divisional expansion given that changes are inevitable in our field)
c) Superficiality ( the fact that my superiors pay 'lip service' to me only but do not deliver any practical help to my situation at work)
d) Unappreciated - need I say more?
e) Depression - it's hard not to end up depressed if you are overworked, suffer a working mother's guilt everyday, lack of exercise and being disconnected to God.

My saving grace in life would be my husband. He never fails to encourage me to do more and better myself. He never fails to remind me that all these work that we do is temporary and we should aim to do real work that matters. He never fails to plan holidays all year round because he recognised that I needed the break and time away from a toxic working environment. Thank God I have him!

Then, I chanced upon a self help book at my brother in law's home during our recent trip there.




That book has been totally life changing!
More on this in my next post.