Secrets of Successful Teens by Adam Khoo My first "self-help" book was Secrets of Successful Teens by Adam Khoo. It was about how to take charge of your life, make many friends and get along with parents. I loved the book because Adam shared a lot about his rocky teenage years, where he was failing all the subjects in school and had a bad relationship with his dad. I first read it when I was 13, and the book really spoke to me. It was then when I learnt about setting goals, time management and how to study well. When I had finished the book, I reread some of the chapters whenever I needed guidelines. It was my handbook to survive and thrive in my teenage years. Secrets of Successful Teens was the book that made me believe that self-help books could really change my life. Today, I would say I was not quite right, but not entirely wrong either. I have had my fair share of self help books: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, How to Win Friends and Influence P...
Photo from PEOPLEIMAGES/GETTY IMAGES Last week, I was down with a fever, flu and a bad sore throat. Being ill made my head really fuzzy and my body weak, and I spent most of my time in slumber, only waking to eat or drink. Naturally, I stopped any form of exercise, which included my daily evening runs. When you stop a habit you have been keeping for some time, restarting it is actually quite hard. For the past three days, I have been well enough to continue my running routine, but I kept making excuses, like the weather being too hot and sunny. Today however, after a short workout at home, I felt a little of that running itch. I think it's because when you have been maintaining a habit for a long enough time, even if you have broken the streak, your body will still remind you of it when the time comes. I decided to put on my running shoes and a cap, and head out into the sun. Just one round, I thought to myself. I started off at a slow pace, waking my legs...