I am typing, and typing away…sentences, paragraphs, then blank. Nothing. It is like someone pulled the plug from the power source. Here, I am talking about my thoughts. I am going at a decent speed (As Malaysians will say, “Shy, don’t want to say full speed” (1) even though they would beat Flash Gordon to a speed race. Hang on. I don’t need to say “speed race”. It is understood that a race has to do with speed. You don’t hear people say, I will race you to see who’s the slowest. Then again, that has speed involved). My decent speed is most likely snail’s (Turbo being the exception (2)) pace.

Yeah, so blank. Nothing. It is not like I’ve hit a brick wall or come to a dead end. It’s just… blank. I go through my ideaSketchpad💡for clues. It is in here, that I have a lot of “start up(s)” – where an idea or a thought suddenly comes to me that I start up a new article with it. Multiple times, I get ideas while I am working on an article, not related to the article I am working on. All work-in-progress articles are in the ideaSketchpad 💡.

I decided to take a break and have my dinner. I went through some of the many food containers in the fridge. I came across a container which had corned beef, and another with mashed potato. I found a pack of hotdog buns. I straight away thought up coney-potato hotdog. i.e. a hotdog bun stuffed with delicious corned been and mashed potato – an awesome combination. Just right.

The corned beef was super delicious. It wasn’t too oily. The mashed potato was made by my wife, Jeannie. This homemade or home prepared mashed potato is the real thing, not the stuff that comes in powdered form, mixed with water, which is served at many of the fast food restaurants.

My coney-potato hotdog was simple. No need to line the hotdog sandwich with butter, or add other stuff in like cucumbers, lettuce, sauces. The hotdog sandwich was gone so fast. I am generally a fast eater.

The break was a welcome. I began looking at alternative ideas and in the end got a couple of stories ready.

The thing is we all hit roadblocks, some temporary, some a bit more serious. However, never lose sight of your goals. Picture yourself trying to cross a wide whitewater river with strong undercurrents caused by rapids. Your only way to get across the river is to hang on to an overhead rope that is secured to trees on both ends. You hang on to the rope and began your journey to get across to the other side.

As you are going across, the water velocity and turbulence gets stronger. You can’t let go of the rope, no matter what. Finally, you make it across to the other side.

It is the same thing as in life. The rope represents your goals. The strong river flow and undercurrents are the objections, distractions, “better to give up”, “I can’t go on any longer”. If you hang on to that rope, which are your goals, and don’t lose sight of your destination; you will arrive. The achievement of your goals is the only destination that you should be focused on, to ensure that you get there. (3)

NOTES:
1. You will come across Malaysians who will play down their capabilities and successes. They don’t want to be boastful. It is a display of being humble. Can this be construed as being shy?
2. Turbo the movie (2013)
3. What if you almost achieve your goals but did not quite get there? If you put in more than just your best, be happy with the result. The end result would probably have placed you in a better position than when you first started.
What should be done next? Get back to the starting line and start again. This time round, you will know where the “strong currents, rapids, and rocks are” and work your way around them. Remember to never let go of “the rope”.