Dog training / sports training and…

I vaguely remember a dog when I was very young which was not attractive, not intelligent, and very nervous and cowardly. Sadly, his fate was not good – he was dumped because he was of no good to the owners. Very sad indeed.

To any dog owners / lovers, we see the need for good obedience training. Some might argue in favour of the dog, that it is cruel to make the dog do things for the owner. Ever seen a out of control dog, peeing, pooing around the house, destroying important things / documents etc.? Many such dogs eventually get dumped. Whether we argue philosophically that it is cruel, the fate of the dog could easily be rescued via obedience training.

Similarly, if we want to win in sports [racing, tennis, golf, etc], we must train, train to win, and go through crazy regiments that a normal person would not.

If we take the argument that it is wrong to control, wrong to train strictly, to limit the freedom…. then there will be no sports star, no performance worth watching, no dogs that can be enjoyed….

At the home front:

A out-of-control child is not welcomed in most places – while we empathise with the parents or care giver.

At the work front:

A person who cannot work within a team, a staff who places total freedom over and above the employer’s bottom line or an individualist who wilfully chooses not to conform to policies will not fit in collaborative work spaces. We can argue philosophically but salaries are paid for agreed deliverables and rewards are tied to group performance in most instances.

At a political level:

In Singapore, there is much on-going argument, especially by those who have since left the nation and migrated to western nations, about the lack of freedom. As one who has been exposed to both full democratic freedom and Singapore’s brand of freedom – I will say i am actually quite happy to be in the Singapore system.

Compared to democratic India, Thailand, Taiwan, [to name a few in Asia], Singaporeans have not lost out in any big way. We still have freedom to live life, minus the fear from out of control crimes, such as drive by shooting, free from weirdness spawned from the over hyped freedom of speech. Not to mention an entire nation crippled by strikes.

I know I know I have crossed some sensitive markers.

Restrain is important; self control and discipline are the twin pillars of successful men / women.

Invest early in a child’s life the values that anchor and their future is secure. Quoting from a Chinese movie [paraphrased] “If you start your life the easy way, you will end it the hard way. But if you start life the hard way, you will end the easy way.”