Tan Chuan-Jin Shares Life Lessons He Learnt From His Son
Most Singaporeans may know Mr Tan Chuan-Jin as our Speaker of Parliament.
But when he’s at home with his family, Mr Tan is a husband and a father, and like most parents, there are moments when he feels proud of his children’s achievements.
One such moment happened recently when his son completed a steeplechase race.
He took to Facebook on Saturday (30 Mar) morning to share the joyous occasion and pointed out life lessons that he learnt from his son’s experience.
Here’s his post in full, we also break it down for you after the jump.
Trains hard, despite not winning medals
Mr Tan’s son, a cross-country athlete, recently finished his obstacle race clinching a point for his school — Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
But the younger Tan, “barring any incredible breakthroughs”, isn’t someone who’s expected to win a medal, mostly due to his strong cohort in school.
Despite that, Mr Tan’s son perseveres and trains hard.
When he missed training in school, he would make up for it by running on his own.
Seeing him work so hard yet not have any medals to show for it, pains the elder Tan at times.
He worries that without any “tangible recognition of his commitment”, his son may feel disheartened.
Yet he recognises that that’s the nature of competitive sports — the majority of athletes do not win medals.
Interestingly, Mr Tan’s son seems unfazed by this.
Despite not winning any medals, the younger Tan would train tirelessly, just so he can improve and do his school proud.
In Mr Tan’s words,
He keeps trying and trying. And he improves second by second.
Strive to improve
Mr Tan’s also commented on similarities between his son’s race on the track and the “race of life”.
According to him, every one of us has different ‘levels’ in life.
Instead of being unsatisfied with the ‘levels’ that we are at, we should embrace, and constantly seek to improve.
Focus on bettering ourselves
He also commented on the popular debate of whether Singapore is overly-competitive.
To Mr Tan, competition is neither good nor bad.
That’s because, at the end of the day, all of us decide for ourselves how we want to “run our race”.
He urged everyone to focus on the race we have with ourselves, and the importance of perseverance, hard work, and excellence.
Mr Tan ended his post with a fitting tribute to Anglo-Chinese School’s motto, ‘The Best Is Yet To Be’, encouraging everyone to be a better version of themselves with each passing day.
Amazing spirit, at such a young age
Hearty congratulations to Mr Tan’s son for his sporting achievements, and of course his amazing display of human spirit, at such a young age.
We are eager to discover what’s in store for him. After all, the best is yet to be.
Featured image from Facebook and Facebook.
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