SPEED

Be it cars, bikes or the internet access, SPEED is perhaps the focus of attention. The human race has innovatively made speed attractive by having races for varying distances be it as a track event or a Formula 1 race or a motor cross or the horse racing track.  So why are we obsessed with speed?  Perhaps the answer lies in our competitive nature and our primal instincts Sudden Power Ensures Excessive Drive

The law of the jungle demands that speed holds the key to catching a prey or eluding being the prey. An old African tale illustrates it best. Every morning in the Jungle the Lion wakes up and says today I have to run faster than the slowest deer or I will have to go hungry. At the same time every morning there is a deer that gets up and says I have to run faster than the fastest Lion or I would be dead. The moral of the story is that whether you are Lion or Deer, come morning and you have to get up and run. It is however the speed at which each one runs that determines if it meets its objective. We as human beings having evolved, perhaps continue to crave for this primal instinct of speed.

Our competitive nature demands that we humans find ways and means to assert our superiority. While hunting as a sport partly let us indulge in our cravings, as we evolved, we found the need to be engaged in less risky activities. Horse racing provided owners to assert their superiority and gave the common man a chance to also lay wagers and participate in the process of identifying the best. At the same time competitive racing between human beings then became an acceptable means to a loft end of displaying competitiveness.  With progress and mechanization, motorcycle and car racing provided the human race to imaginatively and creatively test the limits of speed as is evident in improving lap timings where Sudden Power Ensures Excessive Drive.

However SPEED also tends to pose tremendous danger especially in the hands of those who cannot control/ handle speed. The human race is plagued with the performance enhancing drug menace but equally dangerous is the SPEED power that is touted by almost all vehicle manufacturers. An oft quoted phrase warning against the dangers of speed puts matter in perspective succinctly and it reads ‘ Speed thrills but also kills’. So while SPEED means  Sudden Power Ensures Excessive Drive, you must be able to keep that drive in check.

Action Points:

Check out the Olympic record and World Record timings and names of winners male and female in each of these categories. 100 meters, 200 meters, 4000 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters and the marathon.

Find out the fastest animal and bird on the earth.

Find out who has recorded the fastest tennis serve in the world.

Who has bowled the fastest ball bowled in cricket and what was the speed recorded.

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RACE

In sports and particularly during the OLYMPICS, the most eagerly looked forward to events are the races. A RACE is perhaps the simplest form of showing of superiority for all one has to do is Rush Ahead Challenge Everyone and the one who comes first is the winner. What makes a race even more interesting is the variety, innovations and complexities that have transformed races to become the pivot of sporting jamboree the Olympics.

The marathon has always remained a major symbol of the triumph of the human spirit and endurance, and the race most associated with the Olympics. However, over the years the races have evolved to broadly encompass the short distance races, the middle distance races, the long distance races and then endurance races. Walking race too has become an important race. The swimming events have made races even more exciting with the varied styles of swimming posing challenges for even the best. The hurdles and relays are innovations that have enhanced the variety and added luster to make the races more intriguing. With the introduction of the steeple chase the races have embraced complexities that add glitter and glitz to the simple and pure form of basic human entertainment and achievement.

For sheer ecstasy and emotion, nothing is comparable to the short sprints be it the hurdles or the 400, 200 and 100 meter races. While the timing of the top most athletes participating in these events is almost identical, what makes the race a sheer joy is the very high probability of upsets that can happen, These could be from the basic error of being disqualified for a false start or lane violation or it could be due to injury or a tumble that could prove decisive in having upsets hold centre stage. At the end of the day, it is the photo finishes that result in a whisker thin victory that sends the adrenaline of the officials, spectators and supporters racing.

A bit of glitz and sheen has been taken away from the races of late with athletes resorting to dubious means like doping and use of performance enhancing drugs to win the race. Despite these hiccups, whether you are sports fan or not, chances are that you will never miss out on seeing the races especially at the Olympics for you would be just as keen to bet on who would with the RACE and Rush Ahead Challenge Everyone.

Action Points:

1. Do see the movie Chariots of Fire which uses the backdrop of race to tell a tale.
2.  Check up the meaning of the following phrases which have the word race in them

• Racing against time
• Race to the finish
• Feel my heartbeats race
• The race ended in a dead heat
• A one horse race

Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -

Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

You are also invited to visit our inspirational and motivational blog

http://www.actspot.wordpress.com

FAST

With each passing era we observe that the world has become more FAST paced. We see it in the simple everyday tasks we perform be it the pace at which we walk, read, eat. We also become more aware of the things happening on the fast lane when we talk about the speed of processing of our computer, the speed of the internet, the speed of the latest supersonic jets or the latest vehicles. The reality is that we want to be in the FAST lane for it is there that we Find Acceleration Speed Thrust that enthralls us.

Being fast is much valued quality at work and in life. When one is fast in executing tasks, more can be achieved in less time. The fast trains are a an integral part of the commuters life line in the metro cities. Fast food is the new age food fad indulged in by the young and the old, the yuppie and the old foggy. In the hurly burly of life speed dating has provided hope to those who have no time for the old fashioned time consuming dating process. In the work place, the number crunching is dramatically speeded up by the new age computers while the information an any and everything is available at the press of a button thanks to the speed of the net connections and the algorithms that drive search engines. 

There is a down side to speed too. Notice the pace at which the statutory warnings are read out at the end of a baby food or a financial services advertisement; completely incomprehensible. Pick up the daily news paper to scan the numerous stories that  highlight accidents and deaths related to over speeding. Perhaps closer home the puritans decry the T 20 format of cricket for art and style is thrown out of the window in the pursuit of achieving quick runs in the limited overs. Errors and mistakes are an inevitable consequence of being recklessly fast.  The quick success that many a young star has achieved is alas often accompanied by the perils of living in the fast lane; substance abuse and other vices often threaten their careers and their reputation.

A long time ago in Alice in Wonderland, the author Lewis Carroll had aptly put it when a character in the book articulates the words ‘ Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.’ This is truly a fast paced world for we are destined to Find Acceleration Speed Thrust all around us. 

Action Points:

1. Combine the fast paced thrill of the good old days and get hold of a top and recreate the magic of spinning the top. To get in touch with the newer version of it ask some kids for their beyblades and have a go with it. Did you enjoy the pace, the speed and the spinning of the top and the beyblade?
2. Here is a picture that conveys a thousand words (courtesy the internet). Write down when and why you will adopt the pace of either of the two objects in the picture

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Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/ is focused on -

Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

You are also invited to visit our inspirational and motivational blog

http://www.actspot.wordpress.com