You only live once!

Cats have been said to have nine lives but humans on the other hand only live once; unless of course if one believes in reincarnation. However, I have yet to hear of any living human who have been able to give a recollection of their previous life and as such, I would go with the assumption that we only live once.

With that in mind, it again leaves us with choices. Choices on how we would want to lead our life now that we know for sure that we only live once. The obvious answer would be for all to live life to the fullest but it is of extreme interest to see how each individual’s definition of living life to the fullest would differ. I would generally classify the options into three core groups; namely the driver, the explorer and the wanderer.

The Driver would be defined as someone who wants to lead the perfect life as they are the typical perfectionist who would want to plan everything accordingly. A driver would be getting good grades in school and end up graduating at the top of the class, get a decent career as a professional (doctors, engineers, accountants, bankers etc), start a family by the time they hit 30, ensure that their offspring gets a good education and groom them to lead the same life that they had. Drivers are always on top of their game and would do their utmost best to ensure that they do no wrong. They would be your ideal partner, ideal colleague, ideal neighbor and ideal acquaintance who would be contributing back to society and ever willing to offer a helping hand.

The Explorer as expected would be the curious individual who is out to try and explore new things. Explorers would pretty much hold on to the principle that “you need to try everything at least once since you only live one” and many a times, they are the ones who end up getting themselves into trouble for probably exploring much more than they should have. There are no specific way an explorer would choose to lead their life for whatever is planned this moment could change the very next as new opportunity or new options comes about. Things are always unpredictable when it comes to the explorer as they try their best not to make any commitments. Even an appointment made 3 weeks in advance and confirmed an hour ago could be called off simply because a more interesting option popped up.

The Wanderer makes up the core of population with a ratio of 1 Driver = 1 Explorer = 5 Wanderers. They are pretty much the guy or girl next door who would follow the flow and I see wanderers as a hybrid of the driver and the explorer. For the uninitiated, the wanderers could also be defined as the confused group as they are at times planning well in advanced but at other times, procrastinate in decision making until the very last moment. A majority would however see the wanderer as well balanced, taking matters into their stride and varying their choices and options as it comes along. The wanderer could be making right choices at any given time but making the worst call the very next moment but then again, they are the most human as compared to the drivers and the explorers.

Having generally classified the total human population into the 3 groups above, there is no indication as to which is the better group to be in. After all, life is all about choices and it is up to each and every individual to decide how he or she would want to lead their life. Since all of us only live once, the choice is up to us on whether we would want to be driving, exploring or simply wandering….

Replacing "Stress" with "Stretch"

In a recent article titled “Bosses Not To Blame” that was published in the Malay Mail, I read with particular interest the study from Synovate indicating that employees; especially those in KL are being stressed out. Amongst the factors contributing to this included the pressure faced at work especially for those who had to deal with tough bosses. What caught my attention were the comments from Shamsuddin Bardan, the Executive Director of the Malaysia Employers Federation who stated that “Employers are very task-driven in a business environment which is getting tougher and it would be hard for companies to progress if employees are not competitive”.

As I read further, there were opinions from psychologists who stated that the concrete jungle that we live in as well as the hectic hustle and bustle of the city elevates the stress levels. With due credit to the publishers, the article did come with suggestions on how to minimize the stress levels be it via music, meditation, prayers and exercise on top of a healthy diet.

Having read the article and another related comment from a reader; I could not help but to reflect on the article and to pen down my own thoughts as it dawned upon me that this whole saga of employees being too stressed out sounds just like another “Malaysian Excuse”.

In today’s evolving world, all of us work in a fast-paced environment where everyone is expected to multi-task and before we get to complete one task, there’s always another one waiting for us. There is no doubt that such situations could be taxing and demanding on both physical and mental energy causing many people to claim that they are stressed out and need a break. However, if we Malaysians are serious about being a future powerhouse in line with Vision 2020, one of the first things we should do is to remove the word “stress” from our vocabulary. Whilst I am proud to be a Malaysian, it saddens me when I hear my fellow countrymen finding all sorts of excuses for not delivering what is expected. We have heard of athletes competing overseas blaming the cold climate for poor performance, aspiring entrepreneurs blaming lack of government support for failed ventures and unemployed graduates attributing the lack of infrastructure and expertise in local universities being the cause of their incompetence.

For once, if we were to channel our energy in delivering the results rather than to spend time thinking up excuses, we could perhaps achieve a lot more. Back to the topic of stress in the workplace, we need to realize that no one can possibly go on working in a job that creates stress most of the time for it’s just a matter of time before that individual burns out. On the other hand, if we were to use the word “stretch”, it’s simply amazing how much more we can achieve if we were to set our minds on it. I am sure all of us would be pretty amazed if we were to look at the things we have achieved individually and collectively as a nation since independence 50 years ago. Many of the successes and victories we have etched as a nation would not have been possible if the pioneers then felt stressed and decided to forgo the pursuit. I am sure Tunku Abdul Rahman had to go through a lot as he was trying to free the nation back in the 1950s but I doubt he ever felt stressed. Similarly, the following Prime Ministers would have had to endure multiple challenges and as a nation, we would not have been where we are today if either one of them felt stressed and needed to take a break.

There is plenty for us to learn from these national icons and we Malaysians would need to start stepping up and take on the challenge as individuals instead of always blaming an institution for our inefficiencies. In this particular case, a hectic work environment and tough bosses are the scapegoats but if we were to start looking at things from a different angle, we might perhaps feel blessed that the hectic environment probably means a booming economy with plenty of upsides. Similarly, a tough boss could be someone who is pushing us to the edge; enabling us to manifest our full potential. What is lacking now is our willingness to step up to the challenge. I for one welcome this change in the work environment and have long ago erased the word “stress” from my own vocabulary and replaced it with the word “stretch”. If 27 million others in the country would attempt to do the same and try to stretch themselves to do a bit more, I am sure the future is bright for our beloved nation.

To commemorate the 50th birthday of this land we are proud of, Malaysians for once should stop complaining about stress at work but simply start thinking of how we could manage that; if not use it as platform for us to reach new heights. As the saying goes, tension signifies the birth of a new era and if were to overcome the stress we are facing now, we could perhaps achieve a lot more!