It seems as if it was just not too long ago when I started penning down my thoughts titled “The Year That Was…” towards the end of 2006. Time did breeze through amazingly fast and a full year has passed since. Whilst 2006 was a remarkable year at work intertwined with a packed social calendar, I did recall stating that I was not really “living life”. As predictable as it is, the turn of a New Year calls for a reflection for the year that just passed.
For the lack of a better phrase, 2007 was a “year of learning and character building”. Whilst things have been smooth and going my way in the previous year, 2007 was definitely a whole lot more challenging and brought with it many unexpected incidences and moments. Looking back in retrospect, I feel that I’ve learnt so much more and I think I can gladly say that I did start living life. The lessons that I’ve learnt would probably be sufficient content for a 300-pages book but I will attempt to summarize my key takeaways from the year in five points.
Shelve the ego and swallow the pride – Over the cause of time, each of us would have developed a certain ego and pride which is usually related to what we do or are good at doing. This could be an upper or a downer pending the situation. On the bright side, this pride and ego gives us a swagger that builds confidence; pushing us to strive for more. On the other hand, it could dampen the bigger picture since it would be hard for us to admit that we are probably not as competent as we perceive ourselves to be. On occasions when we have to eat such awfully tasteless, humble pie; some might find it hard to accept - leading to either a drastic drop in motivation that would then impact the drive, hunger and desire to achieve more or it could lead to the birth of a rebel. Either way, it’s a sure lose for the individual. Hence, there are times that one would need to shelve the ego and swallow the pride. Being able to do so is in itself, a sign of strength that would most likely lead to bigger things to come. However, shelving and swallowing it does not mean losing it. Afterall, a dash of ego and a tinge pride are the ingredients of a driven and ambitious being.
Tough times don’t last, tough people do – I came across this phrase on a bumper sticker in a car and it has since caught on to be one of my favorite taglines. In a challenging year where the thought of raising the white flag crossed my mind countless times, this phrase gave me the strength to go on. The difference between those who “live” through tough times and those who “went” through tough times is that the former always comes out stronger with plenty lessons learnt whilst the latter would probably drop off along the way. I have always believed in a cycle whereby tough times would come to a halt, making way for better days and vice versa. Those who “lived” the tough times often draw learnings from what went wrong which would then serve as a reminder of what not to do whereas those who “went” through it would probably need to continue running away from it. One could quit and move on to supposedly greener pastures but then again, even the nicest and most well-laid turfs would have weeds and the only choice for that individual would then be to continuing running until when they settle on an artificial turf. I’m not a fan of “fake” stuff so my choice would be to live the tough times with the belief and faith that it will toughen me up.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint – For those who’s ever watched a marathon telecasted live on some sports program, one would notice that the head of the pack would change several times throughout the race. Usually, the one who starts off in the lead would seldom end up winning whereas the winners usually come from the middle of the pack. In a marathon, the early leaders are known as the pacers who’s task are to set the pace for the rest to follow but they hardly win anything for they would probably be too tired to push on towards the end of the race. The ones in the middle of pack with a sight of the leader throughout the first half of the race would eventually pick up their pace and gradually climb to the front towards the end of the marathon. This is the same with life. Many (myself included) see life as a sprint where we often want to be in pole position. Getting to the front might be tough but sustaining at the head of the pack is an even more daunting task. Hence, we need not always be in the front seat to win the race but we need to be mindful that we always have an eye on the leader and keep within a reasonable distance. I’ve hardly seen any marathon runners winning a race when they have fallen too far back with no sight of the leaders and the same applies to life. Run hard and run fast but one need not be the fastest at all times. The one who crosses the line first would be the winner regardless of who spent more time at the head of the pack. Life is a marathon and never a sprint.
The power of NOW – Eckhart Tolle, the author of the book titled “The Power of Now” quoted “You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are!” The past and future is unrealistic. One has passed and we can hardly do anything about it while the other has yet to come and things could change along the way. This gives great importance to the omnipresent and eternal “now”. One could go on whining about the past and planning for the future but the real difference boils down to what we intend to do in the present. I’ve always enjoyed procrastinating and I’d be damned if not many share the same interest. Nonetheless, one of my biggest learnings from the year is to live in the moment and to act on the present. We can be mindful of what could or would happen in time to come but that would all depend on what we are doing now. It might sound like a paradox but in the Now, the present moment, problems do not exist. In the Now, we discover that we are complete and perfect. If one is to think otherwise, something is not quite right and something needs to be done and the time to do it would be ….. you guessed as much – NOW!
People deal with people – Throughout the year, I came across several instances whereby a simple gesture from my end derived a more than expected response from others. A simple greeting card was returned with an unexpected gift. A random act of kindness to a stranger developed a new friendship and a candid, no-secrets kept discussion with an acquaintance led to a whole new level of bonding and relationship. With that I conclude that it all comes back to the simple fact that people deal with people. Even the toughest and meanest bloke would have a soft spot and if we were to press the right buttons at the right time, this lean and mean beast could well turn out to be a gentle giant. The year brought along new insights on the importance of building relationship with people, especially loved ones, family, friends and those we interact with. Over the year, I’ve discovered many new things about my family members, close friends and colleagues and this has (to a certain extent) elevated our relationship to a different level. Looking back at that, I still feel like banging my head against the wall each time I think about the times when I chose to be an arrogant prick who was all over myself. In all those “the world is about me and only me moments”, I would have probably let go an abundant of opportunities to get to know a potential mentor, a potential confidante, a potential drinking partner and the list goes on. Bottom line is that we need to be sincere and genuine and treat others the way we would want to be treated. Once we start making that a way of life (which I still need lots of practice on), we would suddenly realize that there will be a friend readily willing to lend a helping hand at any time.
The 5 points above would merely be the silver lining to a whole lot more lessons learnt in 2007. If the previous year (2006) was a year of “Discovery”, the most recently concluded year was definitely a year of learning and character building. Whilst I still haven’t got the keys to my dream car and neither has my fair maiden came into the picture, 2007 was a good year. I bid thee farewell and thank you for the lessons learnt that would no doubt serve me well in time to come. Adieu 2007!
For the lack of a better phrase, 2007 was a “year of learning and character building”. Whilst things have been smooth and going my way in the previous year, 2007 was definitely a whole lot more challenging and brought with it many unexpected incidences and moments. Looking back in retrospect, I feel that I’ve learnt so much more and I think I can gladly say that I did start living life. The lessons that I’ve learnt would probably be sufficient content for a 300-pages book but I will attempt to summarize my key takeaways from the year in five points.
Shelve the ego and swallow the pride – Over the cause of time, each of us would have developed a certain ego and pride which is usually related to what we do or are good at doing. This could be an upper or a downer pending the situation. On the bright side, this pride and ego gives us a swagger that builds confidence; pushing us to strive for more. On the other hand, it could dampen the bigger picture since it would be hard for us to admit that we are probably not as competent as we perceive ourselves to be. On occasions when we have to eat such awfully tasteless, humble pie; some might find it hard to accept - leading to either a drastic drop in motivation that would then impact the drive, hunger and desire to achieve more or it could lead to the birth of a rebel. Either way, it’s a sure lose for the individual. Hence, there are times that one would need to shelve the ego and swallow the pride. Being able to do so is in itself, a sign of strength that would most likely lead to bigger things to come. However, shelving and swallowing it does not mean losing it. Afterall, a dash of ego and a tinge pride are the ingredients of a driven and ambitious being.
Tough times don’t last, tough people do – I came across this phrase on a bumper sticker in a car and it has since caught on to be one of my favorite taglines. In a challenging year where the thought of raising the white flag crossed my mind countless times, this phrase gave me the strength to go on. The difference between those who “live” through tough times and those who “went” through tough times is that the former always comes out stronger with plenty lessons learnt whilst the latter would probably drop off along the way. I have always believed in a cycle whereby tough times would come to a halt, making way for better days and vice versa. Those who “lived” the tough times often draw learnings from what went wrong which would then serve as a reminder of what not to do whereas those who “went” through it would probably need to continue running away from it. One could quit and move on to supposedly greener pastures but then again, even the nicest and most well-laid turfs would have weeds and the only choice for that individual would then be to continuing running until when they settle on an artificial turf. I’m not a fan of “fake” stuff so my choice would be to live the tough times with the belief and faith that it will toughen me up.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint – For those who’s ever watched a marathon telecasted live on some sports program, one would notice that the head of the pack would change several times throughout the race. Usually, the one who starts off in the lead would seldom end up winning whereas the winners usually come from the middle of the pack. In a marathon, the early leaders are known as the pacers who’s task are to set the pace for the rest to follow but they hardly win anything for they would probably be too tired to push on towards the end of the race. The ones in the middle of pack with a sight of the leader throughout the first half of the race would eventually pick up their pace and gradually climb to the front towards the end of the marathon. This is the same with life. Many (myself included) see life as a sprint where we often want to be in pole position. Getting to the front might be tough but sustaining at the head of the pack is an even more daunting task. Hence, we need not always be in the front seat to win the race but we need to be mindful that we always have an eye on the leader and keep within a reasonable distance. I’ve hardly seen any marathon runners winning a race when they have fallen too far back with no sight of the leaders and the same applies to life. Run hard and run fast but one need not be the fastest at all times. The one who crosses the line first would be the winner regardless of who spent more time at the head of the pack. Life is a marathon and never a sprint.
The power of NOW – Eckhart Tolle, the author of the book titled “The Power of Now” quoted “You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are!” The past and future is unrealistic. One has passed and we can hardly do anything about it while the other has yet to come and things could change along the way. This gives great importance to the omnipresent and eternal “now”. One could go on whining about the past and planning for the future but the real difference boils down to what we intend to do in the present. I’ve always enjoyed procrastinating and I’d be damned if not many share the same interest. Nonetheless, one of my biggest learnings from the year is to live in the moment and to act on the present. We can be mindful of what could or would happen in time to come but that would all depend on what we are doing now. It might sound like a paradox but in the Now, the present moment, problems do not exist. In the Now, we discover that we are complete and perfect. If one is to think otherwise, something is not quite right and something needs to be done and the time to do it would be ….. you guessed as much – NOW!
People deal with people – Throughout the year, I came across several instances whereby a simple gesture from my end derived a more than expected response from others. A simple greeting card was returned with an unexpected gift. A random act of kindness to a stranger developed a new friendship and a candid, no-secrets kept discussion with an acquaintance led to a whole new level of bonding and relationship. With that I conclude that it all comes back to the simple fact that people deal with people. Even the toughest and meanest bloke would have a soft spot and if we were to press the right buttons at the right time, this lean and mean beast could well turn out to be a gentle giant. The year brought along new insights on the importance of building relationship with people, especially loved ones, family, friends and those we interact with. Over the year, I’ve discovered many new things about my family members, close friends and colleagues and this has (to a certain extent) elevated our relationship to a different level. Looking back at that, I still feel like banging my head against the wall each time I think about the times when I chose to be an arrogant prick who was all over myself. In all those “the world is about me and only me moments”, I would have probably let go an abundant of opportunities to get to know a potential mentor, a potential confidante, a potential drinking partner and the list goes on. Bottom line is that we need to be sincere and genuine and treat others the way we would want to be treated. Once we start making that a way of life (which I still need lots of practice on), we would suddenly realize that there will be a friend readily willing to lend a helping hand at any time.
The 5 points above would merely be the silver lining to a whole lot more lessons learnt in 2007. If the previous year (2006) was a year of “Discovery”, the most recently concluded year was definitely a year of learning and character building. Whilst I still haven’t got the keys to my dream car and neither has my fair maiden came into the picture, 2007 was a good year. I bid thee farewell and thank you for the lessons learnt that would no doubt serve me well in time to come. Adieu 2007!
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