Category: Life

Australia has long been regarded as The Lucky Country – a land of opportunities and a fair-go for all. The reality is we aren’t immune to all sorts of adversities, hardships, issues and problems like the rest of the world.

At the time of facing an uncertainty, I often experience a mild form of anxiety. It’s just part of the package called life. Perhaps it’s my fighting spirit or my survival instinct, I don’t allow myself to go astray. When I’m trying to re-group myself, two questions I ask myself are:

1. Who’s got the most unrelenting quality to deal with unpredictability in life? And
2. Who can I draw an inspiration from to help me get through the rough patch?

Well, we all need to eat, don’t we?! Perhaps diving into where food comes from is a good way to start. This is how the story goes…

One Saturday morning when I was sorting out my groceries, I was very much captivated by the colourful fruit and veggies – blue berries, strawberries, apples, grapes, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, yellow squash, you name it. Nothing brightens up my weekend like the fresh produce.

As I put them away in the fridge, I started to think of those hard-working people behind the scenes – growers I’ve never met.

To me, the abundance of food is always within easy reach, readily available at supermarkets. Whatever we need, just put them in trolley, go to a checkout counter and pay, then the job is done. Whereas, to growers, their crop is at the mercy of weather conditions every day of the year. Too much rain, too little rain or no rain at all can throw their livelihood into disarray.

What do they do when the weather turns ugly? What do they do when the drought hits? What do they do when the crop is ruined by an unforeseen calamity?

Do they grin and bear it, get back up and try again? Or do they just say “tough”, “why me?” and give up?

What do growers do to stay resilient, viable and competitive?

You bet! They’ve given me plenty of food for thought…

Buying birthday presents for some people isn’t always easy. Not because they are hard to please but because they seem to have “everything” already. Do they really need more stuff to be added to their rooms?

When the vice president of my previous company came to visit our team from the Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, we all wanted to put our best foot forward and make a good impression. During his short stay in Sydney, one day he came to our area and asked some of us: Tell me what gift should I buy for my mum’s birthday?

It was a question that left many of us scratching our heads. There was a long pause before we started to give out our well-thought of answers among us. It did feel like a competition. Everyone thought their idea was the most brilliant, the smartest, everyone wanted to look good in front of the big boss. Who came out on top at the end?

One by one, none of us seemed to be able to come up with something good enough to be taken seriously. Then Ricky – the usual quiet co-worker, the keep-his-head-down, the stay-at-the-corner and the work-his-butt-off type of guy suddenly burst out. He said this in a very convincing tone: How about sponsoring a child that was also born on the same day as your mum?

The rest of us kind of went silent. Why? Because we knew he nailed it. No one could beat him.

Later that day, the vice president came back looking happy and relaxed. We all realised he’d taken Ricky’s idea on board. There he was, holding a World Vision child sponsorship application form he completed on behalf of his mum. The smile was written all over his face. It’d make a wonderful birthday gift for his mum and a brighter future for a child she sponsored…

Time flies. It’s already October. Before we know it, it’ll be 2020! As the festive season is fast approaching, how do you celebrate?

Do you go with the flow? Or do you prefer to do things of your own free will? If you’re more an extrovert, you probably like something big, loud and lively. If you’re more an introvert, you probably like something small, quiet and low-key. The fact is there’s no rule book on how to spend your holidays, it’s our free time after all.

Working in the corporate world means I’m surrounded by people all the time. There’re plenty of opportunities for interactions either through face-to-face or internet or telephone. My job keeps me on my toes. No two days are the same and there’s never a dull moment.

At home though, it’s a different story. By choice, I operate my personal life at a much slower pace, involving no more than myself and my fury kid Jamie.

The concept of solitude is like venturing into a private haven, taking me far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. It’s exactly what I need at the end of the day. It doesn’t make me a loner.

All in all, if you don’t enjoy your own company, how can you expect others to enjoy yours?

In the creative process, I need to be fully engaged in oneness. I need to be alone. I need to be that person who thinks alone, reads alone, and writes alone. Yes, I’m alone, solo, by myself, on my own, whatever you call it. Loneliness is the last thing on my mind. Without trying to sound too arrogant, it’s not in my vocabulary.

You? Perhaps you too do a lot of things alone. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Now, the question of Is one really a lonely number? My answer is: Not at all.

So, what is a lonely number then? In my opinion, zero is a lonely number.

Loneliness is best described as a state of mind derived from a behavioural response in which case one can be either alone or not alone. It has nothing to do with numbers, whether you’re one or with one hundred.

Lastly, before we go and tackle the epidemic of loneliness in our society, perhaps one single step that everyone can take is to let go of the misconception – the assumption of one is a lonely number…

Be yourself! It’s a cliché. We’ve heard it time and time again. Does it really mean anything?

Apparently, being yourself is one of the key elements of what makes successful people successful. At least, that’s what the experts say. But it sounds a bit too simple and too vague, don’t you think? If you’re just as puzzled, perhaps it’s time to delve into it. Let’s peel off the layers of myth!

Before we take a moment to re-think about what these two short words mean, let me talk about my creative process first. I promise, I’ll be myself and keep it short.

As soon as I decided to write a post about this topic, interestingly, two things happened:

1. Many opportunities started to present themselves; and
2. Flow started to work its magic to bring the idea to the forefront.

In the process, I came to realize the closest thing to Be Yourself is: Be Comfortable In Your Own Skin.

As a starting point, I began to break it down word by word, piece by piece, just to look at the meaning in a more literal sense.

Astonishingly, it soon became quite clear to me why this phrase Be Comfortable In Your On Skin makes perfect sense. Whoever invented this idiom was either a pure genius or someone of great wit and intelligence. Here’s why…

Unarguably, the skin is the largest organ of the body. So, in this context it’s fair to say:

• Be comfortable in your own skin implies a full-scale, 100% self-acceptance. For me, it also applies to all aspects of physical and emotional beings in all stages of life.

If you’ve ever wondered where to start to be yourself, look no further than the depth of your skin!

Try this at home, in your office, anywhere you go: Love your skin, look after your skin – accept your true colours, whether you have a dark or light complexion or anything in between, whether you have a thick skin or thin skin or combination skin, embrace it wholeheartedly and unapologetically…

Before I started this blog, my dearest and harshest critic – myself, had already tried his hardest to talk down the idea.

Questions like: What made you qualify to write this stuff? Are you an expert in this field? Who’s going to read it anyway? For some silly reason, all these negative self-talks were fueled by unfounded insecurity. It could explain why I spent many years sitting on the sidelines and why I became such a latecomer on the writing front.

Ironically, human nature is like this: We sabotage ourselves. It is only when we want something so badly, so bad that we must get up and act. Because you’ve used up all the excuses. No longer do you have the luxury of a last resort. That’s exactly what it is in my case.

In my approach to better understanding the subject matter, I see myself as a student, a learner on the go. Coming from this humble place, it’s enabled me to lay out my writing from a more practical and hands-on standpoint.

As I’m not habitually a happy-go-lucky person or a naturally born hardcore optimistic, writing then provides an outlet for me to crystallize my thoughts in a way that is less biased, judgmental and more balanced and articulate. It complements my effort not to overact in real time.

While no two experiences are alike, it is my hope that my posts have something to offer to readers, perhaps something that resonates well with you, gives you some food for thought or adds a bit value to your day…