Everyone needs to do this once in a while, I feel.
Introspection accords us opportunities to evaluate where we stand in life, where we are in the eyes of our friends (and foes), what we've been through and what else we should expect from then on, and most importantly, it accords us the opportunity to correct what is wrong without having to wait for the next New Year resolution.
If you need an excuse to do that, year's end is the best excuse.
In the process of introspection, I often find myself to be an arrogant prick; an inconsiderate boss and person, an insolent brat plus all other bad things or traits I succumbed to. But we can't be negative with ourselves all the time, can we? Hence when I go through the process of introspection, I also take the positive aspects into perspective, such as being a loving person to my family and friends, being friendly to this earth and its energy resources, being eco-friendly in saving on the use of paper to save trees which provide the oxygen and carbon dioxide at the right time of day, being appreciative of all who came into my life and rendered help and assistance when I had to call on them, and more ....
Introspection is not about feeling sorry for what one has done, Nor is it an avenue for one to blame others for one's failings and/or omissions. Maybe I've read a lot of Buddhist teachings and teachings of worthy philosophers and great men who graced this planet. Perhaps I've managed to overcome my pride. Perhaps I've had enough of ups and downs in my life to realize all those things I now feel about introspection - both the positive and negative aspects of that process.
I consider myself truly lucky to have an understanding family, tolerant staff, colleagues and peers in my line of work, and most of all, I am grateful to my parents, grandparents, teachers, lecturers, mentors, friends, and all those who've helped shape my life, my philosophy of life, my thinking and my will to think and to change.
One need not feel sorry about what mistakes we've made in life. BUT one has to look forward to what else we are capable of doing in life so as to enhance our own lives and to help enhance the lives of those around us.
This is a farewell message to 2008 and all the years I've left behind.
I hope the rest of you will write the same farewell message as you see fit.
Showing posts with label life's ups and downs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life's ups and downs. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Leaders vs followers
Just had the privilege to read some wise words forwarded to me via email. How refreshing to hear that there are people out there who look forward to doing things with what they have rather than complaining about what they don't. They make the best of what they have and await the unexpected. I don't think they should be considered passive, in fact they are pro-active to me. Pro-active in the sense that they DO things with available means and tools. These are the leaders as far as I am concerned.
We had a new software installed for evaluation in the office and from how everyone reacted, I already managed to pick out the leaders from the followers. The leaders were so eager to learn, so eager to see what else they can get out of the software, and so pleased that they have a new tool to help them with what they're doing. The followers, or rather losers, are the ones who complain about what that software can't do, about how they need to go the roundabout ways to do certain tasks, and how slow it is. And they all failed to see which aspects that software has made their lives easier.
It's similar in what's facing us in life right now, in the face of this global economic crisis.
The leaders will look at the constraints and limitations this crisis has brought about to their normal lives, they will look for opportunities such as how they can utilise the downturn to streamline their operations, make more efficient use of their time and resources, and how else they can use their time to improve, innovate and prepare for the upturn. The followers and losers will spend most of their time whinging about how the downturn has affected their lives, what they're having to live or do without, their sacrifices and blah blah blah.. Are you one of them? Or are you more than that?
During the 1997 financial crisis in Asia, I can remember telling the rest of my staff and peers to watch the rebound. We upgraded, we re-trained, we survived the crisis, we earned respect from our staff and vendors and so on.... And true enough, when the rebound struck us, we were one of the few who were prepared for the work which overwhelmed the industry and caught others unprepared. We retained all the basic infrastructure albeit scaled down somewhat, we retained most of our capable and competent staff and most of all, we retained the mindset which enabled us to handle the rebound.
This is also true about life. I've had my ups and downs. When I'm down, I sob a little like any human would (unless you're in a Hollywood movie), worry a little, get stressed up quite a lot, BUT I also found time to learn from the lessons which caused the "down" and reminisce those moments which I enjoyed during the "ups". I also found time to learn more, improve myself, and adapted my mindset to perpetual ups and downs which I'll meet in my life.
Life's worth living they say! I can't see how that can be disputed.
We had a new software installed for evaluation in the office and from how everyone reacted, I already managed to pick out the leaders from the followers. The leaders were so eager to learn, so eager to see what else they can get out of the software, and so pleased that they have a new tool to help them with what they're doing. The followers, or rather losers, are the ones who complain about what that software can't do, about how they need to go the roundabout ways to do certain tasks, and how slow it is. And they all failed to see which aspects that software has made their lives easier.
It's similar in what's facing us in life right now, in the face of this global economic crisis.
The leaders will look at the constraints and limitations this crisis has brought about to their normal lives, they will look for opportunities such as how they can utilise the downturn to streamline their operations, make more efficient use of their time and resources, and how else they can use their time to improve, innovate and prepare for the upturn. The followers and losers will spend most of their time whinging about how the downturn has affected their lives, what they're having to live or do without, their sacrifices and blah blah blah.. Are you one of them? Or are you more than that?
During the 1997 financial crisis in Asia, I can remember telling the rest of my staff and peers to watch the rebound. We upgraded, we re-trained, we survived the crisis, we earned respect from our staff and vendors and so on.... And true enough, when the rebound struck us, we were one of the few who were prepared for the work which overwhelmed the industry and caught others unprepared. We retained all the basic infrastructure albeit scaled down somewhat, we retained most of our capable and competent staff and most of all, we retained the mindset which enabled us to handle the rebound.
This is also true about life. I've had my ups and downs. When I'm down, I sob a little like any human would (unless you're in a Hollywood movie), worry a little, get stressed up quite a lot, BUT I also found time to learn from the lessons which caused the "down" and reminisce those moments which I enjoyed during the "ups". I also found time to learn more, improve myself, and adapted my mindset to perpetual ups and downs which I'll meet in my life.
Life's worth living they say! I can't see how that can be disputed.
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