The Good Life
As I grow one year older I thought I should start my new age with a reflection over the past. At the age of 28 I realised that life is simple. It is not easy, but it’s simple. What do I mean by that. Just before I wrote this, I saw someone on the bus with a broken mask. Suddenly another stranger reached into his bag and gave him a new one. My heart immediately felt warm and I just couldn’t help but smile. After I took a quick nap and when I woke up, I saw the beautiful lights in my neighbourhood and just couldn’t stop smiling. I ate McDonald’s and felt the warmth and crispiness of my favourite buttermilk chicken burger and couldn’t help but smile. I realised that I had been living a blessed life, that I am content with simple things and never long for any material things. Every morning walk to office is a great journey, with open air full of cozy clouds and green trees. Every time I look outside my office window there is beautiful strait with tiny cute buildings on the other side of the land.
Aside of gratefulness, another thing critical to life is to have a meaningful goal. Something you are passionate about, something to be worked on day and night, everyday. Something you think so much about that you realise that your life and time is too short to reach the pinnacle of it. That way you fully utilize your time as well as you can, and is able to have a good sleep at night, looking forward to another tomorrow where you can continue to polish your skill. It can be any random thing so long as you can continue to imagine yourself doing it differently, perfecting the art. Down to the smallest level of detail, exploring how it interacts with every single potential changes there are, giving birth to something so familiar, yet so new. It is when you get to this point that you realise what you do is not just a process, it’s something alive and breathing, something you can interact with. That’s what makes it fun, because it’s never static. A never-ending dynamic pursuit.
Should there be nothing you are particularly interested in, find a meaningful challenge. Look out for your weakness that you are annoyed at every time you do something. Now go ahead and slay that! It can be as small as how well versed you were in that last presentation. How to make the idea more succinct and convincing to your stakeholders? Write down the key ideas, expand the definitions, implications or examples. Share them with your colleague and get their feedback, perhaps on how it will affect other people’s interest. Or what excel shortcuts you can possible learn to improve your day to day work, perhaps it’s that control + spacebar to select the entire column shortcut? Find incremental gain opportunities should you not be able to find a transformative one. If you could develop a project to significantly improve the way things are, that’s even better! Develop your capabilities and when you look back, you’ll be proud and there is something exciting to look forward to. The goal is to be more competent than you can be, because you can, and should you do it, you will.
Ultimately, maybe I am simply blessed, or that I am a simple man, or that maybe I am blessed to be a simple man. You just need to hold onto the virtues and avoid the vice. Live honestly, do your best, and have faith. Life is an exciting journey, with challenges disguised as opportunities at every corner of the road. Those who are eager, will continue down the journey, looking at ever-growing beauty of the wonders of the world. While those who are reluctant see every leave falling as trash instead of beautiful petals which nourishes the earth.
