Reflections

Reminiscing about 2006, I think I ought to reflect and think what I have done right, and what I should do better. So below are some learning points ...

I've learnt that ....

1. No matter how bad / dire a situation may seem, things will get better. Or that even if what seem like misfortune initially, may actually be a blessing in disguise. Cases in point :
   
• If I hadn't known the truth, I would still be yearning for the impossible or thinking about the what-ifs. With the truth, I am forced to let go and though I'm still working on it, but at least I have no false hopes. That's important. We must not live in false hopes.
• If I hadn't got injured, I wouldn't get to learn about injuries and about strengthening and stretching.


2. Everything is transient. What may be yours today may not be yours tomorrow. What may seem like a wonderful friendship may be lost tomorrow. Seize the day, seize the opportunity but do not be attached. The latter is the most difficult thing to achieve. Until now I still have difficulty with this ...


3. Be thick-skin (haha). If not for my forcing myself to be thick-skin, I wouldn't have plucked up sufficient courage to join SGRunners CBD run. I wouldn't have got to know SGRunners, I wouldn't have picked up running, I wouldn't have known so many of you wonderful people, I wouldn't ..... ok, I have made my point.
   


4. Practise makes perfect. As I practise to be thick-skin (going up to complete strangers - in the context of a group run and introducing myself and talking to them), I learn to be a little more comfortable in crowds and not so worried about making a fool of myself. Heck! So what if people laughs at me, laugh along! :) I learn (and still learning) to be less self-conscious and just enjoy living


5. Whatever that may be acted out of good intentions may still back-fire. Your actions may be mis-interpreted, mis-represented, mis-construed. Just think the age old adage 好人难做. So well, I'm still trying to figure out the lesson for this. To care less ? To be less "kaypoh" ?


6. Just do it! Sometimes don't think so much. The more I think, the less I would embark on something. Think Analysis Paralysis. That's me. So sometimes, dun tink so much, just do it. One good example would be the HWA project. Just take one small baby step at a time, do whatever I can and just let the momentum get going. Looking back, I'm so proud that the team pulled this through. From an idea, we actually got into action and got this done. All from just taking one baby step at a time. As my big boss likes to say "Rolling stone gathers no moss" Very true.
   


7. Avoid people (including friends) who make u feel lousy. And you shouldn't feel bad for not wanting to hang out with them. Its your life! Granted that no one can make you feel miserable but yourself, but we surely do not need people who constantly challenges our patience. This applies to people who don't bother to keep in touch, who you bother to keep in touch but brushed you off, who only keep in touch when they need you ...
   


8. NO Expectation. This is a very very very important lesson I'm trying to learn and to remember this lesson. NEVER expect anyone or anything from anyone. Expectation is the recipe to disappointment. Its almost a formula where Expectation = Disappointment. Simple as that. Sometimes I might expect someone to behave a certain way, to say a certain thing. But more often than not, they wouldn't. I just have to remember that they are NOT me. NO one person behaves/thinks the same as me. Get over it. And the world does NOT revolve around me. Even if he/she does not behave/react in a certain way, it doesn't mean he/she doesn't care. It may be that he/she cares in a different way. Whatever it is, let it go, get over it and move on! Easier said than done though, I'm still learning this lesson.
   

I have read somewhere (think is the Andrew Mathews book) that in life, we all have different lessons to learn (everyone's lessons are different). We will be repeatedly thrown scenarios to learn until we learn the lesson .. and the lesson will get increasingly difficult if we keep failing to learn it.

And I suppose if we don't learn the lesson, we wouldn't graduate to learn life's other lessons. Then we will forever be stuck *horrors*. So in order to be wise by learning as much of life's lessons while I'm still walking this earth, I better buck up and learn my lesson earlier :)