What I Learned Today: #3





Making a living is not making a life. The corporate world is giant bowl of stress, fears and insecurities that it gets very easy to be consumed by deadlines, KPIs and proving our worth until that next Performance Appraisal. We spend years and years of our lives trying to make a difference, working hard to change the game, to make a name for ourselves that we sometimes forget what really matters.

Some years ago, I went through a spiritual seminar where the facilitator asked us to write down the things that are non-negotiable and to keep it close to us. Non-negotiables are things you value and will not give up for anything. Ambitious as I am, my list contained worldly things like five-star career, beefed-up bank accounts and yearly vacations abroad.  As I stare on my list further, I scribbled the reasons why I wanted them so bad. I work my ass off for a stellar career to make my parents proud, I want a huge savings account so I have money to pay the house, treat my family to fancy dinners and Holiday gifts, pay for their medical insurances and morbid as it sounds, leave some money to them if and when I die. A yearly vacation may be the closest thing I want for myself. I want this and that, but I want them for a reason. And those reasons have names, and faces and hearts that I care for dearly. 

So the next time you (and I) get stressed, consumed, mad and anxious about work, take a break and think about the things that really matter, the reasons for all the hard work and mental/physical fatigue you endure everyday. People, family and friends, they are the ones who will care for you after office hours or long after your retirement. Sorry to say this but give it a few months after your resignation/retirement and your workmates will forget about, move on with their daily tasks as how it's supposed to be. 

So yes to making a living, but work should not be your entire life, and if you think it is, then I'm inviting you out for coffee. I promise I'm fun. =D

PS: Thank you to GG, J, JB & P for wonderful conversations. Niefertiti!

Much Love on first day of September, 
Dang

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