It has been a while since I last found the motivation to begin penning down my thoughts. As I find myself treading on with life, time and time again the crests of my emotions reach a new high. It has never been the case where I would hold back putting my whole heart into my relationships and work... to summarise, the past half a year has been eventful. But regardless, I still fervently believe that Life is a journey, and that Life IS Beautiful.
Things have not been fantastic at work. To feel that there is so much more I can do, that I want to do, and it's amplified by the fact that I know there is much to learn ... I admit I was disgruntled with the posting I was given initially. There was just so much secrecy about it, leaving only hints of strong and seemingly unbiased judgement. If anything, I wish there would be more honesty and constructive criticism at the workplace. Less personality clashes please, more focus on solving problems. On this note, I've got to digress a little. You know how they say personality plays a large role in shaping one's command type? Though it is still my personal belief that charismatic leaders (at the upper-upper management level) is what a force built on deterrence needs, it can be almost too dangerous if.... I shall not continue with this here.
Anyway, anyone who knows me would know that reading AND filling up my bookshelves is a big part of me - well, it must be a cruel joke this time round as to where this hobby of mine brings me to. Imagine a situation where increased self-awareness (through the lens of others and nights of reflection) coupled with an overly-self-critical trait through all these readings, booms to a modern day repeat of hiroshima. I felt like a small fish in an ocean. There is so much I don't know, so many inadequacies that I have to find ways to make up for / overcome.
After going through a long personal struggle, I do know for sure, that I need to be constantly challenged, both mentally and intellectually. Only when one is put in an area of discomfort would one grow.
Creating the capacity for change, is creating the capacity for progress and building a force to last. Getting entirely caught up with the current takes away the capacity to plan for the future. Not taking the risk to take minor setbacks (while of course still getting the job done in the end) does not help people to grow. It is true that we should leverage on people's strengths to maximise output, but doing that repeatedly to the point of always assigning the same person the same kind of task, takes away the opportunity for everyone to develop and learn.
Enough said about the depressing and mortifying details of my current situation.
I chanced upon a gem at kino yesterday - "How to talk about books you haven't read" by Pierre Bayard.
It invoked an immediate interest (- of course the die-hard cynical in me) as I was heading for the check-out counter. Like an uninhibited little girl, I let out a pretty loud laughter when I read the title. (ok, i know I am easily amused). Anyway, I am just done with the first chapter. It is really funny and witty, so much so that it seems like an almost desperate attempt by the author to fight his case that one really doesn't have to read to have the contextual knowledge. ;) Of course, as I indulge myself in his idealistic world, I do remember that I have a laundry list of serious readings to do - readings that are irreplaceable by not reading. =(( Anyhow, there are some interesting perspectives shared in this book:
" We should tend toward exhaustiveness rather than the accumulation of isolated bits of knowledge... The search for totality changes how we look at each book, allowing us to move beyond its individuality to the relations it enjoys with others."
-- Is it just me but does this remind you of how we (staff writers - gawd, pls de-militarise moi!) should review our work, and moving beyond, to reading and internalising other people's works?
Things have not been fantastic at work. To feel that there is so much more I can do, that I want to do, and it's amplified by the fact that I know there is much to learn ... I admit I was disgruntled with the posting I was given initially. There was just so much secrecy about it, leaving only hints of strong and seemingly unbiased judgement. If anything, I wish there would be more honesty and constructive criticism at the workplace. Less personality clashes please, more focus on solving problems. On this note, I've got to digress a little. You know how they say personality plays a large role in shaping one's command type? Though it is still my personal belief that charismatic leaders (at the upper-upper management level) is what a force built on deterrence needs, it can be almost too dangerous if.... I shall not continue with this here.
Anyway, anyone who knows me would know that reading AND filling up my bookshelves is a big part of me - well, it must be a cruel joke this time round as to where this hobby of mine brings me to. Imagine a situation where increased self-awareness (through the lens of others and nights of reflection) coupled with an overly-self-critical trait through all these readings, booms to a modern day repeat of hiroshima. I felt like a small fish in an ocean. There is so much I don't know, so many inadequacies that I have to find ways to make up for / overcome.
After going through a long personal struggle, I do know for sure, that I need to be constantly challenged, both mentally and intellectually. Only when one is put in an area of discomfort would one grow.
Creating the capacity for change, is creating the capacity for progress and building a force to last. Getting entirely caught up with the current takes away the capacity to plan for the future. Not taking the risk to take minor setbacks (while of course still getting the job done in the end) does not help people to grow. It is true that we should leverage on people's strengths to maximise output, but doing that repeatedly to the point of always assigning the same person the same kind of task, takes away the opportunity for everyone to develop and learn.
Enough said about the depressing and mortifying details of my current situation.
I chanced upon a gem at kino yesterday - "How to talk about books you haven't read" by Pierre Bayard.
It invoked an immediate interest (- of course the die-hard cynical in me) as I was heading for the check-out counter. Like an uninhibited little girl, I let out a pretty loud laughter when I read the title. (ok, i know I am easily amused). Anyway, I am just done with the first chapter. It is really funny and witty, so much so that it seems like an almost desperate attempt by the author to fight his case that one really doesn't have to read to have the contextual knowledge. ;) Of course, as I indulge myself in his idealistic world, I do remember that I have a laundry list of serious readings to do - readings that are irreplaceable by not reading. =(( Anyhow, there are some interesting perspectives shared in this book:
" We should tend toward exhaustiveness rather than the accumulation of isolated bits of knowledge... The search for totality changes how we look at each book, allowing us to move beyond its individuality to the relations it enjoys with others."
-- Is it just me but does this remind you of how we (staff writers - gawd, pls de-militarise moi!) should review our work, and moving beyond, to reading and internalising other people's works?
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