Encounters.
These couple of months have been .. absolutely.. 'wow' (for lack of better word) in terms of my encounters with people. Firstly, I've gotten to know a couple of amazing people during my course. And yes, that has impacted my life now, and sparked off the tri-craze. Back at the workplace, i'm starting to see that there are a number of good guys out there.. my heart goes out to them. And just today, i entered the lift with a neighbour who has stayed here for at least a decade like i did. It was the usual 'hi, bye' kind of interaction, but today it was different. I was carrying a handlebar & saddle for my new bike and that sparked off a conversation with him. And I found out that he used to be a cycling enthusiast, and that he used to go on cycling trips around the world with his wife.. That's so sweet and romantic. Mmm the image of cyling down the vineyards of France, touring the countryside with a loved one on a bright, cool summer day.. *dreamy eyes*
Departures.
The movie 'departures' is one of the best movies i've watched within these couple of years, and of course with its theme on one of my biggest interests, life... I gotta get the DVD and rewatch it again. The soundtrack was fantastic too!
Memories.
I revisited my BMT memories again during a visit to the Army Museum. somehow, when i was one with the tour, the Tower caught my eye. Then, as if already pre-choreographed, familiar songs that I used to listen to back then started playing softly at the back of my mind. Look at where I am now.
Life. I think alot about life.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
An unhurried morning
It is nice, nice to be able to take a morning drive to work feeling good and knowing that I will able to have an unhurried day. Often, this feeling comes about on ‘off’ days when the rest are not around or occupied. I suppose that is why I thought I would just swop duty and come back to work when I had initially looked forward to clearing ‘off’.
Now, that brings me back to the question I’ve been pondering about for the longest time on how work-life balance can be achieved. I think it’s really dependent on one’s working style. If I choose to lock myself in the office all day, sure enough I can be highly-efficient.. but I would be pretty much working in isolation, wouldn’t I? That brings on the next question of what motivates one at work, or rather, what constitutes a happy working environment? If it hinges solely on one’s work performance (which is implied that that depends on how much the boss recognizes your effort and whether he/she/organisation decides to reward you, And whether that reward is within your expectations… In short, there are way too many layers/ barriers before one learns about whether one is a valued employee). Am I not wrong to say a large part of how successful one feels about oneself is really beyond oneself to control? Ok, I digress. I suppose my own little solution to work-life balance, however imperfect or incomplete it is, is to not bring work home. How many times have I brought home work thinking I would work on it… and how many times have I actually gotten down to complete the work I was so determined to do while I was in the heat of things at work? Close to zero percent of late. And yes, the plan for my ‘off’ day was initially to clear some work, then go exercise. Alas. I might as well be back at work where I would definitely focus on completing work and take my ‘off’ another day when I would really be out doing anything but work.
I look back occasionally at the ‘Informal end-of-tour report’ I crafted around Nov last year. How different I feel now. Would I be able to craft something like that at this time of the year? I don’t know. Why do such reports have to be crafted only after the dust has settled? It is really difficult to a ‘Doing-Action-Review’. How can one psych oneself up to be in the right frame of mind to step out of the reality and reflect? To qualify, I think everyone is always taking on a ‘self-corrective’ mode while they are in the middle of things, but it has to be pretty much ‘top-down’ or by orders of a higher authority to set aside time to get everyone to sit down and share about such things. Perhaps, what makes it harder to do is that the outcome of the entire operation is still unclear. There is definitely a slight discomfort to wanting to comment about past actions or decisions at that point in time because there is no basis (aka outcome) as a benchmark to draw comparisons, or ‘on hindsight’ insights.
But you know, the hard reality is that such is life! The reel of life is always unwinding, it never stops. I do not want to cruise along with life and hit the mid-30s before I know it, and feeling like I’ve really reached a mid-life crisis, not knowing what I’ve been doing and my direction in life. I have many dreams, pieces of dreams. Do I see leading a fulfilling life to be defined by how many of these dreams I realize? Increasingly, I am inclined to think they just serve as a guide, and something for me to focus my energy on. I derive the greatest sense of fulfillment and happiness from the journey of getting there, so much so that whether it is quite independent of whether I get there at the end.
One thing I’m sure about is that I want a lead a healthy lifestyle. As I’m slowly picking up and realizing my dream to be a triathlete (ironman too eventually), I must continue to train hard and watch my diet more! One aspect of it would be time management which is very closely tied in with my ‘energy’ management, and motivation management. Haha. There are times when I feel life I have boundless of energy, and there are times when I feel like I’ve had my life sucked out of me. Again, straddling between extremes. What’s new huh? =)
On others, a few things that have ringing in my mind over and over again. My take on the little lessons I’ve picked up so far:
1. Success begets success
Ironically, I’ve been exposed to this phrase since young. It is(was?) RGPS’s motto. I never quite understood the underlying meaning of this statement. Now, 15 years later, I finally see why it makes so much sense. It appeals to human nature and makes perfect sense. Letting your guys have a taste of success and that would motivate them even more to strive for success. I guess that’s the premise for many HR practices too.
2. See things as open, not broken.
3. Do what is right, not what is convenient.
Now, that brings me back to the question I’ve been pondering about for the longest time on how work-life balance can be achieved. I think it’s really dependent on one’s working style. If I choose to lock myself in the office all day, sure enough I can be highly-efficient.. but I would be pretty much working in isolation, wouldn’t I? That brings on the next question of what motivates one at work, or rather, what constitutes a happy working environment? If it hinges solely on one’s work performance (which is implied that that depends on how much the boss recognizes your effort and whether he/she/organisation decides to reward you, And whether that reward is within your expectations… In short, there are way too many layers/ barriers before one learns about whether one is a valued employee). Am I not wrong to say a large part of how successful one feels about oneself is really beyond oneself to control? Ok, I digress. I suppose my own little solution to work-life balance, however imperfect or incomplete it is, is to not bring work home. How many times have I brought home work thinking I would work on it… and how many times have I actually gotten down to complete the work I was so determined to do while I was in the heat of things at work? Close to zero percent of late. And yes, the plan for my ‘off’ day was initially to clear some work, then go exercise. Alas. I might as well be back at work where I would definitely focus on completing work and take my ‘off’ another day when I would really be out doing anything but work.
I look back occasionally at the ‘Informal end-of-tour report’ I crafted around Nov last year. How different I feel now. Would I be able to craft something like that at this time of the year? I don’t know. Why do such reports have to be crafted only after the dust has settled? It is really difficult to a ‘Doing-Action-Review’. How can one psych oneself up to be in the right frame of mind to step out of the reality and reflect? To qualify, I think everyone is always taking on a ‘self-corrective’ mode while they are in the middle of things, but it has to be pretty much ‘top-down’ or by orders of a higher authority to set aside time to get everyone to sit down and share about such things. Perhaps, what makes it harder to do is that the outcome of the entire operation is still unclear. There is definitely a slight discomfort to wanting to comment about past actions or decisions at that point in time because there is no basis (aka outcome) as a benchmark to draw comparisons, or ‘on hindsight’ insights.
But you know, the hard reality is that such is life! The reel of life is always unwinding, it never stops. I do not want to cruise along with life and hit the mid-30s before I know it, and feeling like I’ve really reached a mid-life crisis, not knowing what I’ve been doing and my direction in life. I have many dreams, pieces of dreams. Do I see leading a fulfilling life to be defined by how many of these dreams I realize? Increasingly, I am inclined to think they just serve as a guide, and something for me to focus my energy on. I derive the greatest sense of fulfillment and happiness from the journey of getting there, so much so that whether it is quite independent of whether I get there at the end.
One thing I’m sure about is that I want a lead a healthy lifestyle. As I’m slowly picking up and realizing my dream to be a triathlete (ironman too eventually), I must continue to train hard and watch my diet more! One aspect of it would be time management which is very closely tied in with my ‘energy’ management, and motivation management. Haha. There are times when I feel life I have boundless of energy, and there are times when I feel like I’ve had my life sucked out of me. Again, straddling between extremes. What’s new huh? =)
On others, a few things that have ringing in my mind over and over again. My take on the little lessons I’ve picked up so far:
1. Success begets success
Ironically, I’ve been exposed to this phrase since young. It is(was?) RGPS’s motto. I never quite understood the underlying meaning of this statement. Now, 15 years later, I finally see why it makes so much sense. It appeals to human nature and makes perfect sense. Letting your guys have a taste of success and that would motivate them even more to strive for success. I guess that’s the premise for many HR practices too.
2. See things as open, not broken.
3. Do what is right, not what is convenient.
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