2009 October « angielim

Archive for October, 2009

Pursuit of Happiness

Since the last time I was here – I’ve been given the opportunity to walk out of my comfort zone and gather a new perspective of life. It’s opened up the scope of realization that my life is but a fragment of the grander scheme of the world that is out there. What took up 80% of my time is now cut down to taking 20% of my time and I am devoting the 80% to what is truly important. In essence, I am slowing down to grow. I want to take the time to learn, to appreciate, to understand myself & those around me. What is important, what is necessary and what is not. In this year alone, I’ve been to Cuba, New York City, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore and know that these experiences have already contributed to my definition of self.

In Cuba – I learned that Che Guevara was a doctor from Argentina who felt so strong about the poverty in Cuba, he devoted his later years to revolutionizing forces against the corrupted Batista regime. He conquered in 1959. He was described as having an “affinity for the poor”.

In New York City – I walked on the soils of Ground Zero, where the World Trade Centers no longer exist from the September 11 attacks; where more than 400 firefighters died while trying to rescue those in the building as it collapsed.

In Hong Kong – I realized the value of having good friends and being a good friend. To have a friend take the time out of their day to show me and my family around for three days was more than I could have asked for.

In Malaysia/Singapore – I spent time with family where nothing was more important than spending time with each other, where the need for materialism and social stature was non-existent. Living within their means meant they had more time to be happy & and more to be happy about. There is so much that is taken for granted, that I take for granted.

And I want to keep being eager, keep continuing to grow.

Don’t be afraid to do what it is that makes you happy.

Sometimes you don’t notice how fast life is passing you by until you take a step away from all of it to realize that you can barely remember any noteworthy memories you’ve created in the last month, last 6 months, last year – you are suffering autopilot syndrome. Life becomes redundant, replayed and predictable – you know there are things you’d “rather” be doing, but always justify that what you are doing now is part of a greater plan – is it? What are you waiting for? The answer to the questions that ask “why” you are doing something is “just because”. You never have “time” to do the things you wished you could do – and then finally, you get burnt out – what actually makes you happy anymore? Where lies that passion for things you once urged to do? Where is that commitment to strive for the things you want without the fear of failure? If there is not a choice that makes me just a little bit nervous to make, I am not making a choice, I am just getting by.

We are driven by fear.

Fear that others won’t respect our decision; fear that we can’t live up to expectations; fear that we might fail or fear that what I find on the other end of the discovery makes me happier than what I am doing now. Having a fear is a normal reaction and to err is only human. The approach to figuring out what it is that actually makes you happy, what actually gets up you in the morning to the beautiful sunrise, to live out your passions is what life is worth living for. To try & fail over and over again, is ten steps closer to discovering my eternal happiness than to avoid doing the hard things and always pondering & never discovering what unleashes the inner ecstasy. I am scared to make decisions, I will fail & I don’t know what comes in store next – but I believe in discovering that internal strength & happiness in this one life even if it means to conquer my fears.

My mandate in life is to find internal happiness in order to evoke happiness onto others.

I used to think that I could find happiness by constantly surrounding myself with things that can make me laugh or smile. But no matter how much externally driven happiness contributes to your happiness, nothing can truly make you happy, but yourself. You physically represent happiness, but are you a ‘happy person’? Would you consider yourself a happy person? If not – why? When you laugh, smile, chuckle or giggle are you really feeling those emotions inside? I want to learn the things that make me truly happy inside & one of those things is helping others find theirs.

Finding that internal happiness through introspective thought & commitment to personal growth

Today is the day I’ve decided to let my thoughts continue to fluster through verbal thought & commit to manuscripting this rebirth of perspective that have been on autopilot the last few months. The clarity achieved through honing down & writing these thoughts down is cathartic. Accompanied by the sultry sound track that is Elliot Yamin – I feel free. I have never felt more comfortable spending time with myself and believe with all my heart that devoting time to yourself in this fast paced society that is a constant engine of superficial purpose – is important when it comes down to understanding the only purpose that matters to me – my happiness. I want to learn, discover & continue this journey of growing as a person, as an independent woman in society by being open to new experiences & letting nothing by my commitment to happiness drive me.

Music is the Happiness Steroid

Theme: Freedom

Sound of Letting Go – David Guetta featuring Chris Willis
Sound of Freedom – Bob Sinclair featuring Dollarman & Gary Pine
Wavin’ Flag - K’naan

October 27, 2009 at 10:44 pm 18 comments

Entitlement or Ambitious?

Make a difference. As a member of Generation Y, the latest working class in society – I’ve been noticing several patterns around work ethics that resonate with many members of this group. One of the more important themes is, work life balance – ensuring that what we are doing is fulfilling, allows us the ability to discover ourselves & make a difference.

Need to grow. With what limited time we have in the workplace, it is of sincere importance to find a place that fosters the ability to use the skills a gen Y possesses as well as gives him/her the ability to enhance them. Once that need is satisfied and a new interest is peaked, it is very normal for a generation y to consider his/her need for growth and impact on the final outcome over the need to be loyal. Which in turn causes strife amongst other previous working generations who see this behavior as spoiled & undeserving entitlement – how can they consider switching jobs when the economy is in the dumps? Because those of generation Y don’t see their jobs as the purpose in life – it is a work to live philosophy vs. the one that lives to work.

Entitled or Ambitious? I don’t think we are entitled, I think we are ambitious. There is so much we want to do, so much we want to challenge ourselves with and know that there is only so much time to do so before we are entrenched in a multitude of obligations. Those within the generation Y group are thinkers, innovators, doers (‘I want to do that, so I’m going to do it’) & inventers – with more entrepreneurial spirits than any other previous generations – I can only hope that we continue to foster these characteristics in hopes of continued societal advancement.

Are you living to work or working to live? What are your life goals & are you on track?

October 5, 2009 at 2:32 am 2 comments

Mini Photo Diary of the Epic Summer Vacation

Because a picture is worth a thousand words, I have selected a few pictures (28 to be exact) from my respository of 3000+ images to give you a snippet of the extraordinary things I saw while on vacation to Malaysia, Hong Kong & Singapore this summer. Malaysia has some pretty amazing things to see, but you will see more pictures of food than you will places because the cuisine whether on the side of the road, in a restaurant, off a stand somewhere or at home, the food is absolutely scrumptious. You end up eating just about 6-8 small meals a day because of carts, stands & restaurants on every corner, needless to say I welcomed the gym with open arms upon my return. Enjoy!