Volunteerism

How are people remembered? By how much money they make? By how many parties they've been to? Or by how much good they've done for their society? At the end of the day, you won't be remembered for long for being the richest man in the world. There will always be someone richer. But those who were selfless and helped others will be remembered forever. Those who helped the Chinese refugees during the Second World War didn't do so out of self-interest. They did it for others. It is very important to treat others how you want to be treated. If I were at a position of disadvantage, I would appreciate all the help that I can get. A lot of people do not take the time to contribute to their society and to help others because they are too "busy" with their own lives. What constitutes the meaning of "busy"? Too "busy" partying, gaming, working, or schooling? I have no doubt in my mind that some people are truly busy and face a large financial, academic, and/or personal burden. I'm not trying to be persuasive nor judgmental, although I will not deny the fact that I am trying to be encouraging. I'm not advising you to spend huge chunks of your time volunteering. If you're busy, even random acts of kindness can brighten up someone's day. Some people volunteer because they need to. They need the hours for school, to get a job, to get into their interested field of study. Others volunteer for the sake of volunteering. Despite the motive behind volunteering, they end up helping people and that means a lot. Add meaning to your life: volunteer.

What do I want?

When someone asked me that today, I really didn't know how to answer her. Despite the context in which she asked me the question, it does apply to many things in life. I'm slightly confused right now - or perhaps not just slightly. I sometimes find I think too much about missed opportunities or regrets from the past. At other times, I would think too much about what's not good about now and what I want to strive for in the future. It's quite contradictory. What is the right way of thinking? I know I should learn to love and cherish what I have now or else I would regret once I no longer have it. At the same time, I think it's important to always strive for the better - or else I will no longer have any ambition.

Someone once told me "Do what you love and never settle for anything less." I sometimes find I have a high tolerance for things I am not really passionate about but I stay with it because:
1. Everyone feels safe with the status quo (if it's not broken, why fix it?)
2. I feel guilty for upsetting others (whether it be a boss, coworker, friend, family member, teacher). Will they understand it's not that I don't like my current situation, it's because I think there's something more I can do with my life?
3. I feel a sense of commitment to everything I do and am reluctant to move on because of responsibility. If I were selfish and more carefree, I would just be constantly doing things as my heart desires and perhaps I would be happier?

Wise Quotes from a Wise Professor

Lil_blue_tiger and I had the same professor for one of my classes. The professor said many wise words of which some are reminders. They're just as important as the ones I did not realize. Here are some quotes from the prof:

• "business = communicate & collaborate with others"

• "what people say is not what they want"
  "what they want is not what they need"
  
  
• "as a manager, fix systems, not people" (e.g. if many errors are tracked for data input into a system, perhaps employees need more training/system is not user friendly enough) It is an easy solution to fire/blame people
  
  
• "way to get money is to work hard"
  
  
• "nothing happens in business without being recorded somewhere"
  
  
• "which best meet customer needs at lowest price?"
  

In case you're wondering, this is for a Commerce course, but some quotes apply to life as well. :)

Cheers,

Lead a Healthy Life

I recently read an article. Here is its summary:

Instead of spending so much time healing your body, don't harm it in the first place. The author of the article once, for one week, worked long hours and attended school at the same time. One morning, she woke up and found she couldn't move, not even open her eyes. That really freaked her out. Eventually, slowly, she felt her muscles again. That must have been the final warning her body was sending her. In fact, she thought she were dead; to be a soul that has thought and no body.

So, instead of exercising a lot to get rid of the extra calories/fat that you have gained from eating a big, perhaps junk food lunch, eat healthy foods instead. Instead of sitting in front of the TV the whole time, stand up during commercials and jog on the spot. Instead of staying up late to finish off something, sleep before eleven and wake up early/on time to finish the work.

Some people would say "you only live once, so enjoy it". I say, we can enjoy our life while being healthy at the same time! Don't wait till something horrible happens before you get the idea. You only live once and you only get one life indeed!

Regards,

Happiness

"Every sixty seconds that you spend angry, upset, or mad, is a full minute of happiness you'll never get back…so be HAPPY!!!"
~ unknown

Reading this quote has definitely helped me to get through a lot of problems and misery over the past few days. Sometimes a quote can be so powerful.

What is happiness? At one point, I thought to myself, maybe I should just lock myself up in my room and read, watch tv, do anything that doesn't require interaction with the outside world. Maybe then, I would achieve bliss. But on second thought, what a boring life that would be. If I just locked myself up and tried not to think about it, I would just end up thinking about it even more. If I try to think it through by looking at it from a different perspective and aim to be more positive, it actually helps!

If you've made a mistake, don't keep yelling at yourself or feel discouraged. Learn from that mistake, take that experience and try to get something positive out of it.

If you're upset because you want, need or lack something. Think again. We always think about things we don't have but we never think about what we have. We complain and rant about the bad days we have but do we ever share with others what the great days we've had? I know I don't. I don't appreciate things enough. One needs to appreciate the good and the bad, the big and small in order to achieve happiness.

Sorry my post is not that coherent. I'm having some problems stringing together thoughts at the moment. One last note: may you all find happiness in 2008.

Bad Day

Today was a bad day in general. For me and for people around me.

Why do I have to think so much about a situation it drives me crazy? How can I let one little thing amplify into such large issues? What's the point of regretting having done something if I knew it was wrong to begin with? Why do I not realize until after the fact? Why do I care so much about what others think about me?

On a different note, someone I know has just been deceived by someone she truly cares about. I absolutely empathize with her because the same happened to me a few days ago. When someone fully trusts you and you misuse that trust, the effects can be devastating. Please think twice before doing so.

Despite all that, may we all find happiness during this joyful time of the year.

Hopefully this sweet song can cheer us up:

Relativity

A week of staying at home made me anxious about going out. A week of going out makes me cherish my alone time. Oh, the power of relativity!