Last week in Singapore, many events led to the Elections on June 10th. Because the elections were held during the Pandemic, many precautions were in place. There were e-rallies instead of outdoor rallies to prevent large gatherings which can spread the virus further. People were also voicing out their opinions online and made it obvious who they were voting for.
Whether or not I am a public servant, I choose not to show which team I am supporting. But admittedly, the competition is getting tougher and almost everyone seems like a worthy candidate. Ultimately, you want people with sound policies and who would be able to be the voice for the people. It's not about attaining political power for personal gains. I believe our government is very good already and has the people's interests at heart. But it's also time to have differing views for checks and balances.
How the Singapore government handled the economic crisis as a result of the Covid-19, with focus on the people, self employed and businesses, to me is remarkable. It also prompts me to be more diligent in saving for rainy days, more cautious on my spendings and to make more money on the side, in order to have some cash to fall back on for future emergencies.
Before I turn this into a political entry, lol..I was rather busy last week. I was also down for elections duty which carried on until 4am because the announcement results for our constituency was around 3.40am. I thought we would be able to finish by midnight latest but due to the extension of another 3 hours, we worked until wee morning. At one point, I was bored even as they were flashing the live screening on the stage coz I was so darn sleepy. But I can't sleep coz I had work to do once the official announcements were in. There was a disgruntled election officer that was really unhappy for having to stay so late and she was complaining in the WhatsApp. But it was a situation that could not be helped. This was a national event. You can't simply tell them to hurry up with the results because people want to go home in time, lol.
I didn't get to read much last week but I tried my best to catch up on Podcasts that I had signed up for that had lessons that would hopefully help me to strengthen my deen. I liked how they also had condensed the content of the Podcast into a PDF so that I could read either before or after, as a point of reference. I always try to read before so that I don't feel so lost listening to it. On the weekend too, I started on my small batch of orders ever since I re-opened my online shop.
So now I have to plan my time to fit in as many things as I can without feeling burn out.
The lessons I learnt from the Podcast and the recommended reads were beneficial to me in which they prompted me to change my behaviour for the better. It makes me more aware and more conscious of what I was going to say or do.
However, at times we tend to get carried away when we got too frustrated. I am reminded to always think the best of people and to wish them for the better even if they have hurt our feelings or anger us. But it's not as easy as it sounds.
I got really frustrated recently because of some people's mismanagement and irresponsibility and I had to be pulled into it. Like I became their plan B. I watched The Devil Wears Prada and the main character described her boss as having Plan A and no such thing as Plan B. So she had to focus on the Plan A, like a Do or Die situation.
It's a rather extreme point of view but I do agree to some extent that we do have to put in our best efforts in plan A instead of relying on others as a convenient Plan B. You know they won't let you down so you become rather nonchalant about your Plan A. Simple example, you want to cook something special as Plan A but if your cooking become disastrous, there's always Plan B of buying in. But because you have this mentality that Plan B is going to save you, it may change your perspective in not trying so hard to do your best for Plan A.
So yah, I was ranting away to my family members and I forgot to buy a critical food item when ordering takeaway. For the first time, I had to order from an app and the item that cost only $3.50, because of minimum order and tip, it ballooned to $17.50 instead. All because I was mad earlier and couldn't think clearly.
Am I still frustrated? Yes. Furthermore I feel like this problem is going to be recurring. But I couldn't believe the turnaround time was so fast. I was expecting few months down the road at least. Despite my rants, I still tried to be grounded and have moral conscience. As my family members are closer to me, I think it's ok for me to rant to them.
However, I no longer want to rant to other people, mainly my colleague whom I used to have lunch with pre Covid 19 and work from home. I don't want, because of my negative talk about them, other people who don't know them personally, would have bad impressions of them too. It's not going to change the main issue or improve on the matter.
Another thing I learnt recently was from an entrepreneur who is also a writer. She recently got burnt pretty badly from her last business due to her irresponsible partners. And this got her into a difficult financial situation that almost destroyed her marriage. However, she stuck to her game, thanks to her big heartedness and kindness, that some people abused but others appreciated. Slowly, with full support, she was able to pull herself up and continue to help other people in their small businesses. She believed that if she continue to help others, God will help them too. And indeed He has.
I also learnt that she was not one to just jump into doing things without learning more of the trade. She harnessed her talent in writing even more by investing in mastery courses that got her in touch with the best in the industries, even overseas, who were puzzled why she even joined their classes when she was very capable herself.
But she was really humble in which she felt she could always learn more. I think this is a rare attitude to have as many people often think they are the best in what they're doing already so they don't need to know more. This continued learning and faith that things will get better is such a strong sense of motivation for me. For me, I have learnt many things from other people and through this knowledge, it gives me a renewed lease of life where I felt I could achieve more in life.
I am still learning like for example, trying to slowly reduce my time on social media especially at night and to replace them with better habits that can help to increase my wealth of knowledge and sense of curiosity. I don't want to just be on survival mode until my last breath.
If you're feeling low or need some pick me up, make yourself busy with activities and create daily habits or actions towards your journey to self betterment. The first step is always the hardest but it can help to pave the way and down this road, you have yourself to thank for by taking that step.
Comments