Just thinking about how much I have changed...
From reading a book everyday in primary school,
to playing the piano everyday in secondary school and junior college,
and the diaries that I used to write everyday,
I don't do those anymore.
Just reminiscing and feeling nostalgic for the old me after hearing this song.
It got me thinking about who I was in the past, who I am, and who I want to be in the future.
University had changed me a lot.
A lot of new experiences, spirals of dopamine highs, bottomless pits of lows.
Then came graduation that marked the end of the familiar 15-year chapter.
The 15 years that I lived with the sole goal of striving towards
entering a top school, with top grades, scoring a top internship and securing a top job...
Have I achieved my goals?
I would say so.
I would say so.
The next question is...
Now what?
It's a whole new world of endless possibilities.
Being in a relationship had also taught me that there's so much more to life.
The non-quantifiable things like love, health, family, friends.
It made me redefine how I looked at life, and my definition of success.
Looking back though,
I am able to see how much I have grown
and I can't help thinking how would I be like in future.
I am thankful for each and every experience,
and each and every person that I have crossed paths with,
for it is each and every of the small things
that have shaped me to who I am today.
I like who I am today, and I am proud of me too.
I am also proud of the accomplishments that I have achieved,
and I oughta give myself more credit for that.
That aside,
this new world that I am navigating through,
I'll figure it out.
As Steve Jobs said, we have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in our future.
(Still one of my favourite quotes heh)
With the constant flux of changes,
at least there is still something that was a part of me, and still a part of me - photo-editing!
Still sparks that joy in me ;)
Ok ending the pensive mood with a throwback to a happy day at Ngong Ping Village
💛
Words from Powell;
[1]
It can be done.
"Once again, it is more about attitude than reality. Maybe it can't be done but always start out believing you can get it done until facts and analysis pile up against it. It's a balance. I try to be an optimist, but I try not to be stupid."
[2]
Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
"What's the situation? What's the mission? What are the different courses of action?
Now follow your informed instinct, decide, and execute forcefully... Then take a deep breath and hope it works."
Now follow your informed instinct, decide, and execute forcefully... Then take a deep breath and hope it works."
[3]
Check small things.
"The large picture of success is built upon many, many small things, and knowledge of those things.
The more senior you become, the more you are insulated by pomp and staff, and the harder and more necessary it becomes to know what is going on six floors down. Real leaders have a feel for what's going on in the depths... where the small things reside."
[4]
Remain calm, be kind.
"You are in a storm. The captain must steady the ship, watch all the gauges, listen to all the department heads, and steer through it. If the leaders loses his head, confidence in him will be lost. So assess the situation, move fast, be decisive, but remain calm and most importantly, never let them see you sweat."
[5]
Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
He will never forget the fear, the feeling, when he first came under fire. It was Vietnam, 1963, and Powell was adviser to a Vietnamese infantry battalion. "We were walking down a forested trail when we were hit by small arms fire from an enemy ambush. We returned fire and the Viet Cong enemy quickly melted back into the forest." It was over in less than a minute, but they lost a soldier. "That night, as I tried to sleep on the forest floor, I was filled with the realization that the next morning we would probably be ambushed again. And we were ... That morning, and every morning, I had to use my training and self-discipline to control my fear and move on, just like the Vietnamese, just like every soldier since ancient times. "Moreover, as a leader, I could show no fear. I could not let my fear control me."
[6]
Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
It was late one winter night in Korea. Powell and his battalion of 500 soldiers had just finished a tough week of training and were waiting for trucks to take them back to their barracks 20 miles away when word came in that there was a fuel shortage. No trucks; they'd have to walk.
"[We] went for it, over some terrible hills. It was tough going. I wasn't sure I could keep up with these younger soldiers ... But I pushed it, and so did they, magnificently. At the last mile, we could look down at the lights of Camp Casey. We fell into step and marched into camp in the middle of the night singing out a cadence and waking up everybody in the camp. It was a great night. We had demanded a lot from our soldiers. But we had prepared them, we believed in them, they believed in us, and we had the confidence and optimism that they would succeed."
Empty vessels make the loudest sound.
But why is it that society seems to reward those who make more sound?
I would prefer quality over quantity...
😌
