Doing Meaningful Things

In a mad rush to complete things, we are sometimes, if not every time, caught doing tasks that we do not understand why they exist in the first place.

This occurs frequently and is picking up fast these days. Be mindful.

Example: Too many leaders or bosses giving differing directions.
It makes one wonder whether do the leaders themselves know what they want.

I believe you have come across this type of scenario before.

It makes you wonder what is wrong and a burning desire to stop moving in this direction.

What to do and how to react?

The first and foremost step, I suppose, is to be clear in one's mind.
Are you doing things for a reason, or blindly doing it since everyone else is doing it too.

Give meaning to the tasks. If you cannot find one, then why are you doing it?

Seek out the reason or understand the needs to do it.

However, in the working life, sometimes we are caught in between.
To secure the current job and completing a task that may not lead to your own personal goals but only to serve others' goals. (Sound familiar?)

In this situation, since we are living in a community, the better approach is to complete it as fast as you can, but of course within acceptable quality and standard, as agreed.
This will rid you of hanging onto tasks that carry "no" meaning (to you).

If possible, try to negotiate or convince the other party to align or attach true reasons for doing the work.

In short, do not waste time doing things that do not serve you in the long run. Be prudence.
Do meaningful things.

Stay truly alive.  :-)

Understanding Imperfection

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Since our school days, we are exposed to the number 100% which represents full mark or perfect score.

It is a wonderful thing to have. Almost everyone wants it.

Looking good is also a nice thing to have.
Barbie dolls are models for young girls to emulate.

We thus grow up in a "nice" world.

What then is imperfection?
Can you accept imperfection?

Demands in work for high standard these days aligns everyone for the perfection.
A slight deviation can be picked up and be the talk of the day.

To err is human.
Does this sound familiar?

Understanding imperfection is a realistic step to understanding people.

Though we do strive for the best, we need to know that we are not perfect.
A certain amount of slack will happen one time or another.

Do you blame yourself for any hiccups?
Try not.

Understand that you are afterall human.
You will feel better having this knowledge.

The key is to try your very best, but do not expect it to be perfect always.

Hope this article can lessen the pressure of daily life, and
to understand the meaning of being perfectly imperfect.

:-)

Side Effects Of Positive Thinking

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Trying your best in whatever you do is an example of being positive.

Accepting new challenge or task is another example.

To be happy, one way is to help people. This is positive thinking.
But if you are helping too many people, will you still be happy and continuw to stay positive?

Moderation comes in.
Positive thinking is good if you balance your limit to it.

Overdoing and exceeding your buffer may do more harm.

If every single thing has to be accepted in the name of positive thinking, to improve or otherwise, we will go bersek.

It is counter-productive in nature if ignoring "negative" fact is deemed bad.

Information has to be reviewed and time buffer, and capability studied before going with new challenge.

It is against the objective if due to being positive, committment is agreed but cannot be fulfilled.

What then is positive thinking?
It will pull you down and makes you worried and sad.

Think twice.
Rejecting offer is good to yourself and others if you believe that you are not able to commit to the task.
It is fair to you and others too.

It even reflects maturity in your thinking.

Moderate whatever comes along and balance them with existing duties and roles.

Any thing we handle has side effects. There are always advantage and disadvantage in everything.

Be aware of this and less thing will go wrong.

Stay balance and happy ,  :-)

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Help Comes Only When Deserved

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I believe you may have encountered situations where you want to help someone but something is holding you back?

When you wanted to step in and lend a helping hand, something tells you that you should not be doing that.
You will re-look at the situation and then realise that the person you are aiming for may well be better off left alone to fence for himself. He does not deserve anyone's help!

There may be times or most of the times, this person has some negative actions that caused troubles or a drag to others.
It could be a one-way action on the part of the helper (always).
It could be a huge effort to help with a simple task.

As times goes by, people comes to realise that something is wrong.

To seek help, and to deserve help, thus, is not a simple matter.
The person deserving help has to be one deemed to be wanting to help himself first.

He has to put in the correct amount of effort first, and upon meeting obstacle, seek for help.
This practice will result in people noticing it, and then willing to help.

Before help can come, you have to work for it.
After receiving the help, show gratefulness.
If there is a chance, return the favour or help.
The favour or help may not be to the helper, it could be to others in need of similar help or the knowledge gained as a result of the help received.

Help comes and goes. It has to be circulated.
Keeping it and not sharing it, leads to others stopping the help.

Think over this.
It is just simple logic of give and be grateful.

It is a form of self-improvement.

I believe you agree.

Cheers, and Happy New Year!
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Resting Is Beneficial To Us

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Given the demanding pace of this new era, everyone may at times feel tired and stressful.

This is normal if you are human.

"Look ahead to see if you can last long", this is a common question that pops up often either through yourself or through your colleagues.

Health and the mental mind goes hand in hand.

The body supports the mind, as well as the mind supports the body.
As long as one party fails, the other suffers.

To keep both in check, we NEED to rest.
Taking a break occasionally is good and a must.

When you feel restless, it is time to cool down and rest the body and mind.

Recover for the future.

Work will never end.
Homework will be forever.
Assignment will always be waiting for you.

Your health WILL end.
Our mission is to make it last longer.

Learn to stay physically and mentally fit.
Take a break regularly.
Tell yourself that you deserve it.
It is not cheating on others.
It is life and death.

It is good for your future, to last long to continue to contribute.
It is to rest so that you will enjoy the coming life.

Take care and stay happy.

:) :D :)
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Safe Way To React When Lost In Decision-Making

There are plenty of decisions to be made daily. Some are critical while some as not.

Mentally the decisions may be easy or they may be tough.

Some decisions are for long-term purpose while some are short-term in nature.

Good decision making skill is therefore needed and crucial for anyone.

Experience is a major factor in making good decision that has less disruption and is effective.

But there are times when we are totally lost. It may be due to confusion, or not having a good rest the previous night,or there may be family problems, etc.

How should we handle this situation?

We are all human to start off. No blaming or negative thoughts to the inability to make a decision should come into the picture.

Understand the situation and the impact of the decision.

If it is not time critical, leave it for further consideration. Know that a quick and rush decision is not a good choice. Wait till more information can be gathered to assist in making the decision.
Ensure that the mind is clear before a good-quality direction can be decided.
Re-visit the consideration only when you are comfortable and fine, and ready.

Talk to more people involved with similar incidents, and analyse their experience.
Balance the pro and cons. Be "real" and honest.
Question whether you are able to absorb the failure when outcome does not meet expectation.

No point in getting through a decision-making for the sake to satisfy and close the case.
The outcome may come back and haunt you later on. Be realistic and be responsible.

When the decision is time-sensitive, use your available knowledge with advise from anyone present, if possible, to come out with a conclusion. A safe way is to give a temporary answer to move forward but allow for adjustment when more information pours in.

After that, realise that you have done your best, given the tight situation. Praise yourself and prepare to monitor the process.

In these days of hectic schedule, "trying your best" is a key word. Learn and gather as much information as possible during normal time for the purpose of making better decision when the time calls for it.

Do be honest and factor in realistic, down-to-earth information before committing to a decision.

Be happy after that.
Cheers to better decision-making.

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Effects of Too Many "Why"s.

Asking questions is a positive step to understand and learn about things.

You will find out more through the "why"s.

Whether you get any answer out of the asking does not matter. What matters is that you start to think. Through questioning, you start to piece up the whole picture.

But does that mean you can start asking "Why" to any subject?

Is it ok to question every steps of a purchasing process?
Is it ok to ask for reasons to every written statements in a report?

Any sane person will give a definite "No" to the above questions.

Why?

Because by answering every "why"s, you may take days to truly understand the whole picture.

If the process is for simple purchase, why dig deep to save a few dollars and waste unnecessary time and resources that can be make good in other area.

The saving in this simple purchase may not warrant the saving in man-hour pay!

Judgement in this decision-making area calls for careful thinking, balancing what is important over what is necessary.

Asking too many "why"s, sometimes hinder work flow, rendering frustration and causes inefficiency to the system.

Knowing when to question in a timely manner is a skill that has many benefits.
Strive to understand the elements of situational emphasis.

Is it money or time in this instance?
Is it a necessity or a desire for this matter?

Balance the conditions and place logic into the decision-making process.
This will help guide anyone to be a better self-improved person.

Prudence counts.

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Reacting Versus Responding | Which is desired?

Reacting and responding?

We deal with events that happen out of the norm differently.

Do you react to events more or response to the events more?

When you react to events, you are caught unprepared. You tend to get angry, frustrated and defensive at times.

However, when you response to those events, you are expecting them, though you wish that they would not happen.

Hiccups do occur now and then. To be prepared, you need to anticipate events and plan for action when they occur. This leads you to a better emotional dealing of the abnormal situations.
You response to them.

Reacting, on the other hand, is detrimental in that you are stressed up, being lost in plan to "attack" the unexpected occurrences.

Thus, to avoid going into a tight corner, you have to prepare for contingencies, especially when critical and important events are concerned.

You may train yourself starting with minor daily events, gaining experiences along the way. Move on to bigger events, learning to manage them after having more confidence.

This skill to response to circumstances allows you to be a better person in term of managing not only your personal life and work, but also do good to people around you.

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A Concluding Read-Through Is Beneficial

This post is one good conclusion that I like to share with my readers about short time-frame learning.

I recently completed a short course on a technical subject. The course is a compressed one with extensive hands-on practice complemented with theoretical learning.

The time frame given is short for part-timers point of view.

These factors led me into a piece-by-piece sort of learning; gathering whatever comes to mind , and salvaging information from previous lectures to link up with current sections.

One thing that I always have during the learning phase is the lack of a comprehensive picture to the topics taught. I may understand the current topic, but its scope with relation to applications and other modules are not felt.

This is OK since I managed to pass all the topical tests and practical tests.

Did I master the subject?
At that time I did not think so, even though I cleared all the topical assessments. I lacked the confidence to embark onto a new project if given one. I did not have a complete picture!

But comes the FINAL EXAMINATION that is required to graduate. This is no longer topical, but encompasses all the knowledge picked up in the course.

This forced me to read through all the chapters and practical laboratory worksheets for a period of time at one go, continuously.

It is taxing and tedious!

But what did I discovered at the end?
It is an important learning experience that I will not understand and treasure if I did not do that.

I noticed that I slowly comprehended the topical materials of one chapter with other chapters, forming a bigger knowledge base. I am able to link up the practical works of one topic with another work in another section. All seems to match and form into "happy" and cohesive piece.

The concluding read-through, for the examination, had ensured a comprehensive summary of learning by combining the various topical knowledge captured. The complete run-through was beneficial as such.

A conclusive picture had formed and gave me more confidence of what I am picking up.

However, one thing that I have learned is the necessity to read through all materials again, combining all related points while the mind and memory (of them) are still fresh. This allow the topical lessons to grow into a more meaning bigger lesson.

It is the skill of learning that I like to share here.
It is useful.
More so when you are self-improving.

...

Watch Your Companion for Betterment

"Monkey see, monkey do."

The above statement applies to your learning environment.

Who you mix with will determine what you do and think. You tend to follow your companion's behaviour due to social concern or peer bonding.

There may also be the case of vocational constraint. This is when you are in certain job where you mingle alot with people who are worse off than you.

Examples: Teacher, factory line leader, construction supervisor.

For self-improvement, you need the company of people better off than you. This allows you to have more opportunities to get fresh ideas and feedback. You will learn more from them since they are at a level higher than you presently are.

This involves identifying the area you wish to improve upon. After that, seek out those people who are recognised in that field for their capability. Mix or relate to them. Learn from them.

So, to have a better future through self-improvement, watch who your companion are. They will lead you or enable you to set a personal goal at a different platform than mixing with people of normal standard.

(However, do not forsake those who are your constant friendly partners or friends. They are still needed for your social networking.)

Message is to mix with a desire group of people who can support you for your betterment. The results of your selected companion are proof of it.

:D

Reliability of Learning Material

In the matter of self-improvement, you are on your own, and is solely accountable for your own learning outcome.

This statement is heavy to the ear, but, it is true.

Learning is to get yourself better. Learning is picking up new information to be applied when the times come.

Information become a key issue in self-learning.

What if the information is biased?
What if the information is not reliable?

Information can be created from the framework of another person. This framework can be formed from the past experience and perceived view of that person. Is it appropriate?

When learning, you need to scout for the correctness of the information. How?

1) Look widely.

Read from more than one source. This, at least, allow you to identify the accuracy of the published information. Reading from many sources also enable you to pinpoint the essentials from the many irrelevances.

2) Trying out.

This is for practical, hands-on type of learning. Trying out directly proves the correctness of the information ( steps, or deductions).

3) Thinking about it and reasoning out the content.

This is a critical part of learning. Do not trust whatever is presented. Read with a questioning mind. This will ensure that all material are scrutinised before acceptance. Upon acceptance, the reversal will not be easy. Thus, think about the information carefully and whether they make sense. Some of the material may sound nice, but upon careful analysis, yields otherwise.

Learning takes time, and time is precious. Learning from an unreliable source, is therefore, unwanted.

Be wise when doing self-learning.

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Huge Mistakes, Tiny Mistakes

Mistakes can be big or small.
Some mistakes are more apparent than others.

Regardless of whether they are huge or tiny, apparent or hidden, they are still mistakes.

What is important is the treatment and attitude towards the mistakes. What will happen next depends on our view of the mistakes.

Some small, overlooked mistakes accumulated to produce a BIG and serious disaster.

Therefore, we should treat all mistakes with a serious view, and to access and channel action appropriate to their level.

Mistakes that are categorised as close-shaved, are normally put aside. They are put aside as they are not seen to have cause a problem, just an accidental incident that are deemed not to happen again.

This is dangerous when they are related to something of importance.

If you like to jay-walk and always get away with no accident or minor injuries, do you think you can escape this wrong-doing forever without any mishap?

If you like to take short-cut in accessing something to save cost, do you think no problem can happen if you constantly practice this technique?

All mistakes have implication. It is a matter of time where their accumulated effect occurs.

Thus, learning from mistakes as they come along, regardless of how tiny they may be, will serve you good in the long run. Dig out the truth of why they happen, dig out the reason how they lead to the outcome. Dig, dig and dig till you are satisfied, within constraints, of course.

After that, you can rest assure that you have done your part and can have a good night sleep. No mistake over this.

:D

Amount Of Effort In Life Is A Constant

In science, you learn that all energy, regardless of their forms or states, remain a constant. They transfer from one state to another. One state loses in energy level means a gain in level of another form.

In a water dam system, the water-flow energy changes to electrical energy.
In an air-con system, electrical energy becomes heat (or reduction in temperature of the surrounding air).

Energy is, thus, a constant - a well known fact.

How about translating it to our human life, specifically in learning?

It is the same. Why?

Effort put into any matter results in expansion of the knowledge base. The inputs gathered over a period of time creates experiences that you can fall back on for application when deemed fit. They prepare you for the future. The more effort you put in, the more you have the resources to handle problems.

What does this implies?
It means that early efforts in your life give you a relaxed life later on. This is due to the knowledge and skill that you have picked up along the way.
Any upgrades later on would not pose a problem since your knowledge base has a solid foundation now. You will require less effort then.

What if you did not work much in your early life to create this much needed experience base?
You still can make it, but with more effort needed to make up for the vacuum. Age does catch up with anyone, including you. Memory power may be lacking, physical attention may not be held long compared to younger days. More commitments resulting in lack of focus, etc.

Thus, the less effort put in the early years results in less relaxation and more effort later on.

Therefore, the amount of effort in life does add up to a constant. It is a matter of choosing which way you want to exercise it.
:-)

Every Action Has Consequences

Action and reaction comes hand-in-hand.

The results that occur after an action may, however, not be predictable.

But consequences will result, however small (or big) it is.

To be a better person, we must know the above message.

A slight and tiny action of ours may cause a big "case" later on. Nobody knows!

If this "case" did appear immediately, it may appear later. And worse when the person causing it is already not around (or has resigned).

Therefore, though the consequences may not appear to the person's knowledge, and may seem not to exist, it is because somebody may have taken the "case".

The consequence may not be always bad though. It can also be a good "case". The credit therefore may end up with the lucky person.

Do think, thus, of any consequences, especially if it results in a bad one, before carrying out the action. Plan properly and with due consideration to the people around you.

A better person is not born overnight. It takes practice and understanding of people and the environment before a good action can be carried out with the least disruption to others.

Learn to consider. Cheers to a better and happy life!