1.860221.1

Nationality: Singaporean

Age Group: Late-30s

Gender: Female

[NFT Listing: https://opensea.io/assets/matic/0x2953399124f0cbb46d2cbacd8a89cf0599974963/92606857133730873257093297614239487190688831320231690495316773418385981571073]

A Little About Me

Just another girl next door, I believe deeply in treating people the way you would like to be treated. For certain, my life isn’t a bed of roses but it had worked out so much better that I had imagined. Many people described me as a very cheerful, bubbly individual who loves to joke & can lighten up any tensed atmosphere. I cared a lot about people’s views on me. I sometimes let their criticisms change the way I am. Or I will quietly absorb the negative energy. I have learnt the fact that you cannot make everyone happy. I have not mastered the skills of accepting it though.

I was not very academically inclined during my school days. I did a lot more sports in leisure & competitively. Thus my childhood was slightly different from that of my peers. My mom blamed my poor academic results on my sports though it was very clear that we just used that as an excuse to make my family feel better. I am relatively slow in learning & understanding new concepts. Then, my parents were really worried about my future. I was blessed in that my father was able to afford to send me to a private institution to complete my higher education. It not only matched my pace of learning but also the way the subjects were taught. I graduated with my Bachelors within a shorter amount of time than my peers. Thus just because we don’t fit into the government school system does not mean we are doomed for failure.

To Build Your Career, Stay Objective & Persevere

I worked in an offshore bank for the first 6.5-year of my career. Working life was a breeze then. The job scope suited my personality. I was in customer service. Being jovial & having a positive outlook really helped. I had nice colleagues & a healthy working environment. An incident resulted in an unfair treatment towards me by the management then & so I left the company on impulse. A month without a job felt like decades. It was scary.

Then good news arrived one month later – I got a job & it came with a fat paycheck. To me then, it was too good to be true! Few days into the job, I realized that when something is too good to be true, it usually is. There was proper training or guidance. Every day I was tasked to do things I have no knowledge about. The skills I lack demoralized me further. I was losing confidence by the days. Then it’s like God could feel my fear, a call from the healthcare organization I applied to 2 months back came. I was selected for the position I applied. Without any consideration, I left to join the hospital as their operation executive.

Things started on the wrong foot. My ex-boss did not like me. She made it clear that I was her second choice. She made extra effort to ensure my colleagues know the skills I was lacking. It was a serious culture shock to me too – the difference in management style between world-class bank & hospital, the mindset of the people, the red tapes, micro-managing & the calculative behavior of the colleagues, all took me by storm. It was a huge setback for me. I did write to several companies to apply for other roles for a year but to no avail. I was wondering if this is God’s way of telling me to persevere, learn something, maybe it was not time to leave yet. And so I did. While that was 6 years of hellish torture, I made sure to pick up skills & experience to grow & develop myself. I kept reminding myself that if I can survive this working environment, I will be able to survive anywhere else.

Truly, I was rewarded with an opportunity to work in another hospital. This time with bosses who appreciated me & my skills. I enjoyed tremendous job satisfaction. Unfortunately, Covid-19 hit. We all stopped feeling but just work day in day out. But it also left me feeling very fulfilled in that I can contribute to the society at large. I was glad that I stayed objective then & persevered. We should never leave an organization just because of people as there will be nasty people in any working space. We learn to manage, to cope. 9 years in healthcare operations & just gotten promoted – amazing for someone who was weak in academics.

To Maintain Your Marriage, Stay Objective & Persevere Too

3 months into my marriage, I was delivered a devastating news. My husband contracted a virus due to an infidelity act before we were married. To most people, they would have walked out of their marriages. But I kept my mind focused & worked on acceptance. I had to balance it with not being seen as a pushover. It was not easy. I chose to forgive even though I am unable to forget. But I believe there are many other areas within the marriage that one can seek happiness from. Most couples perceive their spouses through the lens of who they should be rather than who they are. We want our partners to exhibit behaviors that can validate our choice & to give us the assurance that we have chosen the “right” person. Thus to accept the good & bad of a person with flaws & all, is challenging. But I decided to stand by my vow & at least try to forgive & salvage the balance of our marriage. I want to give my partner, my marriage & the decisions made thus far their due respect. They are deserving of our efforts. We are happily married enjoying our lives the way it was meant for us.

Small Goals, One Step At A Time

I have not had a clear vision of exactly what I want to achieve in life, or how my life would be moving forward. I prefer to take things one step at a time because setting a big goal or target gives me anxiety. There is absolutely nothing wrong with thinking this way. It is just one’s preference. I do not want to feel depressed or useless when I am unable to reach my goals. I want to live in the present & that the present is always the optimum state at that point in time. When you set too many goals for yourself, you will start to find yourself working hard every day for something that you ain’t sure would materialize. I just want to be happy, now at this moment!

I would really love to travel and live carefree days, if I know I am coming to the end of life.

I thank God for making me a very optimistic person, always trying to think of the good and keeping a positive mind all the time. A positive outlook is half the battle won and will bring positive energy to anything you want to do.

Take Action

Believe in yourself, take that leap of faith whenever you need it. I do not believe to just sit and wait for opportunities to befall onto you. Money do not drop from the sky, neither will opportunities & success. Sure, things may not always turn out the way we plan. Even if you do not reach your goal, you will not be far. We are in control of our own emotions. Be it right or wrong decisions, we embrace it and move forward.

My Words Of Encouragement

It is important to:

live a good life.

not be afraid to try new things.

make the right decisions.

be happy even with wrong decisions.

not have regrets.

Because life is short, tick tock.