A Reflection

Below is an email I sent to my team at work. My reflection of the year 2014. 


Dear awesome team, 

It is now 10 days into 2015. I don't know how it went for you guys but it was surprisingly calm for me. I used to be very excited about the new year but this year, I couldn't care less. Nothing negative though. I guess it is just that as we grow, our priorities in life changes. 

In this post, I would like share with you guys my reflection of the past year. I remember I was crazily excited during new year last year as I had a pretty rough 2013. But when I look back now, I laugh at myself for being so silly. Silly because I was looking forward to unpredictable events. In other words, illusion. While I looked forward to 2014, I had no clue what was in store for me. I did not know whether 2014 was going to be good. And this inspired my first realisation. 

Life may be unpredictable but we are in control of the outcome of our lives

After living the past year, I came to realise that in any situation regardless positive or negative, I was in control of the outcome. Outcome in terms of my understanding and acceptance. 

So yes there were a few negative events in the past year for me but I did not let those events bring me down. Instead I took time to analyse the events and learnt from it. At the end of the day, these negative events turned positive because I took it as a learning. With these learning, I am able to face all future similiar events with confidence. Confident that even if I fail again, I would be able to stand up, much stronger from the previous failure. And if I am confident to face the failures, what more the successes. So this taught me that even though we can't foresee the future, we need not be afraid if we are prepared for it. Which brings me to my next realisation...

Knowledge is the key to all doors

Most of my friends would have heard me say this before, everything we do in our daily lives is a learning in itself'. I truly believe this statement. Everything we do, we are learning. That is why I always say to never look down on our job. It may seem simple but if take each and everything we do as a learning, you'll realise day by day we're improving our knowledge. These knowledge will surely serve a purpose in our lives. Knowledge gained is never wasted. It is not gaining knowledge that pulls us down. 

This is also why I love reading. I read all kinds of books and articles be it business, politics, religion, science, finance, world news etc. I read because I love it when I am posed a question or statement, almost immediately I can engage in a conversation. Having these general knowledge enables me to speak to almost anyone I meet. And people will appreciate the conversation if you know your stuff. Which leads me to my next realisation...

Surround yourself with people who will motivate and inspire you to improve

Nothing beats having friends and family who dare to confront you when they see a flaw or problem in you. These are the kind of people to keep for life. These are the people who deserve to be in your life because when one dares to point out your flaws, that person truly value you as a friend. A 'friend' who avoids discussing problems with you isn't a true friend. 

We all have dreams and goals we want to achieve. Very often though we lack motivation for various reasons. So it is important to have people around us to constantly motivate us towards our goals. And of course we should do the same for the people who are around us as well. While they are kind to us, we repay them in our actions. Which brings me to my next realisation...

Talk will bring you to the universe but action will keep you on earth

What this really means is that we can talk and promise the universe but talk is really cheap if our actions don't match our words. Instead those who are grounded on earth are usually the ones who acts on their promises/words. These are the kind of people who will find success sooner or later because they take action step by step to achieve their dreams. They don't promise you the universe but they make their way there with their vast vision coupled with their actions. 

In the past year, I constantly reminded myself of this and I'm glad I was able to achieve it or most of it. I found that when I took this as a daily habit, it naturally became easier and easier to do. 

So that's what a bit of what I learnt and realised in the year 2014. I hope you guys can take a learning or two from this. Of course, feel free to share with us your realisations too if you feel like it. As the saying goes, sharing is caring =)

Thank you for your time!

Regards, 

Phil