Want To Be Happier? Try Participate In Charity Drive, Voluntarily!

First, I have a question for you : Most of the time, your source of happiness is when you are GIVING or RECEIVING? (I am not talking about money alone, it could be a piece of good advice, compliments or contribution to charity drive etc...)

 

Take a few seconds to think about this important question.

 

Be true to yourself!

 

There is no right or wrong answer!

Keep reading...
 

When You Are In The Crossroad, What Would You Do?

Many a time, we are at the crossroads (many are unplanned ones) and need to make a decision as to whether to TURN LEFT, TURN RIGHT or just U-TURN. And most of the time, once you've made the decision, there is no way back i.e. you can't turn back and said "Oops! I think I've made a wrong choice, can I choose the other route instead?".

 

Effectively, life is formed through a series of continuous decisions. We made good decisions, bad decisions and at times no decisions. Sometimes, our decisions might affect others and other times, other people's decisions might impact us.

 

As mentioned above, "no decision" is also a decision, thus, we are "making" tonnes of decisions, day in day out. Of course, at times we might not even know we are "making" a decision. Some are huge decisions (like getting married, change career path etc...) and some are just routine or minor decisions (like what to eat for lunch? Taking bus or driving to work? etc...).

 

Today, I am going to talk about making big decision (the real crossroads of your life). The ones that potentially change your life in the next 10-20 years (or even more) time frame. When you are in such crossroad, what would you do?

 

There is no right or wrong answer to this question! My SIMPLE view is to SLOW DOWN and THINK (before proceed)! 

 

On the THINKING part, pay attention to the following key elements:

 

1. Resources - Always obtain as much information/resources (pertaining to the options available, their pros and cons etc...) before and during the decision making stage. 

 

2. Support - Support from your loved ones like family and friends are important. Thus, be open to them and share your situation/view with them to obtain their support. Of course, I am not saying that you need to get their approval for your decision. But with the necessary support, it will make your decision making process an easier task.    

 

3. Your Inner Voice - Simply put, this is your gut feeling! Ask yourself : what do you really want?
 

Quotes on CROSSROAD

The DON'T :

Never, ever rush into making huge decisions (unless it is a life and death situation which requires your immediate attention or decision). Also, pressure and fear might influence your logical thinking, thus, avoid making decision out of pressure or fear.

Lastly, always remember that you (and only you) are responsible to all the decision you made. No decision is worst than bad decison and bad decisions is a good learning points. Thus, you just need to keep going as the future is an endless road...
 

What do you think? Feel free to leave a note or two in the comment section.

 

Cheers! 

Are We Appreciating (Favor From Others) Correctly All These While?

We are living in a closely knitted community (offline or online), many a times, we can't avoid providing or receiving helps or assistance from each others. They could be your friends, colleagues or even family members. In fact, reciprocity* is important for effective and meaningful living. 

Usually, if we are at the receiving end, we will feel thankful and appreciative. What would you normally do when in such situation? In short, what would you do in appreciating the helps? I guess besides saying zillion times of thank you (if it's a huge favour), you will feel kind of like "owing" the other party something. Whenever there is chance in the future, you will "repay" their kindness. In Chinese, we called it "欠人情". 

Of course, this is human nature and I am sure it is the right thing to do. Having said that, is there any other things that we can do to amplify our appreciation (for the helps received)? I for one believed in the concept of "Paying It Forward" and thus would like to share my opinion on this topic. 

In fact, talk about Pay It Forward, there was a movie with the same title (by Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Harley Joel Osment) which I like it very much. I recommend it to everyone who are into positive and sharing mindset. Click on the image below for more details of the movie:

Following the spirit of Paying It Forward, instead of focusing on repaying back to the providing party, we can amplify our kindness to another third party by providing them the similar kind of helps/assistance. Thus, the more we are appreciating, the more people will get helped and it will turn into a massive web of reciprocity. Can you imagine what kind of positive energy it will generate at the end (in fact, there will be no end to it)?

Do you agree with me? Feel free to share your view in the comment section.

Cheers!     

*Reciprocity is defined as responding to a positive action with another positive action.

Hair For Hope Mission Accomplished ; Hope For Hair Next

Finally! I've gotten my fresh look at the very top. 

Yesterday, my maiden participation in the Hair For Hope campaign has come to realization. When I reached the location (Vivo City Singapore) half-an-hour earlier than the registered time, what surprises me are the massive queues. There are 2 queues, one for those pre-registered participants (like me) and the other is for those impromptu candidates. 

While in the queue, can share the excitements of fellow shavees in participating in this meaningful cause, especially for those ladies (kudos to their courage). As per the MC, there were about 8,000 shavees (unaudited) participated in this year's event (which is 2,000 more than this year's target). I am proud to be part of this meaningful event. 

You know what? The icing on the cake is that I have also able to inspired an online donation that exceeded my personal target of $1,000. I know this is not a big amount but every dollar counts! The donation drive is still on-going, if you are interested to check out more or pledge your online donation, feel free to click on Hair For Hope 2013.

I Am Ready For A Bald Statement (Hair For Hope)

YES! I am ready, my hair are ready!

I am ready to experience a brand new image of myself! In less than 5 days' time, I will get my head shaved for a meaningful cause. If you are clueless about what I am referring to, check out my earlier post on Bald Statement - Bold Action.

This is the very first time of me participating in such a big scale charity campaign and I am pretty sure that it wouldn't be my last. In Chinese, there is a saying， “取之社会，用之社会” (briefly translated as "we took it from the society/community ; we returned it to the society/community [via charity/community efforts]) and it will be my living motto from now on. I guess it is never too late to do good ;-)