How Often Are You Low On ENERGY Or MOTIVATION?

How Often Are You Low On ENERGY Or MOTIVATION?  Tough question because in the past, WHENEVER this question pops-up, the likelihood was that there was a lingering illness hitherto undiagnosed BUT through the years, we realized that LOW ENERGY is way beyond just medical issues and conditions.  Instead, a significant realization the past decade were zeroing-in on those multifarious manifestations and symptoms that would hit us, either subtly OR at times, quite hard📘📙📗

WHILE we have all the energy in life, we feel ready to take on the world.  WHEN you are experiencing fatigue, we may feel having trouble just getting through the day.  Weariness.  Fatigue.  Low energy.  Exhaustion.  There ar multifarious ways to describe those times WHEN we feel so tired to a point WHEN we just simply CAN'T do anything for that matter💚💛💜

As medical experts tell us, fatigue is more than simply feeling sleepy as it could include components that are either physical [weariness OR weakness], mental [lack of concentration OR sharpness and emotional [lack of motivation OR boredom] and that some causes of fatigue may be apparent like having catch a cold OR flu.  Ask any three people WHAT fatigue feels like and you'll likely to get three different answers because the experience of fatigue may mean differently💥💥💥

WHAT makes things murkier is WHEN we hear fatigue because different people will express fatigue BUT they could be going through root causes unique from each other.  On the other hand, medical experts advise us that WHEN we hear people having trouble paying attention, concentrating OR feeling motivated to perform, medical experts are pointing back to a condition called 'central fatigue' OR brain fatigue as specific areas of the brain are responsible for attention and concentration and other areas are centrally involved in motivation as well WHILE others are involved in alertness OR sleepness WHEREAS they advise that emotional OR psychological factors significantly affect HOW fatigued we may feel😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  Listening to both medical and even non-medical experts, they counsel us that WHAT matters most is our mental health because if we're all GREEN on that aspect, we can typically tackle life events one step at a time, since being in a 'positive place' with mental health is being able to acknowledge emotionally WHERE you are at, knowing that you can accomplish your daily tasks that you need to maintain healthy relationships and in the end, engage in a way that will be meaningful for you.  HOW OFTEN YOU MAY BE LOW ON ENERGY or MOTIVATION should wake us up to take action with urgency before it's too late dude!!!

'Strive NOT To Be Of SUCCESS But Rather Be Of VALUE'

 

'German-born Theoretical Physicist Albert Einstein was widely quoted:  'Strive NOT To Be Of SUCCESS But Rather Be Of VALUE'.  True, everyone of us wants to become successful by accomplishing their goals [and that's perfectly fine].  BUT SUCCESS can mean different things to different people.  For many of us, it is good education, a good job, a good income and a good living.  Oh Oh YESSSSS, we always want to own our own house and maybe even have a spanking brand-new car.  NOT satisfied with a good basic living, many would wish and dream to be in a position of status, LIKE rising up from the ranks of the company organization, WHICH means, one will become wealthy, famous and maybe powerful.  Indeed, man's desires are UNSATIABLE💚💛💜

YES, there are deeply-held life SUCCESS indicators across cultures and even cutting across cultures, one common perception of SUCCESS is a high OR prestigious status and voila, lots lots lots of material possessions, and THE MORE OF EACH, THE BETTER.  YES, SUCCESS in this sense can be important and understandable.  BUT SUCCESS is NOT solely based on WHAT you achieve either in school, at the workplace  OR in business💧💧💧

Dude, frankly, it's NOT about the home you live in, WHAT car you drive and the positions you hold.  These good things alone may NOT make you feel good, happy OR authentic.  SUCCESS can also come in non-traditional and less-physical OR tangible forms, like happiness, living in a simple life, finding love, building strong relationships, realizing your interests and potential, giving back to your community by doing humanitarian work, OR even helping to strengthen the civic foundation of your local community and enhancing the lives of others.  To some people, they see all these as 'VALUE' which means more than SUCCESS.  And the VALUE does NOT always equal the 'MARKET PRICE' as it is known in the business world❎❎❎

True, VALUE CAN'T always be measured and NOT everything that can be measured has VALUE, that's a NOT so obvious fact though.  Imagine that you live in a big house, BUT you get little affection from your family members.  You work long hours in a job that pays well BUT gives you NO freedom.  You maximize your own wealth at the cost of others, you become affluent BUT you lack sympathy for the needy, and you hold a high position of power like CORRUPT government officials, ouch💥💥💥 BUT you get little respect from your followers.  Question:  Are you deemed SUCCESSFUL by those counts???

Our takeaway:  Let's face it.  It's HARD TO ADMIT but human beings need more than just SUCCESS in physical OR material forms.  We also need love and be loved, period.  We need to feel LIKE we are doing something meaningful in our lives.  We need to feel valuable so that we can have authentic happiness.  We DON'T need to give up every material SUCCESS just to feel good OR valuable.  Instead, we can strike a balance OR even do things WHICH embody both.  BUT WHEN VALUE really clashes with SUCCESS many of us would tend to choose VALUE, and that is WHEN we are most fulfilled & satisfied😊😊😊

What's Your Minimum Viable Day [MVD]?

 

What's Your Minimum Viable Day [MVD]?  BUT before we plunge into that discourse, let us align with Messrs Google and AI wherein it defines MVD as that concept borrowed from 'MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT' [MVP] and adapted for personal productivity and well-being as it refers to the least amount of essential, impactful tasks you need to complete to feel productive and satisfied for a given day.  And the goal is to reduce overwhelm and guilt by focusing on WHAT MATTERS MOST📘

WHILE this thread is NOT intended to refer to the workplace, many studies have shown that a low-key day can turn into one hell of a productive day if that day itself was proactively planned.  WHAT pulled me by my lapels was the brilliance of the philosophy behind MINIMUM VIABLE DAY [MVD].  In the shortest words, we are enjoined to build something, release a tiny piece of it, and see WHAT happens.  Frankly, this will throw us this quite challenging ask:  WHY BUILD THE WHOLE IDEA WHEN YOU HAVE NO CLUE IF IT EVEN MATTERS?  In short, we can have the grandiose plans BUT can we pull the brakes, hold on for a second and know WHAT's our MINIMUM VIABLE DAY [MVD]💚💛💜

Back to myself, i never intended to be a writer UNTIL that dreaded Covid-19 Pandemic hit us hard and I realized I had tons and tons of time to spare.  So, I will be the last one to grab a credit for my blogsite because I'll even credit it back for that pandemic to hit us.  In the end, my writing ended up as an experiment in the sense that I had to ask myself the most basic BUT challenging questions LIKE do I really want to get into writing?  LIKE WHAT is in it for me???

YES YES yowwww, right after I completed my very first blog, I knew beforehand that that was my MINIMUM VIABLE DAY [MVD].  WHICH means, if I failed on that modest goal, then, I should NOT ever dream to pursue any farther than that failed point.  And if I may share, regardless of your endeavor, vocation OR interest, the hardest and most difficult point is getting started because that UNLOCKS THE MOMENTUM.  NOT until you have kickstarted things, forget about gaining momentum❎❎❎

Our takeaway:  Verily true, thoughts only have power WHEN they turn things from NOTHING TO SOMETHING.  A thought kept stuck in our head that has value becomes a selfish stuff.  WHICH means, we got to release it and see WHAT happens next, IF something shapes from NOTHING TO SOMETHING.  ELSE, if we DON'T release our ideas, our thoughts, it may likely go nowhere.  True, a few thoughts will go somewhere and change how you view your life.  Last question:  Should you go ALL-IN at the start?  Nooooo senor, GO IN JUST FAR ENOUGH, ENOUGH for you to gain that initial momentum as part of your MINIMUM VIABLE DAY [MVD] dude😂😂😂

Trust & Tolerance Are NOT Apples-to-Apples

 

Trust & Tolerance Are NOT Apples-to-Apples.  And YES, these are deep-seated and insightful discussions once we start our discourse to dissect these two variables of a volatile equation.  To start with, many of us stumble down and fall flat on our face simply because of a disconnect with TRUST.  Some [falsely] believe that they should always be TRUSTED regardless of situations and circumstances💥💥💥

Sadly, there are folks who remain unshaken in their belief that everyone needs to TRUST them [by default].  And that's a huge disconnect.  You can have that untainted and unsullied reputation in one organization but once you get onboarded to a new organization, TRUST won't be served on a silver platter.  That's regardless of your rock solid credentials behind you💚💛💜

WHILE we can inherit wealth from our parents and forefathers, TRUST is one of those intangibles which each of us need to work for.  BTW, it DOESN'T pop-up instantly from nowhere.  Instead, one has to invest enormous time and effort before you start to garner and gain a momentum towards that TRUST level💥💥💥

WHEREAS if we juxtaposition TRUST vis-a-vis TOLERANCE, there are fundamentals behind it WHICH we need to embrace, LIKE:

• TOLERANCE is accepting others
• TOLERANCE is blocking intolerance
• TOLERANCE is appreciating differences
• TOLERANCE is manifesting mutual respect
• TOLERANCE is recognizing diversity in itself
• TOLERANCE  is widening and stretching our understanding and appreciation that individual differences is part of life

Our takeaway:  NOT taking sides in that worsening US-Israel war versus Iran, without the slightest hesitation, I will heap the blame NOT on the U.S., NOT on Israel and NOT on Iran BUT rather on the failure of TOLERANCE to prevail in that raging regional conflict.  WHAT IF TOLERANCE prevailed, I am cocksure that that raging war is NOT happening in the first place.  That's WHERE TRUST & TOLERANCE can't be ignored!!!

Breaking Free From The Digital World

 

Giveaway question: HOW easy is it for to contemplate BREAKING FREE FROM THE DIGITAL WORLD?  That's a tough call, dude, to say the least.  That explains why in the UK, they have coined the jargon 'OFFLINING', very much aligned as part of that growing response to WHAT is now recognized as a worldwide social problem with regard to that widespread 'addiction' to the net.   More than a decade back, this was a First World problem BUT as we speak now, this has become a worldwide issue ever since internet infrastructure in the Third World has become robust [although NOT that comparable to the First World yet].  So, here we are, all in a global village facing this dilemma📗📙📘

Let's face this issue point-blank.  'Internet addicts' describe the symptoms as spending too much time in our smart devices [either on our mobile smart phones OR smart TV's], WHICH means, spending significantly less time with one's immediate families in terms of 'family time' and interaction.  In the end, many of us [Ouchhh, many times over and over again, I've been guilty of this] end up trawling through that abundance of bite-size information instead of engaging with fully formed ideas.  Just yesterday, I got dragged with that internet 'NOISE' that US President Donald Trump was dead.  The next 10 to 15 minutes, I myself I got hogtied to that rumor, googling with NO conclusive end💚💛💜

On paper, OFFLINING should help us better manage our online and offline lives BUT given this increasing [I'll call it WORSENING] dependence on the web both at work and at home,the biggest question staring on is this:  Is OFFLINING still a viable option? YES, it is one thing to kind of pledge some offline activity every day and quite another story to literally quit the web for weeks and months on end.  Sadly, by today's prevailing conditions, the latter is nothing short of ascetic to say the least💧💧💧

I'll be the first to admit that OFFLINING is a relatively new phenomenon BUT its existence is already under that scary threat from the looming presence of Web 3.0.  Generally understood as the next big leap for the web, this Web 3.0 registers WHERE you are and even understands WHAT you are doing.  Do we remember multiple business applications dicing and drilling our WEB search behaviors, preferences and literally with cookies tracking every single click that happens. Of course, you can delete the cookies within your device BUT HOW often and HOW consistent do you clean it up?  And by that time, web vendors and product owners have already extracted your own unique data💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  In that looming future WHERE the web gets integrated into every conceivable aspect of our daily lives, OFFLINING is something still possible and useful.  BUT again, we heard all those 'horror stories' of smokers and alcoholics having failed to withdraw from their entanglement, my 2-cents here is that let us exert initially in OFFLINING via 'baby steps'.  SO HOW?  There's this simple yet realistic idea I overheard in the web.  Let us attempt OFFLINING initially during our Day of Worship, whether that's a Friday, Saturday OR Sunday, depending on one's religion.  Of course there are atheists.  That gives them leeway to choose their OFFLINING day.  YES dude, BREAKING FREE FROM THE DIGITAL WORLD is no mean feat😡😡😡

Our Lessons From The 'EPSTEIN FILES'

 

As of January 2026, the United States Department of Justice has released less than 1% of the EPSTEIN FILES.  Wowowow, that's NOT even a drop in a bucket.  YET, the sheer content of that less than 1% has literally shaken up the Tier 1 of global moguls, revered gurus, retired and past heads of state/government and yes, even incumbent and past presidents and prime ministers even within the G12.  If we will compare it to tectonic plates colliding deep beneath, that is a huge understatement NOT deserving to be condoned😡😡😡

A year ago, it was even unthinkable that global power couples like Bill and Melinda Gates will end up washing linens in public [BUT YES they did, with the unfathomable admissions by no less than Bill Gates himself.  And as much as his name does NOT ring a bell to us non-Americans, just hearing that the President Emeritus of Harvard University resigned because of EPSTEIN FILES [that's Lawrence Summers] quitting from the academe💥💥💥

NOT to defend EPSTEIN but truth be told, a big chunk of the global population has already 'crucified' EPSTEIN.  BUT can we agree [and this is hotly debatable] that EPSTEIN was the symptom and NOT the disease that needs to go through treatment.  I would even opine that EPSTEIN was an aberration rather than an anomaly.  BTW, symptoms DON'T disappear as quickly as we want to as long as power goes unaccountable and conversely, silence is even rewarded [heard of those chartered flights arrange by EPSTEIN for his friends?]???

Here's a blunt statement I picked up somewhere:  IF THE CONDITIONS THAT PRODUCE, PROTECT and EMPOWER people like EPSTEIN ARE ENTIRELY OF OUR OWN MAKING, THAT ALSO MEANS THEY ARE ENTIRELY WITHIN OUR POWER TO CHANGE.  And this means that those symptoms manifested via the EPSTEIN FILES are solvable and it is within the power of humanity to to change and fix it with finality!!!

Our takeaway:  Akin to looking a half-empty glass as half-full, I do welcome and embrace these uncorked facts from the EPSTEIN FILES for key reasons.  Firstly, the rich and famous [name it from Bill Gates, Bill Clinton and royalty like Prince Andrew] all tumbled down from their lofty pedestals WHICH we [wrongly] thought were dainty and unsullied, NOT until the floodgates from the EPSTEIN FILES debunked everything about that myth.  Secondly, even for the untainted and innocent, this is the rare opportunity to further reinforce and solidify our very CORE VALUES, hoping that the very foundations of our CORE VALUES will remain as solid as steel and concrete all rolled into one. And lastly, for the rich and famous, we hope that they will realize that their enormous power and wealth does NOT give them a free pass for anything that is illegal and immoral, all rolled into one.  BTW, thanks to the US-ISRAEL combined war with IRAN, everything about EPSTEIN has been buried under the bushel of oblivion, ouchhhhhhh😡😡😡

Time To 'SHAKE UP' Yourself?

 

Time to 'SHAKE UP' yourself?  NO sirrrrrrs, pardon me, I'm NOT referring to our oversized friends WHO are soon to be queueing to the gym.  BUT instead, do you recall  sometimes, seated in a corner, pondering endlessly ABOUT the next activity you want to get hooked to?  OR next business endeavor?  OR next interest?  OR even flying off to your next destination?  Sometimes, those restless thoughts are your life's way of nudging you toward CHANGE.  BUT my question, HOW often is CHANGE forthcoming in our life???

BUT just to clear up things, CHANGE DOESN'T always have to mean LIKE packing up, moving house, relocating to a new country, quitting your job or settling halfway across the world.  Sometimes [I'm tempted to exclaim 'MANY TIMES'] it is about moving those small, smaller parts and shifts that help us feel more alive, more intentional and more in tune with yourself💚💛💜

YES, we've all had those moments, that restless 3 am thoughts about switching careers or changing your domicile/residence OR even wondering if cutting your hair off will magically transform your life.  On the flip side, there are the long stretches WHERE we go through the motions of on autopilot telling yourself, 'Hey, it's fine' even though deep down it DOESN'T feel fine at all💥💥💥

SO HOW?  WHEN do we know when IT'S TIME TO SHAKE UP?  WHEN someone asks WHY you're doing WHAT you're doing, WHETHER that's your job OR your relationship, OR even your hobbies, do we realize that sometimes [and probably many times], we tend to struggle even answering our very own questions?  If we're living without a sense of direction OR intention, it might be time to pause and re-examine WHAT actually matters to us.  Are we chasing that 'HAPPY' mode in futility😗😗😗

Our takeaway:  WHILE the need to SHAKE UP yourself may NOT seeming as a pressing matter to take action, it behooves that we take stock of things especially if and WHEN we discern that pattern of us constantly chasing to be 'HAPPY' but never feeling fulfilled.  True, there's nothing wrong with wanting joy BUT if you're only focused on staying comfortable and avoiding discomfort, you might be missing that deeper kind of satisfaction that comes from growth, challenge and connection.  YES dude, true fulfillment often involves a mix of UPs and DOWNs instead of a constant high.  TIME TO SHAKE UP YOURSELF???

Is The Juice Worth The Squeeze?

 

With skills still looming as one of the most in demand variable out there in the market, once OR twice, I was asked this question:  IS THE JUICE WORTH THE SQUEEZE?  That's WHEN I really did grind to a halt and seriously pondered that question during those times WHEN I was in the middle of sourcing out the team members of a new but aggressive offshoring opportunity that fell on my lap WHEN I still had to strategize things out📗📙📘

In the labor market, this discussion if the JUICE IS WORTH THE SQUEEZE would continue to linger far longer than ever, no thanks to the unexpected inroads of AI in our landscape.  BUT we WON'T delve into an AI discussion as we'll reserve that for a separate thread in the future.  For now, let's pick our brains and relate this cliche with our daily lives.  LIKE when we stretch our own selves and even our health by logging-in more than 40 hour-work weeks, IS THE JUICE WORTH THE SQUEEZE?  LIKE after all your long hours at work for you to deliver the goods, so to speak, only for your health to suffer a hit down the road, IS THE JUICE WORTH THE SQUEEZE???

Even in our relationships, WHEN both parties would recognize a significant gap OR disconnect between themselves, WHILE it is ideal for both [parties] to mutually adjust, there are real-life circumstances WHEN that equilibrium is non-existent because one party is too far from WHAT is acceptable or even reasonable.  In the end, the other party would then endeavor to SQUEEZE as much as he can BUT then again, that brings us to the same rejoinder.  IS THE JUICE WORTH THE SQUEEZE???

In essence, this insight tells us that while the results and outcome really matter, it is NOT and should NOT be the fulcrum to tilt it in favor of prolonging that 'SQUEEZE' if the amount of effort [NOT to mention all the stressors] to be exerted will justify the eventual results and outcome.  In those historical wars and battles, we all have heard about that pyrrhic victory.  And that is the same pyrrhic victory we might eventually claim when we SQUEEZE things way beyond the justifiable JUICE you can extract💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  In any pursuit in life, there is NO SIZE THAT FITS ALL and yes, by a stretch, the END DOES NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS.  Instead, we need to take stock of things, take a measured approach once you reach a 'forked road' because beyond that point, there is no 'UNDO'.  YES dude, be mindful IF THE JUICE IS WORTH THE SQUEEZE😡😡😡😡

Do We Write Notes On What We Know OR What We DON'T Know?

 

Do We Write Notes On What We Know OR What We DON'T Know?  Sound like a silly question?  BUT it's NOT dude.  The thing is, there has been NO consistency on this BUT please DON'T get me wrong, there is NO right OR wrong on this aspect as this is always part of our habit formation.  We would hear that we're supposed to write WHAT we know WHEREAS many of us [and that includes me] would rather write WHAT we need to remember💚💛💜

Prior to that dreaded Covid-19 Pandemic, we all sing the same tune, that is, we're BUSY [but of course, especially with the perennial traffic gridlock which has compounded by probably 10 to 20 times through the years.  Then, Covid-19 Pandemic hit us hard.  BUT then, even during that pandemic itself, life has always been busy, right?  And sometimes it seems easier to let the momentum of rushing around carry me through instead of doing the work of staying in the moment.  And my default disposition then is to be anxious💥💥💥

Oh Oh, I used to just power through, working myself to exhaustion, and then, berating myself for failing to meet those lofty and quite impossible standards I pre-set for myself.  BUT as I keep threading on in this planet, I'll admit that I'd be kinder to myself, to create systems that work with my anxiety instead of trying to force myself into doing things the normal way💧💧💧

One of my coping mechanisms then is to always have stacks of Post-it Notes around for stuff and actions I need to remember.  So, instead of lecturing myself, I simply flip through those Post-it Notes.  Of course, they look that troublesome BUT those helped me a lot to ensure that I would avoid commiting that oversight twice in a row [WHICH, frankly, is frustrating to vent out]😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  Writing NOTES may seem that oh-so boring stuff to talk about allow me to pitch my spiel here.  Let us NOT underestimate those small-small stuff because it may sound as 'loose change' OR small pebbles BUT look at the beach fronts facing the immense sheets of water, they are made up of those small-small pebbles.  Back into our lives, WHAT IF you keep missing important things OR actionable matters from time to time, WON'T that add-up to your pile-up of mediocrity?  DO WE WRITE NOTES ON WHAT WE KNOW OR WHAT WE DON'T KNOW???

Picking Up Those 'Low-hanging Fruits' Around

 

NO sirrrrs, our piece today does NOT relate to Magnus Carlsen, the undisputed and undoubtedly most dominant chess player today.  BUT instead, we'd like to exert the least efforts in picking those low hanging fruits around us, those LIFE LESSONS up for our picking NOW [and NOT tomorrow, NOT next year, NOT WHEN we reach the twilight zone].  LIKE WHEN people judge people.  That kind of peer pressure can lead one to go stray from the rightful path one started to carve out for his/her future.  So, can we just DON'T mind other people's aspirations and DON'T ever let someone else's goals and dreams influence our vision in life.  Because at the end of the day, it is our own path and we decide WHERE it takes us and HOW long it takes us to see it through.  Ignore the cacophony of noises around!!!

More often than not, we fail to act due to our lack of confidence OR courage.  Sometimes, it's all due to our procrastination.  That hesitation keeps us from moving forward and in the end, it pushes us deep into a 'cage' of wondering WHAT might have been.  And WHENEVER we feel it's time to act, then we should take action.  And no matter WHAT the outcome may be, there is that strong likelihood that you will end up smarter than before😄😄😄

No matter HOW much we think we know about some topic, it is only after we have put that knowledge into use that we get confirmation of our actual level of understanding that we possess.  Very true, we could read about painting, learn all the techniques and brush types, color palettes, name it BUT only WHEN we get in front of the canvas and start painting we would put our knowledge to test.  Obviously, the results are NOT guaranteed BUT until we plunge into the waters, HOW would you know that you can swim💧💧💧

Oh Oh Oh, I heard this many times, GOOD THINGS DON'T COME EASY.  And if I may add, more often than NOT, those GOOD THINGS come the HARD WAY.  Even WHEN we're feeling most prepared, there is always that likelihood that there is a chance we will fail in accomplishing our goal.  LIKE an athlete could lead the entire marathon race only to fall short just in front of the finish line and lose by a hairline margin.  This DOESN'T mean though that the athlete should stop competing BUT instead, that competitive athlete would work even harder to prepare for the next competition and by now, I guess we hear the same narrative WHEREIN most of the time, eventually, that athlete wins and prevails😁😁😁

Our takeaway:  Bottomline here is that life goes by faster than we can ever think so it's really crucial for us to appreciate the present moment.  YES, I vividly remember, WHEN I was in my twenties, I [wrongly] thought that I'll stay there forever, ouch BUT before I knew it, I had to roll my punches into the thirties and by that time, I was a step late for the things I wanted to do and achieve early in life.  Living our life to its fullest extent becomes a no-brainer because dude, LIFE IS SHORT and we never know WHAT tomorrow brings for us down the road.  YES, PICK UP THOSE LOW-HANGING FRUITS pronto, dude💥💥💥