Where Possible, NEVER PLAY WITH FIRE

 

From our childhood years, we were always taught NOT TO PLAY with matches.  We were warned that we might get burned.  Oh yes, looking back, I was one of those recalcitrant boys WHO DIDN'T always heed and listen to my parents.  And because I DIDN'T pay attention, YES, that got me in trouble a few times.  Looking back, I could have been burnt black and blue beyond recognition if things went out of hand.  Today, allow me to do a mapping of those 'childhood' trials in our life because decisions are needed from time to time and Where possible, NEVER PLAY WITH FIRE😌😌😌

And quite a few times in our life, the decisions we made and reached will burn us.  Common culprit?  Some of our decisions are arrived at NOT out of collated information BUT sometimes out of GREED [Oooops, this reminds me of the latest corruption scandal running to hundreds of billions, ouch!].  Oh yes, we seem to be inclined to quote statistical data.  And although I was never into that Statistics field, I did hear a statistician proudly strut off that statistics can be bent to WHATEVER you want them to go.  That should make us realize as to why politicians would show off statistics always painting a rosy picture of themselves💚💛💜

These days when the buzz words are BIG DATA and DATA SCIENCE, it's like PLAYING WITH FIRE because eventually they will get burned.  Frankly, across countries and continents, if we have a commonality, it is that we live in cultures that PLAY WITH FIRE.  That culture says "IT IS ALRIGHT TO DO WHATEVER I DO AS LONG AS I DON'T GET CAUGHT".  LIKE "I CAN GET DRUNK, RUN AROUND, ABUSE MY CHILDREN, DO WHAT I WANT" and so on❗❗❗

Our common problem, though, gets exacerbated by the widespread monopoly and influence of social media across all landscapes.  Those days when 'RISK' was the buzzword and 'MITIGATION' was the fix.  So, this all boils down for us to reinforce our awareness of 'RISK' because it comes about anytime in our daily lives.  Try giving 'RISK' a lip service and knock on wood, God knows WHAT happens next.  Forget about the MILLENNIALS for now.  Instead, let us brace ahead with our Gen Z, Gen Alpha and Gen Beta💧💧💧

Our takeaway:  Let us NOT be quick to pass the blame to our Gen Z's, Gen Alpha's and Gen Beta's because the onus falls back on our shoulders.  We CAN'T run away from that innate responsibility to ensure that our latest generations DON'T get 'off tracked' in the midst of all the distractions in our daily lives.  Throw in the unabated influence of social media and we could end up either with a huge circus or a very scary nightmare that will haunt us over and again.  YES PLEASE, it should NOT be hard for us to cascade the sage messaging for our new generations to be RISK-averse and RISK-conscious before it's too late, before those PLAYING WITH FIRE GET BURNED💥💥💥

Where Possible, Don't Leave Crumbs

Where Possible, Don't Leave Crumbs

Crumbs shouldn't be grabbing headlines, crumbs as they may.  But unless we are meticulous enough in our discipline and behavior, even the seemingly innocuous crumbs can blow-up to be a thread worth spending time.  But where possible, DON'T LEAVE CRUMBS in our daily lives because we want to leave things unmarked and not unkempt, where possible.

The most attractive 'low-hanging fruit' in our daily lives is simply learning from mistakes.  Some of these mistakes do happen the first time but that's only 50% understandable because at least 50% of those mistakes could have been averted if we simply leveraged on our fundamentals in life.  In the first place, 'WE WERE NOT BORN YESTERDAY'.

Even things as mundane as slipping when you step on banana peel, there are tons of similar mistakes which could have been avoided with the least efforts, in fact.  How to avoid as much mistakes as possible ?  BE FOCUSED on what you are doing, period.  You can be an expert in your trade but unless you are focused, expect a spotty record at best.  Where possible, AVOID DISTRACTIONS. Do TAKE BREAKS.  We're not machines who can operate non-stop.  REACH out to your HELPLINE, if need be.  

In life, we don't want to see the path we travelled, littered with debris all over the place.  If you don't learn lessons from your mistakes, you'll flounder in your academic work over and over again.  Your relationships, it may skid.  Your work, it may continue 'going south'  Your business, God knows how long it will hang by a thread.

In whatever foxhole you're now down deep, each time you do commit a faux pas, to TURNAROUND is a must-do and that's when things get tricky because there is no one size that fits all.  Avoiding a REPEAT of mistakes is non-negotiable and unforgivable if such mistakes repeat. But why do we witness a REPEAT of mistakes ?  It all boils down to our personal mantra.  If we swear to put up QUALITY academic work in school, QUALITY relationships with our loved ones, QUALITY work in our jobs, QUALITY product and/or service in our business, you have successfully broken down that vicious cycle at least by a half at the very start.  Think of it, everything is possible as long as you DON'T LEAVE CRUMBS as you trek down the road✅✅✅