Are You Just A Spoke Of The Wheel ?

Are You Just A Spoke Of The Wheel ?

Are You Just A Spoke Of The Wheel ?  Not to be blunt but if you are [right now], please consider upgrading your situation [from being a mere spoke of the wheel] to become the very driver steering that bike or vehicle.  Unfortunately, anything less than that is unacceptable because we really DON'T want to see you end up just as another spoke of the wheel⏳⏳⏳

But there's another cliche which keeps egging us to JOIN THE BANDWAGON.  WHY?  Because primarily, almost everyone is getting onboard that BANDWAGON.  And secondly, when doing one thing is what's predominantly happening, many of us get that misplaced expectation that hopping on that bandwagon will push one foot of ours inside, giving us that INSIDE TRACK of things.  But hey, things just DON'T work out that way.  DON'T even ever go to that bus stop, ever📌📌📌

If at all, joining that BANDWAGON is a fallacy inside out. What guarantees you that if you upgrade yourself from being a mere spoke of the wheel over to be part of the BANDWAGON, I've seen enough real-life stories that just skidded down south when the driver behind the steering wheel thought that was the best move.

Indeed what's happening these days is what we really see.  People hopping on, joining the bandwagon.  Once they see human bodies crowding in, many people prematurely conclude that going through that human wave will push at least one of their feet right inside, giving them a cinch.  Similarly to be existing just like a spoke of the week, joining the BANDWAGON does not give one even a china man's chance at all💊💊💊

 Unfortunately in life, unlike when you hear the BOARDING CALL at the airport, it means that the flight is a GO, in life, it just does NOT shape up that way.  Wanna join the fray?  Till you get frayed?  Burned once, you can get burned twice if you would think that being a spoke of the wheel will bring you farther enough.  Not in life though.  Every CONFIRMED SEAT is up for grabs but you got to earn it the hard way [quite often]❗❗❗

Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop

Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop

How often do you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop? And what does that mean? Waiting For The Other Shoe To Drop means that behavior of having a need to do something that's needed or taking an action but holding in abeyance waiting for something or another party to 'make the first move' before he does.  Does this sound familiar?  Hmmm, I'm guilty of these lapses many times in the past📌📌📌

Now, not as a rude awakening, let me ask quite an innocent question with no ill intention:  HOW OFTEN DID YOU HELD OFF DOING SOMETHING SIMPLY BECAUSE OF A DEPENDENCY EITHER ON ANOTHER PERSON OR ANOTHER EVENT ?  I'm quite confident that everyone of us did go through those moments of dependency.  And frankly, let me share my attestation that on first-hand basis, I have witnessed many people [whom I know on a personal basis] holding off doing something simply because of another dependency⏳⏳⏳

Let's veer towards relationships,  Surely even within families, there are numerous cases where at least two parties DO NOT see 'eye to eye' through the years.  And when circumstances will lead those 'non-talking' parties to cross paths, GUESS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?  Not to frustrate you but in most cases, NOTHING HAPPENS.  Neither party will say 'Hi' at all

Oh, that is the classic case of us WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP.  MISPLACED principles.  MISGUIDED pride.  BLOATED ego.  Those are the most common triggers.  of us WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP.  A fourth wild card in the equation of variables is TRUST versus MISTRUST.  Where either party mistrusts the other, rest assured you are about to witness another case of someone WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP💊💊💊

So what's the fix?  Let's borrow this poster begging us to STOP WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP.  Instead, you will get back and ask? So,  WHEN  do you STOP WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP?  WHEN logic and reason should prevail.  WHEN  pragmatism should kick-in.  WHEN  sanity gets restored.  WHEN bloated egos get thrown out of the window.  Another wild card that throws a monkey wrench that exacerbates an endemic gap between two parties is when emotions remain in the middle of the equation.  Trust me, as long as emotions creep in, everyone will continue WAITING FOR THE OTHER SHOE TO DROP❗❗❗

Amid Sea of Change

Amid Sea of Change

THE ONLY PERMANENT THING IN LIFE IS CHANGE, period.  Apologies for quoting one of the most quoted cliche in years.  But as we usher in the year 2023, isn't it apt for us to [frankly] ask ourselves as regards our readiness and coping capability Amid Sea of Change which will unfurl [sometimes swiftly before you know it] right into our eyes the coming months.

The challenging question here which was often thrown to me by cynics is WHY should we bother ourselves with future uncertainties which are NOT even certain to materialize?  Simple.  In life, except for five [5] phenomena [e.g. accidents, illness, terrorism and natural calamities and anything that's FORCE MAJEURE, for anything and everything, we got to be prepared even prior to it to happen, if at all.

As a personal testimony, I can share my 2-cents that many times in the past, while I was so focused and framed to succeed in every endeavor I was undertaking, I always prepared myself for various scenarios, specifically when things don't come my way, when the results are NOT that favorable to me.  Having that 'iffffff' mindset gave me the lesser turnaround time in the future in case my undertaking got hit with a hiccup.  It didn't lead me to be off-guarded because I had a Plan B and even a Plan C.  Why do I provision for all those?  It is to anticipate even a sea of change not earlier factored.

Yesirrrrrs, being a STEP AHEAD is being AHEAD of the PACK.  C'mon, think about it if you are in a marathon but caught within the last batch of tail-enders who were literally 'EATING THE DUST' coming from the frontrunners.  So, see yourself.  Would you be rather one of the tail-enders in that punishing marathon [of life] would you prefer to have that edge by being amongst the frontrunners AMID the SEA of CHANGE✅✅✅

Turning BAD Anxiety to GOOD Anxiety

Turning BAD Anxiety to GOOD Anxiety

ANXIETY pervades.  ANXIETY prevails.  ANXIETY has taken control of many lives till now.  But neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki tells us that ANXIETY can give us clues how to make our lives better.  BTW, ANXIETY can feel like a heavy weight that we didn't ask to carry.  And who wouldn't love to get rid of it?  And Suzuki tells us it is possible for Turning BAD Anxiety to GOOD Anxiety💊💊💊

Suzuki says that ANXIETY is a natural human emotion, one that evolved to serve a purpose.  We feel anxious when there is some kind of danger.  It primes our body to fight or flee from that danger, hoping that we'll end up much better off.  On the same breadth, our modern anxieties can be a warning signal for things that are wrong.  NOT ENOUGH REST.  TOO MUCH MULTITASKING.  FEELING ISOLATED. 

With all these ANXIETY manifestations, our anxious energy alerts us to change our lives for the better.  Worst thing to happen is IF we simply approach it as something to AVOID?  Or to GET RID of?  Then, we DON'T only fail to solve the problem but actually end up to miss that opportunity to leverage that positive side of our ANXIETY.

Now if we're 'off track' now, how can we be back on track?  First off, we need to TURN DOWN THE VOLUME of ANXIETY so that we can listen to what it has to say. Now, before anything else, let's align on the definition of ANXIETY which is that FEELING of FEAR or worry typically associated with situations of uncertainty.  And there are zillions of examples we can conjure in our real life📌📌📌

And as this KIND of COPING book from Amazon, the emotion of ANXIETY and that underlying stress response that comes when we have ANXIETY, evolved to protect us.  In fact, neuroscientists claim that it is critical for our survival because while in the past, most threats to life were lions and tigers, today we got to figure out the GOOD ANXIETY that comes with a better awareness that ANXIETY is protective and going through all the exercises and using the tools in life for us to take advantage of what ANXIETY originally evolved to do, which is to put into action that will give us a better outcome.  Contrary to the title of this Amazon book, it is NOT enough if we'll claim we're KIND of COPING❗❗❗

Travails of Travel and the HUMAN HEART

EvenTravails of Travel And The HUMAN HEART

'Tis the season for festivities, for job and yes, for travels !  Prior to the pandemic, our family made sure we had our 'annual pilgrimage' in our travels outside the country.  But that cruel pandemic just unceremoniously put a stop to all that.  And swinging over to the United States, CNN says that with the cruel winter across the American continent, more than 15,000 flights were cancelled 'within, into or out of the U.S. 💊💊💊

As per CNN, just as millions piled into cars and flooded into airports with stuffed bags in tow over the weekend, a paralyzing winter storm swept across the United States, threatening to halt or significantly delay many people's journeys.  Such are the Travails of Travel.  Even Southwest CEO Bob Jordan was quoted that this week's recent paralyzed leaving thousands of passengers stalled is the 'largest scale event' he's ever seen in his life.  To complicate things, closed highways and dangerous road conditions also made driving treacherous.  But in the midst of all these 'horror' stories, there were 'lights in the tunnel ahead'.

What's going viral are untold stories that really captures our human heart at its best.  Heard of that couple at Atlanta's Jackson Airport where they have been travelling for five days to go back home to Wichita, Kansas.  Heard of that couple who got off the cruise at Fort Lauderdale, Florida only to end up making many futile attempts   Heard of that South Korean tour group who ended up finding shelter in the home of the NY couple.

Over in New York, Police found a bus headed to Washington DC but had driven off the road and become lodged lodged in a snow 'just a foot away' from the ditch, leaving the vehicle at risk of slipping and flipping over with about 60 people inside.  Or heard of those 4 strangers now going viral because they ended up sharing that viral 20-hour drive.  And when they captured their travel travails on video, their video garnered almost 10 million views, not because of anything but the human element that led to these travelers surviving📌📌📌

Even Baguio City, the favorite Asian city due to its cooler weather during Decembers was not spared.  Traffic gridlock was everywhere.  But what made peole go through all these Travails of Travel was the element of the human heart that softened and opened up to accommodate and shelter the stranded travelers.  Indeed, heartwarming to hear this festive season❗❗❗

Where The Rubber Meets The Road

Where The Rubber Meets The Road

One facet in life where we're NOT forewarned at all is that at some point in our life [and in fact, from time to time], it is Where The Rubber Meets The Road.  Meaning, everything we learned either from school or from theories or even in life, they will be tested in real-life scenarios.

And this is very much akin to tires/tyres.  You can choose to buy the premium Goodyear or Michelin products but the very acid test will be Where The Rubber Meets The Road.  Once you hit the road, most [if not all] of its functions will be tested to the hilt and what better way to test it as when you finally hit the road, especially once you go full throttle.  By then you can attest if the tires/tyres are that good enough in their traction at various points

Unfortunately, many of us [including myself many times in the past], we end up getting stuck up with IDEAS & IDEAS that end up overflowing and eventually overwhelming us, ourselves.  IDEAS a.k.a. theories that remain as such are akin to NOTHING AT ALL.  You got to crystallize your IDEAS into concrete action words and translate such words into concrete action.

To be fair, many of us whose ideas get stalled are NOT lazy and NOT laidback.  On the other hand, they are the vociferous pack who really KNOW WHAT THEY WANT.  Hence, they figure out the best possible ideas that will lead to the best possible outcomes and result.  In the end, they refine and tweak their IDEAS, perfecting it towards perfection

DON'T get me wrong.  DREAMS are the way to go because they are our very guiding light.   They are akin to that lighthouse standing out there in the sea of darkness but ready to guide you ONLY if you use to the hilt such guiding light.  At the end of the day, remember that eventually, THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD, like it or not❗❗❗

Task Paralysis

Task Paralysis 

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all !!!  Oh, while leisurely sipping my morning coffee this morning and browsing thru Channelnewsasia, I came across their piece today titled Task Paralysis and I thought I won't waste my time by grabbing this pic, NOT because of it but what grabbed me by my lapels was the Task Paralysis piece itself because all along I have been harping about ANALYSIS PARALYSIS

All along, I was more glued to ANALYSIS PARALYSIS not until this realization I have now after this Channelnewsasia piece.  Truth is, most of us do get stalled not really because of ANALYSIS PARALYSIS but rather that simple no-brainer of Task Paralysis.  Two days ago, we [with my family] got stuck up @Starbucks for almost an hour and closing observing the flow [or rather the NON-FLOW], I clearly saw that the crew at that time was not consistently managing their incoming tasks via FIFO [First-in First-out] but they would simply pluck out the ORDER REQUEST randomly from a pile-up [no thanks to the peak hours]

But NOT to muddle this thread, let's inject ADHD TASK PARALYIS, that inability to focus, perform and concentrate on tasks.   So what's ADHD really?  That is when you got a zillion tasks at hand, feeling overwhelmed and in the end, doing nothing.  It could mean to challenges related to focusing.  When you have that energy but finding difficulty to channel it, that's when you can feel getting stuck.  That feeling of motivation immobilization is more than just procrastinating about finishing a tedious task because having ADHD, things are more difficult to manage.

Think of those times when small tasks seem so daunting that leads you to avoid it altogether and end up favoring activities that bring stimulation and immediate gratification instead.

Rather than feeling SHACKLED and hand-cuffed, focus on the common behavioral concerns that lead to TASK ANALYSIS namely, OVERLOOKING DETAILS, seemingly CARELESS WORK, trouble LISTENING, AVOIDING tasks, fidgeting, easily DISTRACTED, IMPATIENCE and INDECISIVENESS.  All these may lead towards TASK PARALYSIS❗❗❗

A Glass Half Full View

A Glass Half Full View

Bringing A Glass Half Full View as today's thread seems awfully boring.  You might even question me "HAVE YOU RAN OUT OF TOPICS" right on the 2nd day of 2023 ouch Oh no, I didn't run out of topics [not even when we bid 2022 adieu] but rather, I thought I should pluck out threads that may be seemingly boring but if it's relevance is that jarring, I'd take it with no alacrity.

Oh, I liked this poster because of its technical definition that indeed a half full glass is technically FULL.  If only that technicality is not that debatable, then we can rest our case.  But I'm afraid this kicks off the dust and maybe the sandstorm.  To be compromising, I WON'T push hard for that technical definition but go for what is 'palatable' to hear.  Swinging over to our lives, WHEN you wanted $100 but what you have is $50, do you scream out in frustration?  WHEN  you dreamt of a Ferrari car but all you can afford is a Toyota,  WHEN you wanted to tour Europe's Schengen 'area' but ended up as a domestic tourist.  To the typical Tom, Dick and Harry, all these would meant A Glass Half Empty

Agree, things will have to boil down to the points of view but again, let's look back into our daily lives.  First off, we DON'T wake up every morning with a Butler on hand.  Neither do we wake up with breakfast to be served in bed.  The realities in life should sink in us.  As our forefathers kept preaching, let us COUNT our BLESSINGS and not what we wished for but it's NOT there.  Remember, much as we want that 'ideal' state, it may take light years for that 'ideal' state to come.  Will you wait for that?

Yesirrrrrrrrs, this poster is screaming that we should COUNT [Y]OUR BLESSINGS.  In brief, DON'T count the number of times you stumbled flat on your face.  DON'T count the many crisis you had to weather.  DON'T count the times when you were almost penniless.  Instead, COUNT those times you did recover.  COUNT those moments you did rise up from the ground.  COUNT those times you went back ON-TRACK after being 'off tracked'.

To quote successful author Shadonna Richards, BEGINNING TODAY, MAKE IT A HABIT TO COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS EVERYDAY.  There's no other way around this.  If you/we DON'T buy to this advice, that is miserable if not despicable because it is likely you will get waylaid in life as you keep counting the DOWNs and NOT the UPs.  And what does that mean?  BTW, those DOWNs will hardly inspire you/us and instead, it will push us farther down into that morass we're stuck❗❗❗

When Rewards Are Worth It

When Rewards Are Worth It

Virtually watching the last NBA game in 2022 between the highly cultured Miami Heat versus the resurgent and rebuilding Utah Jazz, what else can you ask for from the recognized NBA stars when no less than Miami Heat's TYLER HERRO banked in his 'Hail Mary' shot way beyond the arc as time was ticking off down to the very last second.  And swoooooooop, it sinks in.  Oh that was nothing less than seeing things When Rewards Are Worth It💊💊💊

From a drafted rookie in 2019, TYLER HERRO has gone a long way from that NBA Draft Day till twelve hours ago when he banked in that game winning clutch shot !  BTW, a week ago, I read from the Miami media that TYLER HERRO literally made a 'splash' when he recently inked to purchase a US$ 10 Million sprawling mansion at the pricey Miami neighborhood of Pinecrest.

Hmmmm, while today's piece is centered on TYLER HERRO, this is NOT about the NBA, NOT about basketball, NOT at all.  This is more appreciating the fact that in the cycle of life, you always start from scratch, down at the totem pole, then for you to rise that totem pole, you got to work your butt out.  You can be skilled.  You can be gifted.  But neither of those criteria guarantees you that success will be served on a silver platter together with your Martini dinner.  What cemented TYLER HERRO's successes was the US$ 130 Million contract Miami Heat extended him last October 2022.  Indeed, When Rewards Are Worth It

Indeed, TYLER HERRO is another success story to showcase.  Despite the brutal business in the NBA wherein its players are more like commodities and products who get traded to another team [unless the player's contract stipulates the player's trade approval, which is a rarity], whenever he was asked by the media how is he handling the fact that his name gets repeatedly involved in various NBA trade iterations, TYLER's curt reply was that his job to keep playing top-level basketball regardless if he wakes up next morning only to find out he's been traded.  This is When Rewards Are Worth It

Why don't we take a leaf from all the success stories straight from the NBA?  THAT's when players take their job seriously.  THAT's when the stars take on basketball as their life.  THAT's when basketball becomes the 'be all' in their life in parallel with their personal lives.  To be honest, there is NO trade secret in all the NBA success stories but it's all a confluence of sheer hard work that would lead them towards the path When Rewards Are Worth It✅✅✅

You Don't Know What You Got [Till it's gone]

You Don't Know What You Got [Till it's gone]

How often do we appreciate the very moment we are in now?  How often do we appreciate all the love we have around us?  How often are we thankful for whatever modest possessions we have in life?  How often do we appreciate the job we now have?  How often do we appreciate blessings we receive in life [albeit such blessings may not be the best of the best but likely those blessings are many notches better than what everyone of us do reap and receive. So, don't you know what you got [Till it's gone]💹💹💹

BTW, 'tis true we got to LIVE LIFE to the FULLEST [BUT here's the big BUT].  You got to live life in a reasonably balanced way.  I've seen [FIRST HAND] people who had all the monies in the world, taking more than twenty flights a year for R & R [rest & relaxation] which, per se, I will be the last one to question because he worked his butts out the whole year.  But what was his shortfall?  He did send his family 10,000 miles away all the monies they need, period but how's things now?  The poor guy is now all by himself, with NO family and penniless some more.  What went wrong?

Seriously, I am NOT questioning if he did squander all his monies [because that's HIS and not mine] but what's despicable and pathetic is that as we speak today, he has NADA, ZILCH, TIADA, KEINER.  Not even the home he solely bought for the family.  Not even his favorite son [who squeezed him high and dry for monies and monies].  Not even the wife he wedded three decades back.  And to top it all, not even  the job which was his very sole source of income that enabled him to live the life he thought he was enjoying to the fullest not until he got literally stranded holidaying at BALI when the global pandemic lockdown did shut down global travel, whew

My God, this is a head-scratcher.  Is this fine, things simply dissipating in thin air? No sirrrrs.  Except for cataclysmic events which even science can't explain, things DON'T simply dissipate in thin air.  Our relationship with our spouse/partner may be robust today but there's NO guarantee that it will be robust forever ❗❗❗

My God, this is a head-scratcher.  Is this fine, things simply dissipating in thin air? No sirrrrrrs.  It's one thing to cherish our loved ones but it's another thing to literally NURTURE [a.k.a. dutifully taking care] of our relationship with our spouse/partner.  We all dream not only of good beginnings but most importantly, happy endings that meet our criteria and expectations because we DON'T want to hear that you DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU GO [till it's gone]☝☝☝