Fear NOT

 

Heard it many times, that 'ART' of combatting FEAR.  BUT I just DON'T agree that to fight off FEAR, that ART has to exist.  It's neither being gifted NOR developing that ART.  Because in the first place, everyone of us [with NO exemption] has his own FEARS.  I've got my fair share of FEAR, name it, heights and being claustrophobic amongst others.  On the other hand, some FEARS are quite unique.  Some even find their FEARS interfere in their day-to-day lives.  LIKE you might NOT do certain activities to avoid the thing that frightens you.  WHATEVER it is that makes you feel afraid, the experts are here to counsel us to at least cope with it.  Fear NOT💚💛💜

The very first practical advice I came across really floored me because it seemed so casual, like it's NOT even worth heeding it, that need to TAKE TME OUT.  True, it's difficult to think clearly WHEN you feel scared OR even just feeling quite anxious. And YES we're advised, take TIME OUT to physically calm down.  Try and get away from WHAT's upsetting you.  I did even bear witness how far and how long can a TIME OUT be❗❗❗

Without compromising confidential info entrusted to me, I had a friend WHO decided to take a sabbatical from his work, for like indefinitely.  Only WHEN I understood WHAT he was going through did I gain crystal-clear understanding of that predicament he was going through.  Either way, I agree to heed that advice, WHETHER it means taking 15 minutes TIME OUT or 15 months.  And here's the hard part though.  Sometimes, FEAR is the root cause of a behavior that's symptomatic of a deeper issue within us.  I vividly remember my past travails where I was cowering in FEAR.  Our heartbeat gets to pump faster and even our palms get sweatier.  SO HOW???

Experts advise us to take a DEEP BREATHE even while we are advised to STAY WHERE YOU ARE.  How many times did we witness someone running berserk like a headless chicken NOT to a fault but he/she was just cowering in FEAR?  Instead, we are advised to STAY WHERE YOU ARE, and let yourself feel that FEAR even thought admittedly it will be that uncomfortable.  Instead, we are advised to place the palm of our hand on our stomach and breathe slowly and deeply.  Apparently, the reason for that is to get our mind get used to coping with PANIC and that takes away that FEAR of feeling panicky❎❎❎

Our takeaway:  A blunt advice I received many times is this:  FACE YOUR FEARS.  For the longest time, I had a hard time conceding and agreeing with the notion that avoiding FEARS only makes them worse.  BUT gradually exposing yourself to the thing you're scared of can help us to maintain CONTROL and even overcome that FEAR [which often exacerbates and worsens before it tapers off].  FEAR NOT dude😌😌😌

If It's NOT Your First Rodeo, There Is NO Excuse

 

Barring outliers, IF IT'S NOT YOUR FIRST RODEO, then there should be NO excuse.  That's all it is in life.  One can be coached and cajoled only up to and until such point that it is acceptable and tolerable.  WHERE it breaches the threshold of patience [that many times gets stretched], let's call a spade a spade.  That's WHAT recently transpired in the ongoing NBA Summer League, now hosted out of Las Vegas WHEN Miami Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra called out his 7'2 behemoth center Kel'el Ware for his professionalism.  One can be flagged down for various specific skill sets BUT when one is called out by the mentor in the strongest terms referring to professional, it could work either way.  Either it becomes the last straw to hit the camel's back OR it will lead someone to have that fiery response via a dominant performance [WHICH was happened yesterday]📗📙📘

I remember WHEN I was a very raw talent joining the workforce for the very first time, joining a blue-chip MNC organization, I felt awed and overwhelmed.  And with the long list of trainings I had to go through, I then felt the pressure gradually building up [because I thought I need to show the results that soon].  BUT alas, my mentor then, our Dutch expat boss WHO was a look-alike of Donald Sutherland at his peak as an actor, gave me all the elbow room to grow BUT the messaging was NOT as soft as it was because in our monthly 1-on-1, he did encourage me to 'show my wares' albeit even if it will be like a 'flash in the plan' because he volunteered that that was understandable given that my skills set at that point in time hardly scratched the surface.  At that point, I could have just sat back and become complascent BUT I realized I have to exceed expectations no less💚💛💜

Luckily then for me, I realized the need [if NOT the urgency] to develop that 'EXCEEDING EXPECTATION' mindset, that attitude and ability for us to perform OR produce results beyond the expectations from the incumbent.  Sometimes, it is NOT fair to benchmark the expectations to the job role if there is 'GAP', WHICH was my case WHEN I was a newbie @Shell Oil.  BUT I told myself, I gotta bridge that GAP fast enough💥💥💥

At the workplace, EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS should NOT be a complicated discussion point BUT it is the way we execute it that becomes crucial.  LIKE taking an extra initiative, delivering higher quality work, OR contributing in ways that positively impact the team and organization.  EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS would showcase our commitment, dedication and sometimes even creativity vis-a-vis our responsibilities.  BUT EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS is the net result of a confluence of stuff WHICH need to materialize in the first place❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  I hate to say this BUT WHAT makes me sad [and frustrated deep inside] is WHEN I bear witness at the front line of things, performing things either half-heartedly OR executing tasks in a 'JUST ENOUGH' level, sort of coasting along.  Sadly, I witnessed those mediocrities zillions of times [BUT NOT in Singapore and Hong Kong WHERE employees are NOT walking BUT literally rushing within our workareas.  So, IF IT'S NOT YOUR FIRST RODEO, THERE IS NO EXCUSE dude😡😡😡

Really, MULTITASKING Just DOESN'T Work!

Really, MULTITASKING Just DOESN'T Work!  True, some days we feel like a master multitasker even as we drink our cup of coffee in the morning and catching up with emails and browsing with no end jumping from one social media platform to another.  BUT again, time and again, experts have been telling us that MULTITASKING just DOESN'T work, period.  WHY?  Because we're all wired to be mono-taskers dude!@#$%?

Several times in my daily morning operations call, often I share my screen and sometimes, I'll request my team member to share his/her screen and voila, I CAN'T stop asking, WHY he/she got tons and tons of Excel tabs concurrently open [and it's not even 900am, whew!].  YES, this is the truth.  Even WHEN we think we're MULTITASKING, most often we AREN'T really doing two things at once.  BUT instead, we're doing individual actions in rapid succession OR task-switching.  In fact, studies show that generally, just around 2.5%  of people are able to MULTITASK effectively💥💥💥

YES, here's a post-mortem conclusion:  MULTITASKING can hinder our performance.  Studies have shown that WHEN our brain is constantly switching gears to bounce back and forth between tasks [especially WHEN those tasks are complex and require our active attention], we then become less efficient and MORE likely to make a mistake.  This might NOT be as apparent OR impactful WHEN we're doing tasks that are simple and routine, like listening to music while walking, or folding laundry while watching TV💚💛💜

BUT WHEN the stakes are higher and the tasks are more complex, trying to MULTITASK can negatively impact our lives.  YES dude, that MULTITASKING does divide our attention.  It makes it harder for us to give our full attention to one thing.  For example, in one study, attempting to complete additional tasks during a driving simulation led to poorer driving performance.  Other studies even led to scarier results which suggest that people WHO frequently "MEDIA-MULTITASK" [like listening to music while scrolling through social media are more distracted and less able to focus their attention😗😗😗

Our takeaway:  Besides talking about all these, a pitfall NOT so obvious is that trying to do too much at once makes it harder for us to be mindful and TRULY PRESENT in the moment.  Have you either experienced OR witnessed someone talking to another one who keeps scrolling through social media and gives perfunctory remarks like 'A-OK' OR 'REALLY'' OR 'YES'?  Likely they DON'T sincerely mean it because their attention gets divided by that MULITASKING.  Let's just stop that dude❗❗❗

Are You In That 'RINSE & REPEAT' Mode?

Are You In That 'RINSE & REPEAT' Mode?  OR is this NOT a 'talking point' at all for you?  Me thinks we need to devote our thread today about RINSE & REPEAT patterns.  Other than normal daily chores like eating and sleeping [and of course working for your rice bowl], we all get caught up, more often unconsciously, in that RINSE & REPEAT pattern. Everyone, it seems, is talking about CHANGE and the need to CHANGE.  No look farther than WHEN yearend is coming and everyone's talking about NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.  Looking back, year-on-year, how many of us were [and are still] dead serious in doing a post-mortem to find out HOW did we fare with that perennial NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS.  Are You In That 'RINSE & REPEAT' Mode???

BUT alas, we keep repeating that familiar pattern.  It's like going to the edge of a 50-foot cliff and jumping WHEN all you've witnessed are others ahead of you jumping away.  As a result, you DON'T see WHAT they did before they jumped and WHAT the landing area looks like OR WHAT happened WHEN they landed down there!  So, the $64 question is, are we dead serious enough on the right things for us to pursue if we are serious enough to have change roll out and for us to progress along?  Through the years at the workplace, I've heard BEST PRACTICES a zillion times BUT the question is, HOW impactful are those BEST PRACTICES IF and WHEN we are caught up in the RINSE & REPEAT mode???

So, the bigger question is, WHERE have those best practices gone?  Me thinks this all boils down to human nature.  In the corporate world, when the top honcho cracks the whip and rolls out an initiative, verily true, more often, everyone toes the line, no exception.  BUT count 2-3 years down the road.  Can you look back, WHAT and WHERE are those initiatives as it stands today?  More likely, it's been [NOT intentionally] buried in the bushels of oblivion.  NO THANKS to the latest 'flavor of the month'.  YES, I do experience that de ja vu over and over again😌😌😌

Question that befuddles me.  WHY too many of us do chase the latest fads and instantly, we tend to [unconsciously] sweep under the rugs the previous initiatives?  OH YES, there is only one explanation here.  It's that many of us do still get trapped in that RINSE & REPEAT mode.  NOT being an expert in the field of psychology, my take here is that only one single word explains this conundrum.  MOMENTUM.  Unless and until we can keep that MOMENTUM going, we will all get caught up in that RINSE and REPEAT mode.  So, WHAT fix can we consider so that we DON'T get locked-in to that vicious cycle?  Again, it's spelled M-O-M-E-N-T-U-M.  Unless and until you can sustain it, along the way, you may get waylaid [again and again]❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  This is NO rocket science.  It all boils down to our self-discipline to stick to our goals [and timelines we committed to] WHILE sustaining that self-drive.  BUT you might challenge me, WHAT's wrong with the RINSE & REPEAT mode?  Nothing wrong EXCEPT that WHEN you're in RINSE & REPEAT mode, you will LIKELY miss out initiating new improvements OR you will LIKELY miss out even correcting existing flaws OR mistakes.  In a nutshell, WHEN you are in RINSE & REPEAT mode, you may likely stall and even stagnate.  BUT WHO wants to end up in that rot?  Lastly, WHAT will you lose if you endeavor to override your RINSE & REPEAT mode?  Nothing really because that's the win-win step to go❗❗❗

Visszanyal A Fagyi [The Ice Cream Licks Back]

 

I am neither a linguist nor an ardent student of languages but skimming through today's news wires, allow me to borrow this Hungarian quote:  VISSZANYAL A FAGI [THE ICE CREAM LICKS BACK].  You can buy Cellato, the most expensive ice cream OR even midstream Haagen-Dazs BUT it all boils down to the same Hungarian quote, THE ICE CREAM LICKS BACK💚💛💜

Hungarian this may be, BUT this quote runs deep across our life.  Let's start with FINANCIALS.  If you are now awash with $$$$$$$ and you're spending like there's NO tomorrow, would you expect your tomorrow to be the same as today?  Absolutely you're totally wrong if that's your train of thought because to spend frivolously can only go so far before it breaches that threshold, that POINT of NO RETURN.  We've heard a global sportsman successful in his sports WHOSE total earnings of US$ 750 Million ranks him as the 22nd all-time when ranked with all global sportsmen.  YET, just last month, he came out of retirement and is now in the midst of wrapping up his training for his return championship bout on July 20th.  If you hear his spiel, he came back from retirement 'FOR THE LOVE OF THE SPORTS'.  That's hogwash, baloney rubbish💧💧💧

That brings us back to the weight carried by the Hungarian quote VISSZANYAL A FAGI [THE ICE CREAM LICKS BACK].  Let's move our samplings from financials to relationships.  If someone is guilty [enough] of disrespect and hurtfulness in a relationship, surely that will NOT just cause a dent in a relationship.  Sooner if NOT later, a breakup is NOT far fetched to happen.  I've witnessed first hand WHERE the other spouse/partner simply walked away, catching his 'abandoned' ex-spouse/partner 'high and dry'.  Surely you have heard OR witnessed those narratives.  Throw away the feelings of regret OR guilt.  Let's just go back to the Hungarian quote VISSZANYAL A FAGI [THE ICE CREAM LICKS BACK].  From relationships, let's go back to health.  HOW many of us [OR at least people WHOM you know] WHO are wantonly abusing their health these days, with excessive eating, with heavy alcohol, and even chain-smoking.  We are NO experts BUT would you agree that the Hungarian quote resonates again in those circumstances???

From financials to relationships to health, let's move over to career.  HOW many narratives have we heard WHERE a person realized he is in the wrong calling, vocation or career?  BUT you might ask, WHAT could have caused them to be off-track?  Probably, during the job hunting days, they signed job offers on the dotted line for jobs WHICH was NOT WHAT they really wanted BUT simply signing off for $$$$$$ considerations.  UNTIL, before you know it, he was in that job for years and years, only realizing of late that he ended up spending years in a job that was farthest from his interest.  The worst part in that narrative is that he realized he was [and still IS] off-track too late for him to change course at that point in time.  We can rattle off on and on numerous phases in our life WHERE much as we like and enjoy 'ICE CREAMS', later if NOT sooner those times WHEN we did 'swoon over heels' with the ICE CREAMS, eventually that ICE CREAM LICK BACK [and by then, it may be too little OR too late for us to make a move, to change courses or at least to pivot💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  In the shortest words, we should be reminded that in life, we need to be extra and consciously mindful of the potential consequences of each of our actions and WHERE there is a need to do some 'balancing act', we need to endeavor in striking that balance between PRESENT enjoyment versus our FUTURE well-being as this should be our thoughtful approach to decision-making [rather than take that 'impulsive' way for the sake of immediate gratification.  Apologies for being blunt here but I'll still hang on to the Hungarian quote VISSZANYAL A FAGI [THE ICE CREAM LICKS BACK]😡😡😡

NEVER Rely On Luck!

WHEN was the last time you heard about LOTTO?  That was WHEN someone bagged the $100 Million jackpot.  WHEN was the last time you heard about BMW?  That was WHEN someone won the raffle's top prize.  BUT WHAT becomes mind-boggling is some of the Paris Olympics athletes WHO went over to the podium to receive their medals, many of them were tagged as LUCKY@#$%!? Just because the winner won by a close shave of 2 seconds, of 0.1 inch in the pole vault OR high jump events.  NEVER Rely On Luck!!!

For someone WHO did NOT have that exalted 'cakewalk' in life, even as we speak now, I can humbly admit that LUCK ISN'T WHAT got me WHERE I am today.  No sirrrrrrs.  I'm NOT beating my chest because my own successes may pale in comparison to many more success stories out there.  BUT if there's something I have to admit, it is something far more practical and easily attainable WHICH enabled me to be WHAT I am today and that's all because of PREPARATION.  WHETHER it is in our personal life OR in our business forays, the end result is NOT your burden to bear BUT it is being PREPARED.  Perfection in the moments leading up to WHATEVER decision you're making is your own burden to bear❎❎❎

WHILE the outcome may NOT be in your own control, the actions you take leading up to that point are absolutely up to your own discretion.  WHEN you take the time and energy to PREPARE, you become ready for the unexpected.  You become hyper-focused and are able to respond in a much heightened state of functioning.  Those days WHEN I was active in the job market, once a headhunter has scheduled me for a face-to-face discussion [there were NO Zooms & Google MEET those days, hehehe], it was NOT sufficient for me to have a thorough deep-dive of the role's job description.  BUT way and beyond, I'll do my due diligence and research about that prospective employer, its core business, its industry, the footprint of its operations and presence and most importantly, I ask myself, how can I be that vehicle OR tool that can create a positive impact to the organization once I have settled down in that possible job role✅✅✅

Translating things into actionable concrete terms:

• Let us continuously CULTIVATE an A+ work ethic - Nothing beats PREPAREDNESS from within.
• Let us NOT hesitate to ask for HELP from others - Leverage on your helpline, your family for one.
•  Anticipate potentials - Mapping your strength and your preparedness together, find your potentials
• NEVER leave your fate to chance, NOT to variables WHERE you DON'T have any control, because by then, you'll be doomed to fail

Our takeaway: Eventually, YES you will cross your fingers, hoping for the best BUT at the back of your mind, prepared for the worst case scenario.  Regardless, we have to constantly remind ourselves that LUCK is WHEN opportunity and preparation collide head-on.  BUT even more so, we should find opportunities that present to ourselves anytime.  Let us LET GO OF LUCK and BE PREPARED😀😀😀

When Your Mettle Gets Tested

Heard this many times:  THAT the true character of a person will surface WHEN faced with the most difficult challenges.  WHY?  Because it is easy enough to do good things WHEN everything is a-OK!  It's even easier to perform WHEN you're NOT tired OR NOT in pain.  BUT hold on.  WHEN things start to go sideways, that is the moment WHEN the real test starts.  WHEN we start feeling tired OR in pain OR in confusion, that is WHERE the test of character starts to happen.  WHEN we develop our attitude first, it will allow us to build and develop a much stronger core in life.  Till to date, WHEN I observe kids in different neighborhoods, the conventional thinking is that those kids coming from the impoverished villages are much tougher WHEN compared to the pampered kids from the middle tier and upwards.  Point here is that, regardless of your social standing,  When Your Mettle Gets Tested, that is just inevitable📗📙📘

WHICH means, this all boils down to the very foundations of our life.  That foundation will allow us to thrive through the multiple recurrences of those turbulences in life.  YES, we will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, eventually.  BUT those well-tested with hardened core in life will get to see that light at the end of the tunnel much earlier than the rest of the pack, those WHO are like 'eating the dust' in the rat race💧💧💧

For clarity, it is true that a better and stronger core will NOT guarantee that one will NOT face the difficulties OR challenges in life [because everyone has to go through the wringer anyway].  The difference lies on the fact that a better and stronger core and character will allow one to grow through it and see those things as an opportunity to harness and have a better self💚💛💜

As the old cliche goes, 'ATTITUDE FIRST, THEN THE REST WILL FOLLOW'.  Studies have proven that developing one's skills and enhancing character will follow suit once one's attitude has been framed in the right path.  And YES, to quote the experts, there are multiple ways and paths to develop our attitude.  And we can start by gathering information from the success stories of people who have gone through those paths.  HOW?  Just one too many self-helps these days, even from the web😊😊😊

Our takeaway:  The way to go does NOT have an off-the-shelf solution.  You just CAN'T open the cupboard and voila, you got the FIX, really?Reading, listening, watching.  And yes, you can tap ChatGPT to get help from AI how you can FIX the chinks in your armor because that's the only option for your taking [UNLESS one is a 'willing victim' of losing by default in life].  THAT'S WHEN YOUR METTLE GETS TESTED❗❗❗   

All Things BIG Started SMALL!

All Things BIG Started SMALL!

All Things BIG Started SMALL!  YES indeed.  Forage fish are the very cornerstones our marine ecosystems.  Even all the technology innovations we witness around us, NOT a single one from that lot ever sprung like a 'BIG BANG'.  NOT even the Apple products starting from the iPhone.  BTW, do you know that the iPhone itself was conceptualized by Fujitsu in Japan, including its IPR [intellectual property rights] BUT which rights were eventually bought out by Apple.  Even the global networks we now have connecting billions of people started off just as a scientific and academic laboratory initiative by the U.S. military.  Never was it a BIG BANG📗📙📘

Indeed, it is fascinating to consider that many things of those BIG things around us did start from SMALL beginnings.  To whet our appetite for BIG achievements, let us start things with SMALL thoughts that blossom into SMALL ideas until it gets crystallized and concretized.  BTW, when those SMALL thoughts eventually evolve, it's NOT a one-off evolution.  Many of those successes went into hundreds of iterations.  Even that fuel that gets into our car when we fuel-up, they were NOT drilled from the Middle East oil wells AS IS WHERE IS.  I remember when I was an entry-level assembler programmer, we had to run the linear programming scripts countless times, sometimes we ended up in the night, just to meet the Marine Supply and Demands deadline💧💧💧

By analogy, let's do a look-up at the BUTTERFLY EFFECT where a tiny movement in one part of the world can create a major change elsewhere.  SMALL acts, even like the fluttering of the butterfly's wings, can lead to massive impact.  In the university, if you want to finish up a BIG syllabus, start with one page.  Preparing for a major exams?  Start off by answering the first question in the module paper.  Want to write something, have a concrete idea to develop.  Want to have a business.  Draft your feasibility study NOT with aggressive and ambitious assumptions💦💦💦

Even in tiny Singapore, they have that 'SMART SMALL DREAM BIG' initiative officially supported by the government to encourage pre-schools to create authentic platforms for children to innovate, problem-solve and tap their unique strengths to help others.  And talking about Singapore, it was nothing BUT a tiny dot of Malaysia and in the midst of inter-racial tensions, most of the Malaysian Chinese gravitated to that tiny dot which is Singapore today.  As we speak now, Singapore may be a SMALL dot BUT in geo-politics, today Singapore is a respected global behemoth, economically, financially and even politically✅✅✅

Our takeaway:  Indeed, start SMALL before becoming that BIG.  Just to share a trivia, in our country, the  cut-throat competition amongst car dealers have gone too far to an extend that some car dealers even offer a ZERO DOWNPAYMENT to purchase a new car, whew!  True it sounds so enticing BUT I did get it from many bankers that their warehouses of mortgaged cars gone awry are unable to accommodate the overflow of those mortgaged cars with default payments.  YES, I did counsel a friend, start off with a second-hand vehicle for your first car until your financials have stabilized.  YES dude, ALL THINGS BIG START SMALL❗❗❗

Are FIXED DEPOSITS Still Safe From Scammers???

 

Traditionally, we are all taught that despite the scams happening everywhere, once we funnel our accounts via FIXED DEPOSITS, it becomes safe.  NOT so fast, dude, because the answer there is both a YES and NO.  As we all know, bank accounts can be 'taken over' by scammers if they gain access to your banking credentials.  So, are FIXED DEPOSITS safe from those 'bad actors'?  WHAT else can we do then???

In one particular Asian country, just in December 2024, at least 103 people were literally duped of at least US$ 122,00, no thanks to phishing scams involving the inpersonation of banks through spoofed SMSes.  A month earlier, an elderly pensioner lost almost $260,000 to scammers WHEN she sold her unit trust investments that she held WHEN she followed the instructions given to her by someone impersonating as the bank officer and before she knew it, it was GAME OVER💧💧💧

The truth is, with scammers gaining access to internet banking credentials and one-time passwords [OTP] through their deceptive tactics, bank accounts can then be easily 'taken over', and traditionally, secure investment products like FIXED DEPOSITS are now NO longer immune.  One misconception about FIXED DEPOSITS raises that scary risks to innocent people💥💥💥

One think WHERE we need to raise awareness is the misconception that FIXED DEPOSITS can be withdrawn only upon its maturity.  NO sirrrrrrs.  Even premature withdrawals are possible although it will incur some fees [BUT NOT significant enough to deter those scammers]😡😡😡

Our takeaway:  Dude, all it takes is for a scammer to have access to your internet banking account for your FIXED DEPOSIT account to be vulnerable and fall prey to another trick up in their sleeves.  Our fix:  UNLESS you have a compelling reason, please DO NOT ADD OR INCLUDE YOUR FIXED DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS within your internet banking account.  Please DO NOT BE LURED by the convenience of internet banking because in the first place, you DON'T intend to initiate transactions to that FIXED DEPOSIT, NOT UNTIL when maturity comes, right dude???

Heart Health Awareness

 

NO sirrrrrs, I'm NOT switching careers, NOT this late BTW.  BUT I thought it's more than mutually beneficial [for us all] to share these extracts and snippets from the expert sources.  WHAT caught me by my lapels was this recent Quora.com post by Vikash titled "5 SYMPTOMS APPEAR BEFORE THE HEART VEINS GET BLOCKED".  True, this is a scary topic BUT ISN'T this worth a fraction of our time today dude💚💛💜

Sharing EN TOTO:  Early Signs Of Heart Blockage: Nowadays, people with wrong eating habits and poor lifestyle are increasingly falling prey to heart diseases. Let us tell you that heart blockage or blockage of heart veins is considered to be the biggest cause of heart attack. When plaque accumulates in the veins around the heart, it can thin or block the coronary artery. This can obstruct blood flow to the heart, due to which enough oxygenated blood does not reach the heart. Due to this, symptoms like shortness of breath, chest pain or tightness and dizziness can be felt. If the blood flow to the heart is obstructed, it increases the risk of heart attack and other serious heart-related diseases

In such a situation, after recognizing these symptoms, you should immediately go to the doctor so that treatment can be started on time. Let us know in detail about the early symptoms of heart blockage.  

Chest pain - In case of blockage of the heart veins, chest pain or heaviness may be felt. Usually, this pain is felt in the middle of the chest or on the left side. But sometimes it can also spread to the shoulder, neck or jaw. 

Difficulty breathing - Difficulty in breathing can occur due to heart blockage. Actually, due to blockage in the arteries, sufficient amount of oxygen does not reach the body. This causes difficulty in breathing.

Dizziness - In case of heart blockage, the patient may have problems of fainting or dizziness. Actually, this happens due to lack of blood flow in the heart. 

Cold sweat - Excessive sweating can be a sign of heart blockage. If you are sweating cold and sticky without any apparent reason, do not ignore it. 

Extreme fatigue and weakness - Feeling extremely tired and weak can be a sign of heart blockage. If you feel tired and weak all the time even without doing much work, do not ignore it.

Our takeaway:  NOT to scare you out of your wits BUT regardless of age and culture, our HEART'S HEALTH is, call it, primus inter pares.  Amongst all the things we hope and dream in life [count in our landed properties, cars, family holidays, name it], our HEART's HEALTH should be at the top of the totem pole.  In the United States alone, the #1 cause of deaths due to medical illnesses is SCD [Sudden Cardiac Death].  Let's cross our fingers that we'll contribute to prune down these scary statistics😗😗😗