Choices

Do we really have choices in life?

In fact, "Life is just a matter of living until the day we fail to breathe." Brutal, but honest. 

I have accepted and adhere to this statement as far I could remember.

However, rather than dwelling on these thoughts, I have set myself a goal in life.

I just want to be HAPPY. Nothing more or less. I figured by doing the whatever I want then I can achieve this so called happiness. After letting this mindset sink in, I not only got a lot happier, I dare boldly say that I am stress-free. To be frank, that is what I tell employers during interview, no joke.

Again in my blog posts, I would like to emphasize everything written down are based on my own personal views (plus some minor research). I hope through my posts it will help some of you out there see things from a different perspective. In this post, we will be discussing a little on MILLENIAL WORKFORCE, ACHIEVERS and STRESS.

Working in the training industry is very interesting, as one fine day, I had an amazing opportunity to sit among the Leaders of the insurance agencies, in a talk about recruiting millennials to their workforce. The speaker that day was Benjamin Loh, a young and vibrant professional trainer and speaker from Singapore. I can clearly remember during his speech, I repeatedly nodded my head along all the points he has spoken. Specifically, he made very valid and significant points on the characteristics of workforce from different generations (Baby boomers -> Gen Y). This ranges from "I do what I have been told" baby boomers to "Why am I doing this, what is the reason behind it" Gen Y/Millennial. Funny, but as he said that, I realised that I always ask my supervisor the reason behind every single thing she has asked me to do. Like it or not, Benjamin said, companies have to adhere to culture which the millennials are radiating in the present. Basically, as "WORKFORCE 2020" is gradually approaching, Millennials (1980-1995) and Gen Z (1996-present) will make up for a total of 59% of the global workforce. So what do WE want? According to Park Communications Ltd., Millennials want four things, new opportunities, communications, recognition and work-life balance apart from money itself. Now, it can be unrealistic for traditional large corporate firms to achieve all this 4 criteria, especially in Malaysia. Honestly though, do they even need to retain their workforce? Recruiting is not the issue of multinational corporate firms, as I believe some (if not most) fresh graduates would literally do anything, from boosting their CV by joining literally every events in university or ride connections from anyone they can get to enter into these firms.

After successfully entering the corporate workforce, then they would think when to leave after getting the necessary experiences and certifications. I believe corporate firms are aware of this, and therefore, would treat workers as expendables. If you do not like to work, somebody else will work for us. So bye. Of course, joining a corporate firm has its own perks, such as large exposures to different projects, budget for employee personal training and development, sponsorship for exams w/ or w/ bonding the employee. However, working for such a large corporate with a household name also meant that the individual would have to adapt to the company structure, stick by the long working hours (which can include no overtime pay), office politics (stepping on each other to gain promotion) and etc.

Therefore, it is not hard to see that millennials would start to slowly move in to greener pastures, which is what what we call, entrepreneurship. (Or what I'd like to call, Be my own boss.) 

The power of internet and social medias provide vast opportunities for people for any range group to venture into their own business. Over the years, many of us can see the rise of start-ups which in the end transformed into market disruptors in their respective industries. (To name a two famous examples, Grabcar & Uber - Taxi industry; AirBNB - Hotel industry.) Moreover, with the abundance of internet celebrities slowly come into existence, this meant that self-branding and marketing has become seemingly potent in entrepreneurship. The appeal of good features coupled with  well-built physique cannot be underestimated in the role of fetching various advertisements or modelling opportunities.

So, what's up with ACHIEVERS and STRESS?
According to Venho (April 11, 2016), "Some high achievers are always in pursuit of perfection." It does seem like these high-caliber individuals have the tendency to not reduce stress, but garner all these stress factors and transform them into working drive. Again, mentally I have no doubt these people are strong enough to handle it, but physically and psychologically, is that true? The body produces a special hormone called cortisol which will react vigorously to stress. When an individual overexert him or herself, for example, burning the midnight oil, this will lead to an elevation of cortisol (Leproult, 1997). The result of this cortisol serves as a energy booster as a function to maintain the awareness of the mind and body. Moreover, this elevation was also found to be able to affect the quality of sleep, forming what seems to be a positive feedback loop.

Somehow, we seemed to let our minds run faster than the body. "Stress can be adapted, sleep can be adapted, it is just a matter of time and practice", I have received this from many out there. Indeed the mind is very flexible, adaptable and have the definite potential of spewing wild fire all over imaginary visualizations. The body, in contrary, has some sort of a limit to it and an alarm system. Of course, many times we have to sacrifice our time and health (mostly young guns out there) in order to make ends meet or raise our own capital.. but what if the money we are desperately trying to generate will end up as hefty payments for our health in the future? What are we actually working so hard for then?

In the end, there is no wrong and right to everything. Maybe, the yearn for work-life balance from the millennials is an alarm about the importance of managing stress and health? Or will employers see it as a form of laziness or irresponsibility? How long can night producers continue to defy the basics of the human circadian rhythm and  acquiring rest? Are we consistently letting our mind run faster than the body?

I have only just started crawling in this world called society but I am crawling slowly and consistently. Will it be better to repeatedly run fast and fall?

Lastly, to all readers out there (if any), your decision now in life, is it worth it?


Jayden


http://www.parkcom.co.uk/millennials-rule-workforce-2020/
http://www.moodmetric.com/how-can-moodmetric-help-an-ambitious-achiever/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9415946

Revival + My ACL-Meniscus story

My incompetency to create consistent blog posts have been nothing short of disappointing. There were times which I had a strong urge to update my thoughts and feelings but somehow the ideas have dropped gradually. Looking back to what I have previously written, it has been a little more than 2 years that I actually left a mark here. However, in the year of 2018 I have decided to set myself a rule, which is to do a monthly update of my blog. This can include topics which can be very controversial as it will be from my point of view. I do understand my non-filter approach will shade a negative light on myself but I hope to help people see things from a different approach.

In this blogpost, let's take a stroll down my memory lane, back to the beginnings of my 3rd university year in September 2017. I could still distinctly remember that one rainy evening, when I was still sitting in my room contemplating on whether I should go to the basketball tryouts. Little did I know, this decision of mine would change every plan I have in my last year at university. I have been suffering from knee locking a few years ago prior to this, resulting from minor tears of the the meniscus and ACL in my knee. However, I used to able to unlock my knee successfully every time it happened. That particular evening, I heard a snap in my knee after landing from what seemed like a normal rebound. Immediately I knew I was in a disaster. I could not even straighten my knee, there was no way I could even move my leg. Ladies and gentlemen, this happened at the time before the university classes even begun.

This event left a bad taste in my mouth. For the three months in university, I had to maneuver around the hilly campus using a pair of crutches. The constant snapping in my knee due to every movement of my dangling leg left me with a hellish experience even during sleep. When the pain felt slightly better, I could start limping my way, knees locked, to classes and even my mentoring job. Now, you probably would have asked me, did you not go for surgery immediately? The answer is, I was on the waiting list of surgery, which could only take place in the following January (2017). Moreover, I fully understood the consequences of an ACL-Meniscus surgery, there was no way I could support myself immediately after the surgery. I needed assistance.

December 2016, my last Christmas in the UK, I flew back to Malaysia to receive surgery for my knee. 2 days after my arrival, I had my first ever surgery (as far as I can recall). On the surgery day, I found myself lying on the hospital bed, getting pushed in to the surgery room, challenging to stay awake after an anesthesia jab and failed miserably.

I literally counted myself to sleep.. 1,2,3..

The moment I opened my eyes, I was already in the midst of getting transfered to the hospital ward. Still shivering from the effects of the anesthesia, I caught a glimpse of my family members and the doctor standing by the corridor. I mustered some strength to ask the doctor, "did everything go well?" Before I could really get an answer, I fell back into sleep. When I was completely awake, I realised ironically, my knee was on full stretch and I could barely bend it. My leg was in pain and it was even worse than before, I could barely move it. For the second time since my fall, I felt a sense of helplessness. I feared for the worst, my leg would not be the same as before.

On the 3rd day of my hospitalisation, I had to LEARN to walk again. That morning, doctor stopped by my bedside and gave me a pair of 4-legged crutches. He told me with a stern look, "you have to learn how to walk normally". I dragged my body down the bed and immediately got to work. It has been 3 days since I have not felt the ground and as soon as my feet touch the floor, a jolt of pain ran through my leg. My left leg literally could not support my body and I could feel the other half was overworking to compensate. It took me almost 5 minutes just for me to get off my bed and reach the door of my ward. I was very much in distraught. Learning to walk again was tough, not just physically but also psychologically. It took me 15 minutes to support myself through a journey of 100 metres outside my ward and I could only curse at myself as nurses, visitors and other patients walked past me, staring. I have never been so helpless. As someone who boasts his speed in sports, my ego was completely crushed. This LEARNING went on til the 4th day, when I was given a 2 legged crutches, which I struggled more due to the weakened support and greater reliance of both my legs.

And it was on the very 4th day, I did not only curse to myself, I cursed to the sky and asked why before getting discharged on the very 5th day.

What came in the post-surgery phase required even more grit. Now, let me demonstrate how stiff and straightened my leg was. In my first session of my rehab, I could only do half-cycles on the cycling machine for the whole week. For me, cycling barely took any effort in the past. Now, I had to focus and put all my attention to it. To enhance my progress, I had an 8 sessions of intensive rehab lined up in 2 weeks right before I flew back to UK. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is definitely not enough of training to an ACL-ruptured leg back into strength. Due to my inability to walk, this brought me into a brand new experience in the airport. For the first time, I got to sat in the wheelchair and pushed all the way to the departure gate. This is also the first time, I got a taste (albeit just a little) of what being disabled felt. I grasped my crutches and my bag close to me as I was wheeled around in the airport. I had this unpleasant feeling whereby all eyes were set straight on me.

PEOPLE ARE BORN TO JUDGE. THERE IS NO WAY THAT AS HUMAN WE DO NOT JUDGE AT ALL. BEING judgemental, HOWEVER, IS A DIFFERENT STORY.

I shall end my story here. All in all, I am grateful that I have managed to recover well and am able to walk and play sports normally again. Despite that, I am slightly disappointed that I can no longer translate my competitive spirit on playing sports again. The fact that my leg has been under the knife meant that it would not be the same again, performance-wise and durability-wise.

That will be all from this post. I have lots more to share on my recovery but feel free to message me or just bringing this topic up the next time we meet.


Signing off,

Jayden