wanderingintofocus

Tentative realisations: 1) to be of value, one needs to bring value to some person(s) or some cause; 2) "value" includes demonstrating the efficacy of a system, eg being a model student demonstrates the success of the education system, fulfilling (1); 3) s/he who commands respect is valuable; 4) to command respect, one needs to bring substantial value to some person(s) or some cause (ie be "good" at something); 5) it is not enough to be "good" at something to command respect, for this respect in question is offered by other people. thus, one needs to be "good" at an endeavour that other people value (eg good at making music vs good at wasting time); 6) more value is accorded to acts of value that are more challenging to achieve (eg grand humanitarian efforts or benevolent volunteer work) or elicits an emotion (ie someone can be considered to be of special value if s/he makes you feel a certain way); 7) value is relative, for if ever...

confidence /ˈkɒnfɪd(ə)ns/ noun the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something. _ self-esteem /ˌsɛlfɛˈstiːm/ noun confidence in one's own worth or abilities; self-respect. _ Recently I had started setting up various social media accounts. When signing up for a Twitter account, one of the steps was to Describe yourself, to which the subheading text stated:  "What makes you special? Don't think too hard, just have fun with it."  This instruction comprises three parts. Let's break it down. (1) Just have fun with it fun /fʌn/ noun enjoyment, amusement, or light-hearted pleasure. "the children were having fun in the play area" _ I think most people realise it in their hearts, but the journey of growing up has shrouded this understanding in the shadows of professionalism till they are no longer able to relate to that which they had used to, and that is that: Fun can be an end in itself. It is often pe...

"There's a word for this, it's called hypocrisy."  - Dr Chee Soon Juan ______________________________ Invariably in conversation at some point, discussion will see you stumble upon some topics that made you or your interlocutor uncomfortable that one of you don't want to discuss, but the other wants to talk about. And that's perfectly normal. But being too self-righteous and delusional, I had never really understood that mentality because I thought that I believed that everything is better if everyone talked about everything instead of avoiding anything, not realising that I oftentimes practice and exhibit avoidant tendencies as well. Perhaps I should first discuss the mentality that I was initially convinced that I wholeheartedly stood by. I used to believe that everything should always be on the table for discussion, because that which remains undiscussed will remain unresolved until a conclusion is reached, but one is unlikely to reach conclusions...

‘Nowadays, the pleasures of reading can never compete with the pleasures of visual entertainment.’ To what extent do you agree? (2018) From flashy cinematography coupled with action-packed cutscenes, to home productions filmed on a low budget with a GoPro camera, the space of visual entertainment has something to offer for everyone. With the rise of the smartphone putting access to on-demand video streaming in everyone’s pocket, traditional media such as the storybook and novel might struggle to remain relevant and accessible. However, to claim that the pleasures of reading nowadays can absolutely never compete with that of visual entertainment would be indefensible, especially since reading provides a different type of pleasure that can stimulate the imagination in ways that virtually every other medium cannot. Today, it is more common to see commuters on the train streaming the film adaptation of a novel than reading the paperback novel itself. Detractors argue that the pleas...

"So it is." - Minister Mason Life is unfair in that there are many circumstances that are out of our control. From systemic factors like local standards of living, all the way down to the code that builds the cells in our bodies, we are all dealt a different hand in this card game of life, a game that though oftentimes unfair, is still one of the best to be playing. Life is unfair because we might land ourselves in situations out of our control. We might witness injustice but feel powerless to act upon it, like how heart-wrenching it is feels if medical care workers who are often the ones who care the most for their patients inadvertently themselves get affected. We might feel helpless when factors out of your control such as societal pressure constantly influencing or have influenced the formation of the undesirable situations that you so often find yourself in, stereotypes that you so often put up with, or practices and processes that you so often don't understand...

"The quickest way to kill a relationship is to take each other for granted." appreciation /əpriːsɪˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ noun recognition and enjoyment of the good qualities of someone or something. _ gratitude /ˈɡratɪtjuːd/ noun the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. _ Sometimes I get caught up in all the negativity that's going on that I forget about the good things that happen or that people do for me. This is bad because not appreciating the people who care most for you is not being caring toward these people whom you should care the most for, especially when they go out of their way to do things specially for you and you personally and it's not just some courteous politically-correct move or actions mandated by workplace etiquette. These are the people that tolerate and accept that you're human and you'll be down sometimes and care about you and not appreciating that, in some sense, is to not care about t...

compromise /ˈkɒmprəmʌɪz/ noun an agreement or settlement of a dispute that is reached by each side making concessions. _ concession /kənˈsɛʃ(ə)n/ noun something done or agreed to, usually grudgingly, in order to reach an agreement or improve a situation. _ Before discussing the difficulty of compromise, we need to understand the situation that had even led to a compromise having to be considered. A compromise is considered typically only after a dispute arises, that follows an exchange of diverging or opposite views. There is only a need for compromise when both parties want different outcomes within the same situation. Picture a standard Venn diagram where each circle represents the wants of each opposing party. Fundamentally, a compromise entails expanding the area of overlap between the two circles. This can be achieved by finding common ground (ie an arrangement that both sides are amenable to). A compromise can only be worked toward when both parties understand th...