wanderingintofocus

happiness /ˈhapɪnəs/ noun  the state of being happy. _ The hedonic treadmill is a prominent theory in psychology that describes that every individual has a unique baseline of happiness, where regardless of the magnitude of positive or negative events that happen to the individual, they would return to that same baseline of happiness characteristic to themselves.  However, this baseline of happiness is not always entirely reflected in an individual's demeanor and action, as some people can seem very positive but are in actually often in a depressive state mentally or when they are alone with their thoughts, and conversely.  This is because positivity and happiness, though often used interchangeably, are not the same thing. Positivity is an attitude, not a feeling; it is something that you choose to inhabit even in the face of less than favorable circumstances. Positivity depends on and can only exist based on your response to situations; one does not feel positive - one me...

Clarification: This is not a discussion between the features of Spotify or Blogger as content hosting services, but rather a comparison between the activities that they facilitate, namely music-making and blogging respectively. _ relativity /rɛləˈtɪvɪti/ noun   the absence of standards of absolute and universal application _ Recently I had come to know of a good friend doing very well on Spotify with his music (which are in their own right very well-written and produced), where he found his pieces featured on the homepage queues. I personally enjoy his work. In an isolated incident, I had also seen another counterpart promote the work of another person whom I did not know prior, which I then checked out. It is quite a feat when the work one produces is able to raise awareness for itself through word of mouth and genuine recommendations by peers, than if such promotion were to be undertaken oneself. Temporarily stripping away the distinct differences between music-making and my blog...

Clarification: This is an opinion piece and not a factually researched article. Definitions and lines of reasoning presented herein are largely my own. _ FOMO /ˈfəʊməʊ/ noun  anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere, often aroused by posts seen on social media. _ FOMO, the Fear Of Missing Out, refers to the knowledge that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening not involving one but involving one's counterparts that leads to an anxiety or fear of being deprived of the positive experiences that said counterparts or peers are encountering in the given moment. It is one of those weird phrases that has only entered the common lexicon in recent times, and not only already seems dated, but also has an implied negative connotation. However, perhaps the aforementioned criteria are not enough to fully define the circumstances in which FOMO manifests itself. To illustrate, if a gazillionare builds a fleet of automated humanoid dro...

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...