As I spent my afternoon trying to catch up on some reading, I overheard a conversation by 2 teen girls while they had their afternoon brunch. It made me think about some problems that I/we, being born and raised in a first world society, are currently facing.

 

1) Discipline

Honest question: Have you been on a diet? have you succeeded?

That is one of the most frustrating challenges we face. In undeveloped part of the world, people either do not have the money to buy these luxurious food or they are constantly working out “physically” to burn off the calories. No one complain that they are eating too much.

Losing weight is not a hard thing to do at all but the trick is discipline. Many times I remembered walking into the mall passing the basement food stalls and I became hungry all of a sudden. Many companies has spend millions of dollars hiring expert to sell you on stuff we do not need. With all the surplus in cash and ever enticing food; laid stalls by stalls in the shopping mall, it is hard not to be hungry.

This is just one example. The list goes on.. Trying to save up but we can’t stop shopping because of the Great Singapore Sale, wanting to learn a new craft or finish a project but “my friend’s birthday is today”, want to travel but money, family or whatever excuses you have is stoping you.

Next time when you are on a diet and you gave in to the piece of delicious cake. Ask yourself, why can’t you be slim and have that good body?

The small habit we cultivate in life that make the biggest different.

2) Social Media

“Oh wait! Let me take a picture first before you eat..” *upload onto Facebook and web check-in to the restaurant.

In the midst of trying hard to stay connected with your friends and family. Social media has lessen the value of information because of the minimal effort to share information. Thus many are bombarding society with useless information thus the term, Social spam. If you are going to write a Facebook Wallpost, SMS or e-birthday card for someone’s birthday, you might as well don’t do it at all. Instead, a call, a long letter or just a simple surprise on another day of the year would meant so much more. That is if you mean it.

 

3) Call the ‘expert’ method

What is the first thing you do when

• you are sick? Go to doctor
• want to eat something? Go to a eatery
• fix the hole in your jeans? Go to the tailor
• get some fresh rosemary? Go to Cold storage

Many people in Singapore have learned, some may have in-depth skills such as business management and accounting but instead lack life skills such as; cooking, sewing and more. In modern society, we have been blessed with the luxury of money to solve many of our problems. Unfortunately, in turn we are not put in situations that force us to learn about needs. Hence we give our money to these ‘experts’, trusting them to solve our problems in the best possible way but in fact they are just businessman on the other side of the fence waiting to earn your money in the fastest way possible. One example that happened to me, was my recent slipped disc (Back problem). The doctor from the general hospital advised me on an operation. Only after the surgery, did I learn about chiropractice which might solve the cause of the problem. As a result, I would have avoided the surgery which would have dire consequences in my older days.

Do you know how much sugar is in the ice-cream?
Where do the vegetables in our super market come from?
How many times did that stall reuse its oil?
How many ways are there to cure your illness?

The next time you encounter a problem, try going on the internet and learn how to make informed decisons. It will save a lot of unnecessary spending and let us learn a wealth of knowledge.

 

4) The more we have, the less happy we are

No one excited anymore.. everything a norm.

Louis CK say it better than anyone.

We live in a comfortable society. Singaporean, if you do not know who you are. Those who have not fought for the comfort, do not know the value of it. Many people complain about the break downs of the train service, the introduction of casinos, the excessive censorship but how much do they know about the price tag that is attached to the society we live in. I do not mean to refrain one from complaining because it brings forth change in many good ways. Instead, I suggest positive criticism with added wisdom and for you to then take ownership of change. At the same time, appreciate the benefits that society has blessed us with.

What I find myself telling people and always will, is to travel. It does not require much physical means to travel but it needs a big scoop of courage. Try very much to refrain  from the acts of a tourist and take time to understand their culture. Through it, we will find that our problems are a lot smaller than many and thus, appreciate what we have and what we do not with a bit more understanding.

 

5) Lack of evolutionary pressure

Honest question:
Before I die, I want to _____ .
Why are you doing what you are doing? Eg. work, student
Are working towards your goal?

In line with the first point; we live in a comfortable society which makes life easy. We do not have to worry about security, transportation, food and water. With the ease of these worries, we have developed new problems such as; depression, obesity, high divorce rates etc. As human beings, we need pressure to grow. We go to the gym for that very reason; to stress our muscles and break them so that they can grow and become stronger. If we do not constantly challenge ourselves but instead give in to our desire, we will be fat and stupid with poor health. Every time we are faced with a problem, instead of having the will-power to stand up to challenge, we run away. If we are in a good situation, we should never fail to challenge yourself and polish the skills that you have.

 

Keep learning and keep growing 🙂