LESS IS ALWAYS MORE...FULFILLING! : simplicity and humility

Mahatma Gandhi. Mother Theresa. Dalai Lama. All of them have one thing in common. Sorry, not one, but a few things. I'm not talking about their determination or their compassion towards others. Everybody knows that. What I wanna point out here is their simplicity and humility in living up their lives.

These are great leaders who dress simply, not needing fancy jewellery, expensive cars or big houses. How humble they are. It really inspires me a lot when seeing leaders who put others before themselves, who give their wealth to their people first and be content with the left-overs they have. Their perspective of life is so much different. They are no longer attached to the wants of this world which will fade off one day but instead they have security within themselves. They are not afraid of being called poor materialistically, because they know life is more than that.

There are some leaders in Malaysia that I admire too because of their humility. For instance, DS Idris Jala. He's the CEO of PEMANDU and has a great record when he managed to bring up MAS again after the company has faced couples of issues. Even though he has achieved a lot, a speaker from a summit that I attended, who was one of Idris' staffs talked about how humble DS Idris was. He didn't drive fancy car to work and he is someone who loves a simple life.

Nurul Izzah Anwar is one of my favourite people too. She wears veil and like what I said earlier, no fancy jewellery, or heavy makeup or big hair. What comes first is the people, not her own interest. How amazing!

I want to learn more about these humble people after learning one of the Psychology lessons which is about self-actualisation. A self-actualised individual is someone whose needs have been fulfilled or in this case, who needs nothing. (of course they need clothes, food and shelter.. duhh). What I mean here  is that they do not need fame, or wealth. They already know what matters the most. They are secured with themselves and don't need to please people all the time. Life will be less stressful too.

I wanna make it my goal to live a simple life. Not concern about brands or others' thoughts on me. It's tiring to meet people's expectations when actually you don't really care about it. As long as you know who you really are and stay true to yourself.

~isew_usat
(because I'm taking a break from my assignment, and has nothing better to do) :D

 

the forgotten dreams

When we were younger, we had tons of dreams which were sometimes, illogical. We dreamt of flying like Superman, singing on the world stage like Hannah Montana or being the richest person on earth. But we don't care right? It was as if nothing stood between us and our dreams. 

But as we grow older, we face disappointment and failure along the journey of our life. It seems like our expectations are too high and unreachable for us. It's very devastating when the results that we get do not match our expectations. So, to minimise the pain of failing, we lower down our standards or goals. We set goals which are within our reach so that we won't fall hard onto the ground. So in this case, nobody gets hurt right?

But, how can you expect less when you have a God that can provide endlessly? God is more than willing to shower us with His blessings. So dream big again! Do your life big! Life is too short to live ordinarily. There is always hope in God who can do great things in our life. I love a quote that says, "it's not about your ability. The only thing God needs from you is a willing heart". All you need is a willing heart to do things you're afraid off. A heart that is willing to soar high even though you are acrophobic. Sit back and relax, God will lead and strengthen your spirit along the way.

So continue working hard out of love for Him. Remove all the distractions that are pulling you away from your dreams. Move on from your past and start fresh again. And as you embark on this journey, pray so that your dreams in life would be fulfilling His will first above all else.

However, do not mistake that His blessings only come in the form of wealth or excellent grades. It is a great blessing that we are still alive today and able to be with our loved ones when there are other people out there who do not have this privilege. His blessings are everywhere.

And lastly, let's be real. I know it is hurtful when your dreams just remain dreams. But take heart, God knows what the best for you. Sometimes He doesn't give you your desires because He knows you are not ready yet or simply because He has something better in store for you. Let me give you an illustration (credits to Razel, my mentor), when you were a child, you wanted to drive a car badly. But did your father give you the keys and let you drove the car? No right? As a good father, he knew that you are not ready yet to drive and it would be dangerous for you too . But when you are ready, he will give it to you just in perfect timing.

To sum it up, keep on dreaming big. Do the best you can. Stay focused on your dreams and maximise the time and opportunity that He has given. Ask God to mould your heart into a heart that desires to fulfil His will. Because His will is so that we have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

~isew_usat

POST-SPM

Hi everyone! I know this may be very late for me to share with u guys about my journey after SPM. But, I hope that through my story, it may help you to decide on what u wanna do in the future.

So now, you've got your SPM result. It may be excellent, devastating or just cukup2 makan. Well, whatever you have earned, just be grateful and accept it with an open heart. There's nothing you can do about it anymore right? So now is the time for you to take a deep breath and MOVE ON!

Probably now you have applied for scholarships, UPU or still applying for it. If you have decided on what you wanna take up for your tertiary education, CONGRATULATIONS! But if you are like me, who changed my choices of courses almost everyday, then I think you better continue reading this post of mine till the end.

So here's my story. Since I was a kid, I have always dreamt of being a medical doctor or a dentist. I am not really sure why but maybe because I wasn't really exposed to other careers back then. Then I entered secondary school(SainsKu), where I was the most confused person ever. One day I wanna be a pharmacist, during my high-spirited day I wanna be a military doctor, then the next day an accountant, petroleum engineer and so on. And I know that some of my friends knew how indecisive I was. And things got worse when I applied for scholarships.

I remember I applied for Bank Negara(BNM), PETRONAS, MARA, Swinburne, YTN and UPU. For BNM, I applied for Pharmacy as my first choice and Accountancy as the second one. And guess what? I didn't receive a call from them. Sedih2.. Maybe I should apply for Kijang instead of Kijang Emas in the first place. But it's fine. At least I'm not gonna study Pharmacy for my undergraduate (Chemistry and I, the teacher was great, but I don't think so I have genuine interest in it). Then for MARA, I applied for Pharmacy too. I got the scholarship but I wanted to change it into Medicine. Unfortunately, I couldn't because there was no empty place anymore. And I would tell you why I chose PETRONAS instead of MARA in the end. Then for Swinburne and YTN I main2 jer. And for UPU,as cliché it may be, I applied for PASUM and UNIMAS Sains Hayat.

Alright, let me tell you first that it has always been my dream to pursue my studies overseas specifically in the States and UK. Why States? Because I wanna meet David Archuleta!! Hehe, I was an avid fan of Archie. But what came in my way was Pharmacy in the UK(MARA) and Accountancy in NZ (petronas). So it was time to decide. If you are indecisive like me, I advise you to list down the adv and disadv of your choices.

Pharmacy:
Adv: In the UK ( I think this is the only adv) hehe
Disadv: Not interested in Chemistry
No secured job after graduating

Accountancy:
Adv: business and economics related, more to corporate world, help me in setting up my business and establishing a private boarding school in the future, 5 years bond with Petronas
Disadv: never studied acc before(risky), NZ(the last place in my mind)

After getting advices from my family and through prayer, I finally decided to go for PETRONAS. This step was the biggest leap of faith I've ever taken in my life. I just prayed to God, if this is according to your will, then let it be happen without obstacles. And until now, there's nothing that comes in my way which is directing me away from this path. Maybe there is, like I did badly for my class test one time, but nahh.. I believe that may be a reminder from God to be humble and keep trusting in Him. But so far so great. Now I realised, maybe God wants to place me in NZ because He believes NZ would be a condusive place for Him to prepare me for my purpose. And why accountancy? I don't know yet. But what I know, I do have the interest in business and making money. And having hope in God just makes me more optimistic in life.
I can't agree more with the saying "everything happens for a reason".

So how is my story? I hope it's not that boring and I wish you can get something from it. So my final words for you:
1)if u are confused about your future, list down the adv & disadv(do research about the courses)
2)see which one has more adv, seek advice from teachers and family
3)and most importantly, pray for it. Ask God what is HIS WILL, because He has a special purpose for you in life.
4)and don't forget, study what you like ya..

Love,
Isew