By Daniel
Wong | SingaporeScene – 23 hours
ago
No, voting for the correct political party in 2016
is not one of the ways to help Singapore
progress that I’m going to talk about in this article.
(I say this because I’ve heard plenty of people suggest that this
is the number one way we can do our part.)
Instead, I’m going to discuss what other things we can do at an
individual level to build a brighter future for Singapore.
This article isn’t about what the government should do to lower
housing prices, improve public transportation or create more
jobs.
There’s definitely a place for that kind of debate, but I don’t
want to talk about the government in this article.
I want to talk about you and me.
How can we make Singapore a more wonderful place to live? How
should we adjust our attitude and mindset? What principles should
we operate by? How can we behave differently?
I’ve come up with four ways:
1. Focus on pulling ourselves up
instead of dragging other people down
When we see people who are richer, more capable, or more
knowledgeable than us, how do we respond?
It’s natural to look for reasons why they just don’t deserve to be
better off than us. It’s easy to start complaining about how unfair
our society is, or even how unfair life is.
When we do this, however, we’re refusing to take complete
responsibility for our lives. We’re attempting to drag others down,
instead of pulling ourselves up.
We can pull ourselves up by focusing on upgrading our skills and
changing our attitude. We can read more books, go for more courses,
start new projects, and build new businesses.
There’s always something we can do—no matter how small or seemingly
insignificant—to bring us from where we are to where we want to
go.
2. If we ever complain or criticize, then we also ought to
propose a solution
It’s reasonable to stir up a debate about foreign talent or the
“men in white”, but every time we complain or criticize—without
also offering feasible ideas about how to solve the problem—we’re
not helping the situation.
There’s a saying, “Opposing everything without proposing anything
is irresponsible.” I believe this to be true.
Let’s offer constructive comments, rather than simply vent our
anger or frustration.
As Singaporeans, we’re in the same boat. All of us have different
thoughts about how to build a better Singapore, so let’s put
forward our ideas firmly but calmly.
3. Be contributors instead of consumers
We often think about how we can earn more money so that we’ll be
able to buy a bigger house, drive a nicer car, or go on more
luxurious vacations.
When we take this approach, we’re acting as consumers. Our work
becomes a means to an end, and our salary becomes just a tool we
use to consume more products and services.
Without a doubt, this is one of the practical uses of money.
But our work can be about so much more than just the financial
compensation we receive.
Our work ought to be focused on contribution, on adding value to
the lives of other people. After all, wealth is mostly a by-product
of the value we create.
I think you’ll agree with me that rich people like Bill Gates and
Mark Zuckerberg have produced enormous amounts of value for the
world.
As we concentrate on creating new projects, products, services and
ideas, we become contributors instead of mere consumers.
Singapore definitely needs more people who have the contributor
mindset, rather than the consumer one.
4. Live out our values, instead of just trying to achieve
our goals
Whether or not we write down our goals, most of us are
goal-oriented people.
We want to attain a certain amount of wealth, achieve a certain
level of education, or live in a certain type of house.
Despite our fascination with people who have accomplished
incredible goals, we need to realize that we’re not defined by the
goals we accomplish.
We’re defined by the principles we live by and the principles we’d
die for.
Holding to a set of values isn’t enough. Those values need to get a
hold of us and guide us in every decision we make.
In comparison to living out our values, achieving even our biggest
goals is easy.
As a nation, we’ll make real, lasting progress when we, as
individuals, choose to be driven by principles instead of
pragmatism.
I’m not saying that pragmatism isn’t important, but I am saying
that it shouldn’t be our primary consideration when we’re faced
with a difficult choice.
If we allow pragmatism to continually take priority over
principles, our country will become nothing more than a soulless
corporation.
In closing…
The government has a huge part to play in Singapore’s growth and
development, but we have a part to play, too.
As individuals, we can make a difference not just through
our ballots, but also through
ourbehaviour.
So let’s not neglect our responsibility as Singaporeans. After all,
there’s plenty of work to be done.
If not you and me, then who? If not now, then when?
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Author is living in ivory tower????
Daniel Wong , I suggest you go
be a pastor instead lah. Talk talk talk, preach
preach preach .
Ya, we should shut up about what the
govt is doing.
Daniel needs to hit the rock bottom
to learn his lessons. So idealistic resident from
ivory tower.
Talk who don't know.
In life, not everything is ABC and 1
+ 1 is not always equals 2.
jerk
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