We live, we love, we strive

I’ve always been a laid back or relaxed individual, not much into the fancy parties nor hangout half as much as others. At work, I stuck my nose into what are my responsibilities and help others as much as possible. Things were doing ok until a point in time, where I transited from my earlier jobs in sales account management.

While the move was primarily due to growing in other experiences, I can’t help but think if I was also running away from then’s incoming Regional VP. In any case, the move got me a seemingly higher salary but… I was MISERABLE.

The office politics played right in my face and I was already counting my numbered days. Supposed friends such as Vanessa (made up name), can be gossiping to me about my boss during lunch, and the next morning, I saw her having closed conversations with him. Albert (another made up name) can laughing with me over coffee at the pantry, inviting me to games, and I heard him voting me out. All incoming leads were given to another colleague of mine. He’s selling more and I had almost nothing. I lost motivation every other day – just heading to office on time and then head home.

What was I thinking when I joined??

And you guessed right. Within 6 months I was out, asked to leave.

I was lucky though. Prepared for the worse, I was already looking out and I got confirmation to join another company within 2 weeks.

But not everyone could be as lucky. Neither can I every time.

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity

Seneca – Letters from a Stoic

I came across stoicism during this midst of unsettledness. While I first picked up the learnings of Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations: The Philosophy Classic“, it was the summarised easy read from Ryan Holiday’s “The Obstacle Is the Way” that got me understanding more and being more interested in practising Stoicism.

If I can best summarise about stoicism, it is the practical learnings and advantages that one can adopt to greatly enhance our lives. By adopting Stoic principles, we can develop emotional resilience, find inner peace, better clarity, reduce anxiety, cultivate gratitude, increase our resilience, and improve our relationships with others and ourselves. These benefits empower us to navigate today’s life’s challenges with composure, embrace personal growth, and foster a sense of fulfillment and integrity.

I asked myself what was important to me, what should my principles be. Interestingly, a fellow peer also asked me this question in the beginning of 2023.

And that is really to find peace and sleep peacefully at night.

*Side note*

I have always been wanting to create video content and done my first YouTube video on this topic. You can find it here. Hope it helped!