Two Things That People Seek, Part 2

If you read my previous post about the two things that people seek, and read the comments, you should roughly know what I'm going to say here. I didn't really come up with the two things, but rather heard it from somewhere else. And I actually modified it in my previous post, waiting for the comments to come in. Unfortunately, only Siao Ying replied. But it was precisely the kind of reply I was hoping for.

What people lost and what people cannot get, are not really two things that everyone seek, but rather what a lot of unhappy people seek. Or rather, it is the seeking of these two things that makes a lot of people unhappy.

When you keep regretting the past, thinking of how life would be if you had done something another way, or if things turned out another way, you can't really appreciate the fortune you have now. When you keep seeking what you have lost, feeling that what you have lost is so precious, you can't really appreciate what you have now.

When you seek something that you cannot get, you just keep trying, keep failing, and get sad over it. I'm not saying that you can't have big ambitions and go after your dreams. It's more of blindly seeking something that is beyond your reach. Things like immortality, great wealth through striking lottery, or things that you cannot work towards even. Instead of seeking such things, perhaps aiming for something you can work towards, and actually working for it will make you a happier person.

Recently I also saw a few examples of another type of unhappiness-causing behaviour: Not knowing when to let go of a situation that will lead you to unhappiness. Some people think they know what they want, and they seek after it. Somehow, they got stuck in a situation where they feel unhappy, yet they insist on going after the dream, thinking that if they give it up, they'll be even more unhappy. Sometimes it's a job. Sometimes it's a relationship. Some of them even know that they'll end up nowhere, end up in a dead end, but they still hang on. Well... For jobs, I guess there's the risk of not being able to get a job if you quit, and when you're the sole breadwinner, it's quite a big problem.

I myself was guilty of the above. For the first two years of applying for scholarship, I insisted on going for a technology firm. DSTA, Singapore Technologies, IDA were the three firms I applied to. I got into the last round of interview for each of them, but didn't get any offers. I didn't understand why God did that to me. What I didn't know was that God had greater plans for me. In the third and final year that I could apply for scholarship before I enter Uni, I was rather desperate. I went to apply for a number of other firms which I didn't even consider, including some government bodies like LTA and PSA. But what happened was that the public sector firms and I didn't see eye-to-eye on a lot of issues, which was exactly what I felt I would encounter even before I left JC. What really surprised me was that I applied for two companies in the finance, SGX and DBS, and both offered me scholarships. I took up the DBS scholarship.

Looking back, if I had gotten a scholarship in a technological firm, I wouldn't be able to do something that is so interesting, working in a bank. As time goes by, I realise that I'm much more of a people-person. That's why I started applying to those finance companies etc. And maybe I'm more suited for jobs in such areas. What I thought was best for me at that time wasn't actually the best for me. God knew. He knew better what was best for me. I'm thankful to Him for giving me the wisdom and courage to give up on what I thought was best for myself, and going for something that is better.

This is actually steering off my original topic. Haha. But really. Sometimes letting go is the best choice to make. It might be a tough choice. Ask God for the wisdom to see what path to go, and the courage to let go when you should.