Month: September 2024

Taking Responsibility for the Voices in Your Head

Do you hear voices in your head?

Oh no! I don’t mean those kind of voices!

I mean, the voices in your head that always convince you that you’re not good enough? Or that you deserve another slice of cake? Or to purchase the limited or exclusive offer? Or convince you to just have a few more minutes of social media scrolling, you know, just five more minutes?!!

There are thousands of thoughts in our heads every waking hour of our days. We hear them endlessly. Some are helpful in making decisions big and small, sometimes they are insights that lit up in our head, sometimes they are just random thoughts, but most of the time, they are just circular thoughts that goes round and round, causing us to worry and fill us with anxiety.

Most of our lives, we are not conscious of the countless thoughts that traffic our mind. Yes, they do cause traffic congestion oftentimes. What I want to propose today is: capture your thoughts, be aware of the positive and negative voices that are influencing your thoughts and subsequently your mood and behaviour, and proactively choose the voices that will be “dominant” in your mind.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ – 2 Corinthians 10:5

In our current world, we are constantly bombarded by news and social media. We are easily influenced by the secular values of materialism and consumerism. The traditional values of integrity, honesty, kind consideration, reverence and decorum are not in the trending list. It is an uphill struggle listening to the voice of God in the deluge of worldly messages and images, reels, stories and posts.

When someone whispers something, we need to lean in to hear what he is saying. Similarly, in the midst of all the noise in the world, we need to be still and to lean in to God to hear the soft whisper of the Holy Spirit.

Today, I invite you to be still and lean in to God. Then make it a daily practice. Let the voice of the Holy One be the dominant voice in your life and see how your life transform.

Focus On Things that Only You Can Do

Out of the hundreds of things you do daily, what are the things that only you can do? Out of the many roles you play in your life, what are the roles that are unique to you? What are the things that only you can do?

In our lives, we do so many things for so many people, all the time. What we don’t realize is that there are very few roles that are uniquely ours. One of which is our parenting role, if we are a parent. That’s why it is so important that we spend time with our kids and nurture a close relationship with them. I know that my daughters have been my biggest motivation to change to be a better person, and overcoming my character flaws. I wanted to be a good role model for them. They are truly my greatest blessings in my life!

They are many other roles and tasks we have in our lives. What I want to drive home today is that there are certainly a few things that only we can do in our unique roles. That is where we should focus our time and energy, and let go of things that can be done by others. This is true at work where we sometimes want to do everything ourselves, although some of the work can be done by someone else or gotten rid of. That’s why AI is gaining momentum, as it can take over some of our mundane tasks, allowing us to focus on what we, only as humans, can do. AI is derived from intelligence, human outdo AI with our wisdom and rich emotional and spiritual life.

Our past and varied life experiences, our skills and talents, our style and personality, our character – this unique combination – defines who we are and gives us unique roles and tasks that only we can do. Seek out what they are and focus on them wholeheartedly. Also, focus on relationships that you have a special role in and treasure them.

Find your voice, your story, your song, your book, your compelling truth, your beauty, your heart, your soul – and share it with your family, friends, communities, and even to the world!

Write the Story of Your Life

Do you like telling stories that inspire others?

Do you like listening stories that moves you?

Do you have stories to share that can impact others?

These were some of the questions that came to my mind as I attended a 3-day bootcamp in Singapore called “Get Paid To Speak”, by Eric Feng. I was very touched and enraptured by the stories that so many shared on stage during the three days. It reminds me that our life consists of a series of stories – the mundane and the extraordinary, the joy and sorrow, the high and low – all lived out daily.

The most touching stories were those borne out of tragic, sorrow or suffering. But it was also the most awe inspiring ones. They were shared courageously and authentically, the ones that can be described as “from ashes to beauty”. It is through courage and resilience that we bounced back from enormous setbacks or weather through the storms of our grief and sorrow. That’s why it is so important to never give up when we are in the midst of great pain, sorrow, or turmoil.

We all have many stories to share – some have great stories to share.

Stories that can change the world around them.

Stories that can inspire change in people.

Stories that can make us reach deep within ourselves.

Most of us think that stories are what we tell others. Let me tell you: we can create stories for our life. Imagine our life as a book, we are the author and we can write our stories. We can proactively write our dreams and hopes for our life. Our life is not just what happen to us – we can take control of our life and live it intentionally, pursuing our dreams and achieving our successes, according to our own terms. Our stories are ours to create. Don’t let others dictate our stories. Even if our stories were to be strewn with rocks and hailstorms, we can still dream of a beautiful rainbow glowing across the vast sky.

You are the Author of your Life. Write your story and make it Amazing!

Dig Deeper by Asking WHY 5x

I completed Andy Stanley and Lane Jones’ book, Communicating For A Change, within 3 days. I have been listening to Andy Stanley’s podcasts for many years. I love the way he is able to clearly convey the message simply and to the point. And he loves to make the words rhyme or have fancy acronyms.

This got me reflecting on the reasons I am writing my blog. These past years, I have chosen random topics from books I read, videos I watched, or insights I have gained. Things that interests me, things that could help and inspire others, things that I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to share.

Today, I want to dig deeper into the WHYs I write my blog weekly:

  1. WHY? I want to help people get out of the cycle of daily grind and mundane living, to living an Intentional Life of Greatness and Abundance
  2. WHY? Because I truly believe that I have been created for MORE. It’s just that I have been comfortable for too long, and I dread getting out of my comfort zone
  3. WHY? Because when I do things out of my comfort zone, I garner the courage to explore new things and have an opportunity to elevate to a higher level, even if it might be strewn with failures along the way
  4. WHY? Because failures can teach me new life lessons, strengthen my character and build my resilience
  5. WHY? Because I am truly grateful for the many blessings in my life, and I am honoured for having this platform to share my insights which I hope can help and inspire others

This is my journey from daily grind to Blessed Abundance, more importantly, From Ordinary To Extraordinary. And my invitation to you to join me on this amazing journey to become Extraordinary!

Each of us can achieve extraordinary in our own terms, when we overcome our own struggles and challenges, and elevate to become the best version of ourselves. If you believe that you are created for more, then have this pursuit of an extraordinary life. Don’t settle for ordinary. Go for extraordinary! Imagine what our families, communities and corporations could be, if all of us elevate from ordinary to be extraordinary!!! And what a legacy we will leave for our future generations.

Let’s march on: From Ordinary To Extraordinary!

Pursue Your Dream To Overcome Weariness

Recently, I read a YouVersion devotional by Rick Warren called “Daring Faith”. He said that our number one problem is not worry or fear or guilt, but weariness. Weariness is so normal that I didn’t really see it as a big problem.

Upon deeper reflection, I realise that it IS a big problem. It is not okay to be constantly tired. As I reflected, I realise that there are different types of weariness and suggestions to overcome it:

Type Description Overcoming Weariness
Body Physical over-exertion; Lack of sleep or proper nutrition; Have more quality sleep, eat well, exercise or play sports, add movement, or dance
Mind Overuse of mental power without proper break; Non-stop scrolling of news or social media; Incessant worrying; Procrastination Take regular breaks at work, reduce news and social media consumption, read jokes or watch comedy, overcome procrastination, take (small) actions, have growth mindset
Soul Lack of community support; Lack of real connection with family and friends Build supportive community; Reach out to people and help others in need; Go out to nature; Read good book; Practice self-care
Spirit Feeling distance from God; feeling alone and isolated and abandoned Pray; Forgive; Daily devotions, Read the Bible; Listen to Christian music; Practice meditation; Journaling
Types of Weariness

Our body, mind, soul and spirit are interconnected – the weariness spills over from one to the other, e.g. from the mind to the body. As I thought about it, something occurred to me: one of the best way to overcome weariness is to PURSUE YOUR DREAM!

Dream and how it will overcome your weariness
Spirit Seek God’s will to reveal the dream He has put inside your heart
Soul Connect within yourself to seek the passion and the dream that has kept you restless – seek until you become excited and scared at the same time
Mind Generate ideas, think of solutions, plan and organise to achieve your dream, monitor and review your plan, overcome negative self-talk and believe in yourself
Body Do the physical things required, let your body be energised
Pursue Your DREAM

This revelation is so thrilling to me! Most of the time, we are weary due to lack of purpose or passion. Pursuing a dream gives us the impetus to overcome this weariness – energising and making us excited for God’s plan for us, and giving us renewed Hope!