The Power of Change Is in Our Hands

I read an article yesterday about a writer explaining why he is leaving Singapore for good. He cited many reasons why Singapore, while being world-class in many areas, is not an ideal place to live in, e.g. the stressful education system, long working hours, etc. There were many comments and most of them were supportive of his decision.

I urge caution when we read articles like these because if we are swayed by what we read, that is when our unhappiness grows. If we keep the focus on what makes us unhappy, naturally we will get more negative and be unhappy. This unhappiness slowly evolve into anger and then hate. Eventually, we can't stand this place so much that we think we must leave, it's as though staying is threatening our survival.

I am not in any ways implying that Singapore is a perfect place to live in (which country is anyway?). There are many areas that I think we can improve. I think we should all come together and try to make things better. Leaving is like choosing the easy route, an avoidance behavior fuelled by a loss of faith.

When I saw that kindness is seemingly lacking in our society, people scolding one another on cyberspace and not being gracious enough on public transport, I could have just joined the crowd in condemning fellow Singaporeans, putting labels on all of us. However, I decided that I could do more as an ordinary citizen and that's why I started the kindness project. I have faith in fellow Singaporean and the Singapore Spirit and I was proven right by the overflow of kindness given by friends in Singapore.

If someone were to point out your flaws, see it as an opportunity to improve and be a better person. No one is perfect and there is always room for improvement. Similarly, don't let these articles and criticism be the launchpad of your unhappiness. If there is a problem, face it, solve it and enjoy the satisfaction. If every able-bodied citizen has this mindset of leaving, what is going to happen to those who can't leave, like our young, old and the vulnerable? The power of change lies in each and every one of us, let's help to make things better, for everyone in our community.

TGIF and happy weekend ahead !