MONDAY STARTERS....

A new year; a new job, a new home, a new phone, a new relationship... ...

Monday Starters - By Soo Ewe Jin

 

 

 

THE start of a new year can mean many things to different people. A new job, a new home, a new phone, a new relationship ....

While it is good that we look forward to new things, the reality is that most of us will be stuck with that “same old, same old” feeling despite the dawn of a new year.

But is it really that same old familiar feeling all the time?

I do not think so. When we find ourselves caught in such a situation, our challenge should be to look at things from a new, and fresh, perspective.

A dear friend, who is about to join the ranks of the retired, was reflecting on his career and I was most touched by what he had to share.Having served in very senior positions in a major company of Corporate Malaysia, one might expect him to crow about his “successes” and the “bottom lines” and lament about the tumult caused by changes in the boardroom. During his time, the company in fact went through many changes, including some very major upheavals. But he is a man of great faith and he learnt to rejoice in the circumstances, no matter how tough they may be. For he knew that through such times of testing are our character built.

So strong is his enthusiasm that he impacts not only those in his own company but also those in other firms who interact with him. He is thankful for the growth in his personal life, because through more than two decades in this company, he learnt much from a wide variety of leaders. In his own words, he learnt about “honesty at work, integrity in management, magnanimity in leadership, servitude in service, fearlessness in decision-making, truth in words and deeds, and humility in life”.

It is clear that my friend has fully understood that we must live a life of significance, and not just a life of success, and I hope he will find time in his retirement years to put this together in a book so we can all share from his wisdom.

His lessons would add to the wisdom of a book I recently reviewed, Alvin Ung’s Barefoot Leadership, which is full of examples that challenge the norm of typical corporate behaviour – like how to let go of control and why every person in your organisation is more than just an economic unit.

But just as my friend saw his career from a positive and heart-warming perspective, there will also be those who will see it from the other perspective.

Their retirement reflections may be about how to be ruthless in pursuing your goals and how to be the dominant rat in the rat race.

And so in this new year, will you continue to look at things in the “same old, same old” mould or will you pause and tell yourself, “I never saw it in this light before”.

I can assure you if you choose the latter, every day will be a fresh new beginning for you.

  Deputy executive editor Soo Ewe Jin never tires of looking upwards when he gets up each morning. The sunrise, like all the blessings in his life, is new every morning. 

Reading articles from this author (Soo Ewe Jin), I feel that there are something that I want to share with my readers about everyday life. His articles appear in The Star n/paper (OPINION) every Mondays and  the one above was posted on 28/11/11. Having read them, I feel that are something that we can gain from them eg. lessons, reminders, inspiration and the morals of the story.  Do look forward to reading  them every Mondays in The Star or post in my blog.  TQ.