2-3-4 Friday

‘Seeking to spark the most potential within you per word of any online newsletter’

1 thought

When I studied in the U.K., many people asked me why I didn’t hang out with more Singaporeans in Nottingham. My reply?

I didn’t think I would fly 10,000 miles to interact with more of the same.

Looking back, that was sheer arrogance.

I thought I was better than the Singaporeans that mixed with other Singaporeans.

Chan Chun Sing, the Minister of Education for Singapore, recently shared an advice he often gives young students, when he makes his weekly school visits.

I am paraphrasing here.

I often tell students, when they go on their overseas trips,

to bring back an insight no one knows.

To not go to where most people go to. But to go to a new city, where few have gone.

To bring back something no one knows.

To go to a place few have gone.

Here’s a question for you.

When was the last time you traveled to a place few know?

When was the last time you found yourself startled by what you saw on your travels, and it transforming how you acted in the world?

At first, I thought I was doing what the Minister recommended.

To break out of my comfort zone and learn something new. But then I realised that whilst the environment had changed, I hadn’t changed. I was still stuck in my old ways of thinking.

I was still the same, cocky, arrogant, person.

Think back to the last trip you took.

Were you changing the country, but not changing the circumstances? Often we look to travel as a way to relax, take a break, but internally, we might not be ready for it.

That’s why we often come back even more tired.

Or you might have even taken a month long hiatus, but you don’t find much changing.

Why? Why don’t we change, despite the best of our intentions?

For us to truly experience transformative experiences, think of yourself as a cup.

It’s full now with water.

Adding another experience is like adding more water. Up to a certain point, we will be overfilled, and no longer able to absorb.

That’s why we don’t find ourselves refreshed, learning new insights, despite us having new experiences, however different they are.

Because we’re not empty enough yet.

Put it another way, we don’t have the capacity for change, when we are filled with trash.

1 talk

How do you regularly empty yourself, so that you can be renewed?

1 tip

The answer is not in a holiday.

You’ve probably read of different practices that will help - mindfulness, meditation, prayer.

One important practice comes from the Jews, who regularly practice Sabbath. If you’re not familiar with that concept, it’s a day of rest.

They plan the day of rest. They do absolutely no work.

Rest isn’t just regular, rest is a practice.

The modern concept of rest is inverted. Today, we rest from our work times.

But some, like Dr John Andrews, has argued that we need to work out of a deep restedness.

So we don’t rest from work, but we work out of rest.

You’ve seen this in people who enjoy their work - they never seem to be working, and they always appear ready to give.

There appears to be a deep rest within their souls, a peace in the underbelly, and amazing fruits of labour, wherever you look.

For those who are striving from a place where work is central, you hear them talking about always hustling, how tiring work is, and how work is unfulfilling, and seemingly meaningless.

How should we adjust? It first means knowing how full (or empty) your cup is, and what the signs for those are.

For example, I know that my cup is close to empty when I:

1. Get snappy at people
2. Become frustrated at seemingly small things

What are the signs that you’re running on empty?

And how might we work from rest, rather than resting from work?

John

Live Young, Live Well - Work Your Love

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