What do you picture in your mind when I say the word: Vacation? Well, let me take a guess. Oftentimes, due to our busy work schedules, we find it hard to take many days of leave. We are indispensable, you see – the company we work for would simply crumble to dust without us. So we take careful note of public holidays which make for … Continue reading Be a Traveler, not a Tourist
Some people think that being independent means you have to do everything yourself. This simply isn’t true. No man is an island. Trying to do everything yourself is inefficient and ineffective. What being independent really means is this: If you were left to your own devices, what activities would you engage in of your own volition? In other words, what will you keep doing because … Continue reading The Importance of Being Independent
Let me get this out there before I continue with this piece: Breakups are not a bad thing. If a relationship can deteriorate to the extent that a breakup occurs, it just means it wasn’t meant to be in the first place. And if it wasn’t meant to be, that means it was a bad relationship. And if it was a bad relationship, then it … Continue reading Life after Breaking Up
Have you ever gotten into an argument with someone who had a different point of view? When the topic is something which you hold close to your heart, someone saying he doesn’t agree with you is akin to him stabbing you with a knife. A stab wound hurts a lot. When someone disagrees with your point of view, it is an attack on your intelligence, … Continue reading Agreeing to Disagree
What do people want most in life? Some may say they want riches, some may say they want love, and still others want power. While power and love might seem very different, they all essentially represent the same thing: Success. People want to be successful. But if you think about it even deeper, people only want to be successful because they believe that being successful … Continue reading Will Success Make You Happy?
Buy low and sell high. At first glance, this mantra makes a lot of sense. Get something for a cheap price, then sell it to someone else at a more expensive price and pocket the difference. Everyone knows this, but most people in the market end up losing money anyway, leaving only a select few who are able to make consistent gains. Let us call … Continue reading Behavioral Finance: Timing the Markets
When was the last time you gave someone something? It could be anything from a dinner treat to a souvenir you brought back from an overseas trip. It could even be a packed lunch for a busy colleague. Many of us like to think that we give what we give freely, without any need for reciprocation. And to a certain extent, that’s true. When we … Continue reading The Art of Giving Freely
Over the past week, Pokemon Go has taken our tiny island nation of Singapore by storm. Images of crowded playgrounds and other hotspots called “Pokestops” have flooded social media, and almost everyone you bump into on the street these days is playing the game on their phone. But amidst all this enthusiasm, there have been some voices who have expressed less than positive sentiments towards … Continue reading Pokemon Go: Boon or Bane?
Are you one of those who sigh when you receive a text from your boss over the weekend to prepare for a meeting first thing on Monday morning? Or groan at a new work assignment when you log in to check your email on an overseas holiday? The feeling sucks, doesn’t it? We may hate our boss for wrecking our time off, but eventually we’ll … Continue reading Owning Your Time
The fiasco surrounding the National University of Singapore (NUS) orientation camps has cast a harsh spotlight on how local universities welcome fresh undergraduates into their new school lives. There are some who feel the decision by NUS to shut down orientation week was too heavy-handed, letting the hard work put in by the various student bodies organizing the activities go to waste due to the … Continue reading Analyzing the NUS Fiasco
The Thought Experiment 