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Of Dreams & Aspirations
Posted on September 25th, 2009 6 commentsA friend recently posted on Facebook and Twitter, “There are exactly 98 days remaining for 2009. What have you accomplished this year?”
His question putforth was very interesting indeed, for he recently migrated to Singapore in hopes of greener pastures. I would think his accomplishment for 2009 is just living to the fullest.
On my side, it has been quite a ride this year. I first thought of attending Bikram Yoga teacher training late last year. After one class, I took one good look around, and could not help but feel envious of the teacher. Here he was, standing on top of the podium, helping people realise their full potential, gently encouraging us to “Kick up higher, kick up harder” and telling us that “All the suffering in here, it’s all mental and only temporary”.
BAM. It was then I realised [after going through other work-related and personal stuff] that YES, I want to be a Bikram Yoga Teacher. I want to teach, inspire, and hopefully some day be able to help individuals with chronic health problems.
Not to mention I was having a crap time at work. The pay was crap, the hours were crap, the clients were crap, everything was crap [except my wonderful colleagues!]. And if I did overtime, that meant no yoga, which meant that I am not a happy camper.
After a few rather… fortuitous / coincidental occurences at work, I abruptly quit my job April 2009. I didn’t exactly burn bridges, but let’s just say it wasn’t very… nice, the things I called my boss when I handed in my letter [I've got a relatively short fuse and a foul mouth to boot]. A-ha, I thought. I can freelance and work on my practice, I thought.
But freelancing did not exactly earn me a lot of money, and during the economic downturn, freelancing jobs were hard to come by, especially for a copywriter that specialises in digital [I don't feel too comfortable writing press ads / tv / radio ads anymore]. I sold stuff on the side, but that did not earn me enough. I had cats to feed and bills to pay and of course, Teacher Training tuition to pay! How the heck was I going to cough up enough money to live and go for TT the same time?
Luckily for me, my parents supported me financially [a little] during my 6 months of bumming. The last month before training, two big and monstrously huge copywriting jobs were offered. Oh boy oh boy! I had a little more money to spare!
Right, I guess all I wanted to say after that long and tiresome rant [failed copywriter I am indeed!] is that no matter what your dreams – how big, small, ridiculous, out-of-the-world ludicrous it may seem – just go out and do it. Manifest positive thoughts, don’t sit on your ass thinking “Oh, I would like to someday…”. Instead of being passive, be proactive! Do whatever it takes to get to where YOU want to be!
I say this because a good friend of mine feels that he has yet to accomplish anything. To him, I say – you are young – do what you want to do. Never ever ever feel like you have done NOTHING, when in retrospect, you have done SO MUCH in your life. You’re one of the most inspiring, heartwarming, intelligent and funny person I know and I am so proud to call you my friend. You may feel like you have lots to do / accomplish, people to meet, hobbies to do… but take one step at a time, soak in all the experiences
and I GUARANTEE you, when you look back – whether it be 5,10, 20 years from now – you will NEVER look back in regret. 
Another friend also wished to just drop EVERYTHING and go learn Dutch, climb mountains, live in Europe. To him I say, DO IT. Who cares what people think? Who cares whether family or friends whisper to each other “Is he CRAZY?!”. It’s your life, your experiences, do it before you hit 50. I truly believe that in life, you have nothing to lose – except for the regret you feel 10 years down the road when you think to yourself “What if…?”. Contentment breeds complacency which in turn, breeds regret. Never settle for less or what you have – always strive to aim higher and harder!
Yes, it has been a rough ride for me to get where I am today. People wondering if I’ve been dropped on my head too many times during class [no, we don't do advanced postures in the beginning class!] as I suddenly want to leave a cushy job and be sweaty *sniff sniff, do I stink class?* the whole day.
And with that, I’d like to advise everyone to “Do what you like, like what you do. Work for a living, play for life”.
M*
6 responses to “Of Dreams & Aspirations”
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Mei~
Inspiring! Most people stay put in their current situation not because they are happy, but because they are too afraid to make a change and face the unknown. You are so brave! My goal is to go to TT when my daughter graduates high school. I’ll probably have to jump off that cliff….quit my job and take the leap. It will be scary. But your story shows that we can and will survive and be better off for it, because we are living the life we want to!
“Love the life you live, live the life you love!”
Can’t wait to meet you in person. You are A-mei-zing! (sorry, just had to go there with the name thing! LOL) -
That’s so true
I’d like to think it wasn’t a brave decision, but a mix of rashness and determination [maybe thrown in with a little stupidity for wanting to quit my job so early!]
Not too long more. Treasure what time you have with your daughter, cause you’ll be away from loved ones for 9 weeks! And lord knows where the training’s gonna be held…
LOL I don’t mind the punning at all! I used to hate my name because it’s relatively common in Chinese culture [May, Mei, or variations of it] so having it punn’d is fun!
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Nice, darling! But all I can think when I read your opening line is: you still have 98 days left! And they are gonna be a JAM-PACKED 98 days!!!
Last year for me was ALL about change. This year has been more about finding my groove and being cool with where I am. Both are good.
And yes, do what you want!! I think it is well documented that when people look back at the end of their lives, they regret the things that they DIDN’T do a WHOLE lot more than any of the things they DID.
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Jam-packed, life-changing, insert cliches here! But it’s all so true!!
I sometimes think lessons don’t go by years… but by days – get what I mean? [sorry it's 830am here and my comprehension of everything is whacked]
I tweeted that comment on twitter [the whole do what you like cause you won't regret schpiel] – and some dickhead said “but what if you regret fucking up majorly 20 years down the road?”
Wanted to smack him for such negative behaviour. grr! -
Wow Mei, hahaha you sure are inspired – looks like these remaining 98 days (97 now) will be one of those defining moments in your life.
Like the song Little Wonders (Rob Thomas) about how its the small little things that happens to us / that we do that make us who we are. And that everything works out in the end.
As you said, we should all really stop hesitating / waiting for the right moment to do the things we want to do. But in the end, it has to be tempered with how it might affect your future as well.
Regardless, we will all regret. Would you rather regret not doing something you’ve always wanted to do, or would you rather regret wishing you weren’t so impulsive?
I guess the most important thing is to DARE find your own happiness – wherever it may be (especially if you aren’t happy now).
-end stray thoughts-
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Inspired OR inspiring? LOL [I was hoping for the latter...]
I got this quote from @ditavonteese on twitter the moment I was about to reply your comment, so it MUST be divine providence! The quote goes ” RT @paulocoelho: 26/09 Nobody loses by daring. But may lose while waiting for the “right moment” ”
I have never regretted an impulsive moment [did you regret going to Keane?] – spontaneity in life is good!
I’m happy, but not as happy as I ought to be! [tell you more later]
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Michelle September 25th, 2009 at 06:28