Skip to main content

Being number 1

In our competitive society, there is always ranking. It's not just the gold/silver/bronze medals ranks during sports day. It's about the academic ranking in schools. Who are the top 3 in class. Who are the top 10 in the entire school for this level etc.

Personally, I don't have any aversion to such rankings. It's something to work towards and focus your efforts on. I was lucky to do well in studies and thus had the joy of being in top 3, top 10 rankings in my school years for many occasions. Likewise for some running events, where I managed to go into top 10 in 2 years during my secondary years.

However, I never experienced being ranked number 1. Yes, number Uno. 

Now thinking back to these yesteryears of chasing rankings, I just realised I never got to 1 before. Now, is that important? Maybe, maybe not.  But I wonder how it would had felt, or more importantly, what impact it would had on my life if I had hit the top spot a few times. 

Would it be a lonely thing? Would I become arrogant? Would I lose the drive?

Or is it that important in the first place? 

At current age of 50s, I still want to be number 1, but in a very different way.

I want to be number 1 in how I live my own life. On my terms. Not something ranked against what others expect me to do. Well, what is good or bad definitely takes some form of reference to what others are doing, but being number 1 in your own life must always be on your own terms. Not some arbitrary metric score defined by some strangers.

So how do I get number 1 in life?

List out what is important to me as a person. As a husband, father, son, brother, friend, colleague. As an individual.

Be ready to adjust as I go along this journey, but be very steadfast in motion, and mission. Do not give up, do not settle, but be reasonable and be kind to myself as well. 

There isn't a set amount of money that I must have in my bank accounts, or the set size of my apartment. 

I must reach a stage where I am contented with what I have, while still being excited about life and still have to put effort to hit targets that have meaning for me, or at least, help me grow and be active while doing it. 

Life is meant to be savoured, tasted, experienced in all its glory. Never limit yourself based on what others expect you to do. But always be upright, honest, and have tons of integrity. That is number 1. And that is the most wonderful feeling I believe I can get in this life. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Expenses of a middle-classy Singapore uncle with family

I don't know what exactly is considered middle-class in SG, but I figured its the fat range in the middle section if we were to line people up based on income. There will be a steep drop off from the bottom 5% and a steep surge from the top 5, and another galactic surge from the top 1%. Uncle is pretty sure I am in that middle chunk of 90%, and based on my estimation, should be in the front 30 percentile in this chunk. Now, this is how my expenses look like for myself (excluding what my wife contributes). The numbers are on per month and in SGD Car expenses (loan, insurance, maintenance, tax, fuel) = $2,500 Insurance premiums = $800 Utilities bill = $350 Mobile lines for 5 = $90 Home internet line = $30 Services (Netflix, Spotify, iCloud) = $60 Condo maintenance fees = $350 Property tax = $250 Groceries and take out meals = $1200 Allowance for my parent = $1000 Allowance for kiddos = $200 School fees for kiddos = $150 Tuition fees = $270 Piano, and music classes = $900 Sub-Total fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Getting comfortable without a salary from working

 Not sure if I am there yet. Basically I am effectively drawing down my cash each month, primarily due to 2 things : mortgage and income tax mortgage (after CPF) is about $9k per month income tax is about $5k per month My investment cashflow covers all my other expenses, including utilities, groceries, handphone/internet bills, insurance, property taxes, condo maintenance fees, personal spending. With some input from wife who is still working, I am still out of pocket by almost $11k per month.  She will continue to be able to save a decent sum per month and I'll let her grow that and managed it for her via safe investments. Am I comfortable? Not really. I will if I am not out of pocket per month. If I really stop working for good, the income tax amount will go to $0 after 2025. So only mortgage left We can pay off the mortgage but I think I said before, it doesn't make sense since it's our home and we will be locking the money up with little leeway to do other things. So I ...
Post a Comment
Read more

2024 Xmas

2024 is coming to an end. It's been an eventful year for myself. While I had experienced multiple rounds of layoffs in my 20+ year of working for MNCs, 2024 is special, because I didn't dodge the bullet this time, basically I kena chopped lah! Then, I was offered another role in the company. which I took and thus I gave up my severance money. I figured its better to try something different and stay employed, and I estimated I will even out as long as I last until the next RSU vest date, which is less than 6 months away from the layoff date. So no harm trying it out and if it doesn't pan out, I can take the RSU and run road. Unfortunately, I really have to run road after 6-7 months, due to the difficulties I faced in the new role, compounded by distractions in my family life at the same time. And plus my energy levels weren't as high as before, likely due to me not taking good care of myself. So here I am, doing nothing for past few months since I left the company. Well,...
Post a Comment
Read more