Friday, November 11, 2005
Success
I know I shouldn't really be blogging so much in the midst of Intimidation Game, but I've got to find a way to destress. It's 1.30 am in the morning, and really I ought to be sleeping. However, I once again find myself facing the quandary of being both too tired to study properly and too hyped-up to sleep properly. I guess the caffeine dose I had just now wasn't effective at all. Instead of hyping my mind up to a level tolerable enough to allow for useful studying, it has hyped my mind just enough to keep me awake but not enough to allow me to study.
I don't know about you guys, but the way I see it, if I end up staring at my notes without hardly a shred of information entering my mind, then that's not useful studying at all. Effective studying should not just be about the quantity of studying, but about the quality of studying as well. To be frank, I have nothing but disdain for people who look down upon other people just because they study fewer hours than they do. Hey come on.... who knows, they may very well have accomplished much more in that short period of time.
Heck, I know of people who proudly proclaim that they sleep '4 or 5 hours only' as though it were a badge of productivity and chide me for sleeping early. I've even been called a lazy pig for having a good night's sleep. When I ask them what they do at night besides studying, they'll usually say things like:
'Oh... I spent two hours chatting on MSN Messenger.'
'I was on the phone for nearly three hours last night.'
'There was a great football match last night! You didn't watch it?!?!?'
Uh-huh. In other words, they slack by talking on the phone or sticking their eyes to the television. Well, I choose to slack by sleeping in my comfortable bed. Basic reasoning tells me that a couple extra hours of sleep is far more beneficial to my tired mind than unproductive chatting on MSN for hours. They shall have their way of slacking, and I shall have mine. Just don't diss me for doing things differently. Having the 'it's my way, or the highway' mentality smacks of bigotry.
I won't lie... it's more than a little unnerving when I see other people studying into the wee hours of the morning when I usually turn in at 12 midnight or just slightly later. However, I also know that if I can't really do anything productive, then it's not really worth the effort to stay up. I might as well have a good rest and do highly-productive work when I feel much more refreshed.
I don't know about you guys, but the way I see it, if I end up staring at my notes without hardly a shred of information entering my mind, then that's not useful studying at all. Effective studying should not just be about the quantity of studying, but about the quality of studying as well. To be frank, I have nothing but disdain for people who look down upon other people just because they study fewer hours than they do. Hey come on.... who knows, they may very well have accomplished much more in that short period of time.
Heck, I know of people who proudly proclaim that they sleep '4 or 5 hours only' as though it were a badge of productivity and chide me for sleeping early. I've even been called a lazy pig for having a good night's sleep. When I ask them what they do at night besides studying, they'll usually say things like:
'Oh... I spent two hours chatting on MSN Messenger.'
'I was on the phone for nearly three hours last night.'
'There was a great football match last night! You didn't watch it?!?!?'
Uh-huh. In other words, they slack by talking on the phone or sticking their eyes to the television. Well, I choose to slack by sleeping in my comfortable bed. Basic reasoning tells me that a couple extra hours of sleep is far more beneficial to my tired mind than unproductive chatting on MSN for hours. They shall have their way of slacking, and I shall have mine. Just don't diss me for doing things differently. Having the 'it's my way, or the highway' mentality smacks of bigotry.
I won't lie... it's more than a little unnerving when I see other people studying into the wee hours of the morning when I usually turn in at 12 midnight or just slightly later. However, I also know that if I can't really do anything productive, then it's not really worth the effort to stay up. I might as well have a good rest and do highly-productive work when I feel much more refreshed.
Besides, I have long since accepted the fact that I can never be counted among the best in my cohort. As much as I don't want to say it, there are limits to my abilities. I'm not an idealist who thinks that the sky's the limit. Rather, I'm a realist who recognises the fact that there are limits to the abilities a person has, and different people have different limits. Success isn't just about being the best. More importantly, it is about doing my best and putting in the ultimate effort. As long as I know that I've done my best, I don't have anything to be ashamed of.
This reminds me of a friend of mine who quit school after she failed her JC Yr 1 Promotional Exams back in my Temasek Junior College days. She eventually got married to a well-known artiste, joined the Malay television channel, and is now a rising star. I won't mention names, but some of you should know who I'm talking about. Now, I've often thought to myself: who's the more successful person here? Yes, academically-wise, I'm ahead of her. However, when it comes to the less tangible aspects of life like happiness, satisfaction and overall quality of life, I'm going to say that she's the more successful one. I'm just a struggling undergraduate who barely scrapes financially and has hardly any time to enjoy life and make the most of it.
One lesson we can learn from this is that success takes many forms, and academic success is only one of them. Even if you do fail academically, it's not the end of the world, regardless of what others may tell you. You can still be more successful in life than the guy who gets a PhD and drives a Mercedes. Still, what our elders told us about education being a solid anchor in life still holds true. There's hardly anything more important than having a good education for a more stable life.
One lesson we can learn from this is that success takes many forms, and academic success is only one of them. Even if you do fail academically, it's not the end of the world, regardless of what others may tell you. You can still be more successful in life than the guy who gets a PhD and drives a Mercedes. Still, what our elders told us about education being a solid anchor in life still holds true. There's hardly anything more important than having a good education for a more stable life.
I've said it once, and I'll say it again: success is not just about being the best. It's more about doing your best. I don't know what the future holds for me, but I'm not going to cower in one corner and let my fears overcome me. If I have to go down, I'll go down fighting with my head held up high.
Posted by Spider-Fudge at 02:08 am
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