Competitive , comparison and contentment

Because one is competitive, one tends to compare and better ourselves to beat others or at least, be on par.

Life..is it competitive? Or is it just our society? To get into the elite preschools, primary schools and then secondary schools. It starts really early isn't it? Maybe even earlier with the enrichment classes and prenatal education.

To get the best job you think fits u most, to achieve and shine amongst ur peers. Work is competitive too. Mediocre just isn't acceptable. It's that sense of achievement we strive for that makes work enjoyable. I kinda like what I'm doing, I compete with myself and the achievements of others push me even further.

To have a bigger house, faster car, don the latest fashionable wear, travel anywhere we fancy. Is it because we derive satisfaction from all that or because we are trying to keep up with those around us? It's a fine line but a blur one too.

Competitve is good sometimes, we just have to remember not to put others down while being so. Not to get jealous because others are proud of their achievements.

How many bags is enough?

How many pairs of shoes does one need?

How many sets of accessories does one collects?

Sometimes, I fall prey to buying and owning something because it feels good and right to have it. Because it's the latest fashion, the latest IT bag/accessory/shoe. But I do wonder, do I really need it? When my needs are met, WANTs become naturally me.

A new bag/shoes/ring could probably make me happy for a day/week/month. The marginal utility of happiness decreases as the collection increases. Woman ... we are so difficult to please sometimes.

True happiness comes from contentment that the love ones around me are healthy & happy. That at the end of a hard day at work, I go home to those who love me and whom I treasure. That I have friends who stick with me through thick and thin, always frank with their opinions and never fake. Yes, financially adequate to satisfy my needs wants of material stuff and travelling whims.

Contentment keeps me sane, makes me realise that life is worth living for and that happiness is simple.

Life is a always a blessing, it's a matter of how we see it..

Although I have always been appreciative of my life thus far, sometimes, I do forget how blessed I'm. I complain, bitch and lament at lil' things that seem so insignificant.

The earthquake,tsunami and the aftermath destroyed many lives, shattered dreams and broke many hearts. Looking at the video clips, reading the horrible news, I realised how bless and lucky I've been and I'm. I wouldn't be able to understand the pain they are going through but my heart goes all out to them.

While I lament about the lack of wardrobe space, they worry about having a roof under their head. While I complain about the lack of choices of food for dinner/lunch, they wonder when their next meal will be. While I bitch about nasty customers, they fear if they can find another job to rebuild all that they have lost. While I worry if my boy will turn out adorable, they grieve over the loss of their precious ones. While I wish I bought the stock one day earlier or later, they are faced with the loss they took a lifetime to accumulate. I realised how ungrateful I've been.

I've learnt, that the biggest surprise God has given us, our lil' boy is a real blessing. I'm so silly to fret over the fact I would prefer a year end baby so that I've already achieved my sales target or I wish to have a girl first. Because so many tried countless times to conceive and failed, or others had but lost, compared to them, I'm very blessed. I'm so silly to complain about the fact I didn't have morning sickness and fatigue (I couldn't help feeling worried that the baby isn't growing well) because many had a terrible time and wish they were never pregnant.

Yes, having a kid means sleepless nights, no more lazing in bed till 12pm, days and nights that are intertwined into one, having to bend our rules, stretch our patience, forgo our pride and admit sometimes we are not always right as parents, sacrificing and putting someone so small in built yet big in our hearts before ourselves. Then again, it's a gift so precious and life changing, gaining experiences that will mould us as a person, collecting memories that would last us a lifetime.

I blog about this, so that it will serve as a reminder to count my blessings during the times when I'm going through a rough patch in life or when I feel my life is topsy turvy with a child. Because I need to be reminded, life is always a blessing, it's a matter of how I see it..