30th Birthday Reflection (Part 5): On Assets

Finally, I’m coming to the last part of this five-part article series, after a great, fruitful trip to
the USA recently.

Speaking of travel, I realised many people take the ability to travel for granted, especially
when they have time and their youth. I knew of some friends who don’t like to travel, mainly because it consumes a lot of money – which is undeniable. But there are people who dislike travel because they are reluctant to be exposed to new cultures, experiences and other people they are unfamiliar with.

In some way, I find that a shame on a couple of levels. Here’s why:

On Assets:
For one, I believe it is good to be open-minded. Life is meant to be experienced, not just
survived through it. The world around us can inspire us new ideas, knowledge and wisdom
books and the internet cannot impart easily. Secondly, our lifespan is generally short. Our
youth will eventually fade in time, and so would our health. The ability to travel the world or
do the things you want to do will be affected. By that time, you would think, “Ah, if only I had done this or that, see this or that place when I was younger and healthier….

When we are in the prime of our age, we take youth for granted. We tend to think
that our lives are ahead of us to let us do whatever we want. Youth is one of your greatest
assets in life, but as aforementioned, life is short. Do not waste this asset by doing nothing,
living in fear of taking risks, or being on the wrong, wild side for too long. Complaining
regrets on your deathbed is not something you want to do; you would rather be ticking off
things in your personal bucket list or saying goodbye to loved ones then.

Also, your youth provides health for you to work really hard while you still can for what you
want. While money is really important to help us to get by the day, it REALLY isn’t the most
important thing. The most important thing is to create valuable relationships with the right
people in life. Be good to people who deserves your goodness; distance yourselves from
people who don’t appreciate you. If you are an entrepreneur, create valuable products or
service that meets your market’s current needs. For employees who are working for
companies, give your best to your organisation. Be a professional problem-solver constantly whenever challenges arise. No matter your position within the company, just keep remembering that the benefits do not just end in the company’s accounting books. For one, your customers’ satisfaction level will determine the beneficial value of your company’s brand. And secondly, the greatest benefit are not the values you have given to others as expected of you – these are the values you’ve created for yourself, by yourself.

On Beauty:

On the outside, it seems that certain people have it all - that they are flawlessly beautiful
everytime. Believe it or not, beautiful women are not goddesses 24/7. On our bad days, think untamed frizzy hair, hairy legs or underarms, makeup-less face. And oh, the Green Hulk temper we’ll stew up when nothing goes our way! It does not help that sometimes, we
women feel the pressure to look beautiful to the world… and keep our husbands or
boyfriends on us instead on another beautiful woman.

Physical beauty has been emphasised a lot by the media today. Few have lived by physical beauty alone to get by in life. But for the majority of us who may or may not be blessed with natural good looks, we somehow discovered in our own time that you need more than just creams, lotions and body treatments to maintain outer appearances.

I noticed that if you cannot feel confident in who you truly are, your insecurity will somehow
mar your true beauty – both on the outside and inside of you. Continual negative thoughts
will make you anxious, hence create more unnecessary worry lines on your skin. No spark
will appear in your eyes when you lack faith in your true worth. The lovely, serene glow on
your face will be missing when you cannot love yourself, or accept your weaknesses.

I learn from my momma about applying lotion onto my skin. From her, I learn to never
neglect taking care of myself, be it on my physical looks or nurturing the soul. With what I
have at hand, I learn to embrace and appreciate my skin - lines, scars spots and all. As I grow older over the years, I noticed that beauty shines best when you are wiser, mature, humble, and have the desire to constantly learn and grow. This is the kind of beauty we all should aspire to, as it has a longer-lasting value that makes us truly happy in life.