.:. Tougher or Softer? .:.
Being too comfortable only makes you weak-willed.
Now that I'm after my 4 months of "hard" work, I can finally sit down and reflect upon myself.
During the whole process, there were times when I tend to complain, or rather Did complain, and there were times when I manage to hold on to my New Years' resolution of not complaining so much (I still remember it ok). It wasn't exactly 4 straight months of hardwork daily, just that it's back to back such that there wasn't any long break for me to take a breather. It's just that in the process itself, one can't help but whine bout the non-perfectness(slackness) of the situation.
And I'm quite sure this dosen't apply to me as well. In our lives, there are many a times when things/events seem unfavourable to us. Things that do not happen according to plan, that we would much rather do without but have no choice but to suck it up and endure through it. Like army where it's a must to serve, or exams which results/resulted in so many of our precious brain cells dying. These compels all of us to dislike such situations, to want to not do it, and the worst of all...to tamper with the idea that we cannot accomplish the task ahead.
Yet it is during such that times we forget one very important fact. We've done this ever before! We managed to cross through the hurdle before, not without complaining of course, but nontheless why are we so worried now. From the very start of our army lives we've all served confinement of at least 2 weeks, and the harsh reality of having to adapt to life of everyday regimentation and physical activities. So why am I so sian of just a 1 weekend confinement (which in the end didn't really happen) and a short 1 day outfield. We've all endured through exams, big or small, even though we're just 1/4 nto our lives? PSLE, O-levels, N-levels, A-levels, and not to mention the so many itty bitty tests and school exams inbetween. Therefore we've pulled our fair share of hair before, so why are we still dying during exam periods.
Shouldn't the fact that we've achieved such feats before serve only to give us more confidence?
One might argue that it's because the level of difficulty gets increasingly harder. In BMT its ok to just say "I don't know Serg", but not so in Unit. In primary school you learn 1+1, but later on its A+B. However I beg to differ. Yes the missions/tasks do get tougher, but in the time difference we grow too. Our physical body gets stronger/buffer, our mental capability gets heightened. So it shoudn't bother us anymore right.
Hence I came up with this conclusion. The fact that we've completed the task before is actually a double-edged sword(wa old-school GP phrase sia XD). Yes we gain the confidence, but after that it results in us becoming complacent, or as I like to put it, being Too comfortable. We tend to let the "reward" portion of the aftermath to sink too deep into us, so much so that we overlook the actual achievement. In general terms, we Slack off. And because of this we start to adopt the mentality that whatever hardship is over. Hence when faced with it again, we're back to ground zero, having to go through the whole ardous process again. Sounds kinda foolish?
But as always, all these sounds so nice sounding in theory. Its all just a mental picture, an oasis painted in my mind to comfort myself right. Another way to put it is that now that I'm over my "harsh" period, it's easier to say such beautiful sounding things. So in the end let these be food for thought, irregardless of whether it inspires you or not.
For a more practical solution then, there's always our friends and family. These are the ones who provide us with the support we can feel, rather than just thoughts alone. These are the people whom we rely on for confidence, who's comforting words may not be of deep sounding wisdom, but the thoughts and feelings are what we need the most. The simple "Jiayou" or "You can do it" may not seem much, but on the contrary it does wonders to lift a person's spirits.
So during such times, pay attention not to the stress, but rather the confidence that your friends are there for you :).
Revealed on [4:03 AM]
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