Life is a competition

What is the meaning of life? This is one of the most frequently asked questions by all of humanity since the beginning of time. It is a question naturally asked by people because they have the ability to make choices about life. The question would appear to be difficult to answer and different for every individual depending on their circumstances. It is the ultimate search for truth and purpose in life; the reason we were born, wake up everyday and exist.

The truth is, life is just playing by different rules. The real rules are there. They actually make sense. But they’re a bit more complicated, and a lot less comfortable, which is why most people never manage to learn them.

Life is a competition

That business you work for? Someone’s trying to kill it. That job you like? Someone would love to replace you with a computer program. That girlfriend / boyfriend / high-paying job that you want? So does somebody else.

We’re all in competition, although we prefer not to realise it. Most achievements are only notable relative to others. You swam more miles, or can dance better, or got more Facebook Likes than the average. Well done. It’s a painful thing to believe, of course, which is why we’re constantly assuring each other the opposite. “Just do your best”, we hear. “You’re only in competition with yourself”. The funny thing about platitudes like that is they’re designed to make you try harder anyway. If competition really didn’t matter, we’d tell struggling children to just give up.

Fortunately, we don’t live in a world where everyone has to kill each other to prosper. The blessing of modern civilisation is there’s abundant opportunities, and enough for us all to get by, even if we don’t compete directly. If you deny that competition exists, you’re just losing. Everything in demand is on a competitive scale. And the best is only available to those who are willing to truly fight for it.

You’re judged by what you do, not what you think

Society judges people by what they can do for others. Can you save children from a burning house, or remove a tumour, or make a room of strangers laugh? You’ve got value right there. That’s not how we judge ourselves though. We judge ourselves by our thoughts.

“I’m a good person”. “I’m ambitious”. “I’m better than this.” These idle impulses may comfort us at night, but they’re not how the world sees us. They’re not even how we see other people. Abilities are not prized by their virtue. Whatever admiration society awards us, comes from the selfish perspectives of others. A hard working janitor is less rewarded by society than a ruthless stockbroker. A cancer researcher is rewarded less than a supermodel. Why? Because those abilities are rarer and impact more people.

Our idea of fairness is self interest

People like to invent moral authority. It’s why we have referees in sports games and judges in courtrooms: we have an innate sense of right and wrong, and we expect the world to comply. Our parents tell us this. Our teachers teach us this. Be a good boy, and have some candy.

But reality is indifferent. You studied hard, but you failed the exam. You worked hard, but you didn’t get promoted. You love her, but she won’t return your calls. The problem isn’t that life is unfair; it’s your broken idea of fairness.

Take a proper look at that person you fancy but didn’t fancy you back. That’s a complete person. A person with years of experience being someone completely different to you. A real person who interacts with hundreds or thousands of other people every year.

Why life isn’t fair

Our idea of fairness isn’t actually obtainable. It’s really just a cloak for wishful thinking. Can you imagine how insane life would be if it actually was ‘fair’ to everyone? No-one could fancy anyone who wasn’t the love of their life, for fear of breaking a heart. Companies would only fail if everyone who worked for them was evil. Relationships would only end when both partners died simultaneously. Raindrops would only fall on bad people.

Most of us get so hung up on how we think the world should work that we can’t see how it does. But facing that reality might just be the key to unlocking your understanding of the world, and with it, all of your potential.

Singapore Scout Association celebrating SG50

More than 2,500 scouts from 18 different countries gathered at the Sarimbun Scout Camp in Lim Chu Kang on last year (18 November 2015) morning to mark Singapore's 50th birthday at a celebration organised by the Singapore Scout Association (SSA). Sorry for posting the photo after one month later. 

I would like to thank Chief Tan for inviting me to be the opening singer for this meaningful event. Hope that everybody like my songs, especially our foreign friends from the other 17 countries.  

During the event, I also met Dr William Wan and Michelle Tay from Singapore Kindness Movement. Thank you for always promoting kindness and volunteerism too!

Sing three of my own composition at Singapore International Jamboree 2015. They have a big stage and happy to see so many scouts waving their flags during my performance, and they even come up to the stage!

Thank you Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean for the photo at International Scout Jamboree!

Why is Christmas so important for most people?

In many families it is the highlight of the year when everyone gathers around the elaborately decorated tree and the room is bathed in festive lighting; children’s eyes light up as they admire their gifts and you can simply forget about your everyday worries. Christmas and Advent time exercise an unmistakeable magical charm over people. As the days get shorter and colder and you can feel wintertime approaching, many people console themselves about the last few warm autumn days coming to an end by thinking about the upcoming Christmas.

But why is Christmas so important for most people, especially in the western world? Is it tradition, religion or are there other reasons?

Of course to start with Christmas is a Christian festival. The birth of Christ is celebrated by 2 billion Christians all over the world on 25th December.

But why was precisely this date laid down by the church? An exact date of birth is not mentioned for the Christ child in the bible. The date was probably defined at the end of December for various reasons. The solstice, the day from which the days get longer, has always been celebrated in almost all well-known cultures in the western world, be it Germanic, Celtic, Roman or Persian. The definition of the date might have resulted from this custom. Or even from the natural need of people to live off the hope of salvation through the Christian message of the birth of the Saviour, be it only from ice and snow during the cold and long winter when nothing thrives on the fields and pastures.

However, we must not forget that Christmas is not the most important festival in the church year from a purely Christian perspective. Although it marks the birth of Jesus, the most important festival is Easter, which solemnises the resurrection of the Son of God.

The fact that despite this Christmas is celebrated much more elaborately than Easter in so many families can certainly be explained by tradition. Particularly during the cold and dark season, people have a greater need to come closer together, retreat to their homes and simply enjoy a few quiet days with their family in a peaceful atmosphere with good food.

Even if this explains the date and reason for Christmas, many people still ask though, where do the many symbols that we encounter around Christmas time every year come from. Anyway, Merry Christmas to all my friends, fans, colleagues and sponsors, not forgetting my beloved family and everyone at Royal Entertainment and Project Awareness.