Prompt #4 – Living a Good Life

What are the most important things needed to live a good life?

Everyone wants to live a good life but what is a good life? Is it having all you need available to you when you need it? Is it having contentment with what you have? Is it being able to leave a mark to other people’s lives? Or is it being able to fulfill your life’s purpose and passion?

It actually varies from one person to another. Each of us has his or her own definition of a good life which may be influenced by our values, character, experiences, background and so on. Each of us also have our own way on how we achieve and live that good life. But what are the most imprortant things needed to live a good life?

Personally, I believe that character, love and faith are the most important things needed to live a good life.

Character which I define as having a strong moral compass leads us into thinking and doing the right thing even if the situation may be unfavorable for us. It is being able to stick to our values and persevere through tough and challenging times without sacrificing our values and the things we believe in. This is especially important because life is full tough and challenging times which sometimes may break us. Having character is being able to persevere and if failure comes in, the ability to bounce back and be on track again.

Love is also important in living a good life because doing things out of love can make a difference to the people we interact with and even to those we don’t because as people say ‘A simple act of kindness (made from love) can have a ripple effect’. For me, this is important because love makes us feel cherished and motivated to do more – be it for our family, friends, work, passion projects, etc. which in turn can give them the push to also spread love in their own ways.

Lastly, faith which is having strong belief that there is the One above all of us who has the masterplan of everything. Someone who without judgment will love and care for us even if everyone else will turn their backs on us or even if we make wrong decisions.

Prompt #3 – Broken bone?

Have you ever broken a bone?

I have not experienced having a broken bone and I would not want to. Simply because I have low pain tolerance. I might not be able to function anywhere if I have this situation. Also, based from observation of others who have gone through this, I can say that it is painful and terribly uncomfortable.

Praying for fast recovery of those experiencing this right now and more patience and caring for those folks who take care of their loved ones with broken bone/s. It is not easy to take care of people. More so if they are in pain.

Prompt #2 – Work Life Balance

How do you balance work and home life?

This has been a struggle for quite some time due to various factors such as work load, complexity, work schedules and new ways of working. Personally, I have had my own challenges in maintaing balance between the two. There are times that my mind does not seem to have an off option for work even if I am already past the working hours or even if it is already time for ‘life’. Others also say that maintaining work life balance is subjective because ones’ work life balance may be different for another.

For me, work life balance is having to work for 8 to 9 hours a day with me having time after to be with my family. This would also mean being able to do something that I like within the day – be it journaling, drawing or watching my favorite series.

To be able to do such, here are some things that I do:

1. Schedule my activities within the day. Journaling helps in this aspect as I get to plan which tasks I need to complete urgently and which are those that can be pushed back. Therefore, I am able to focus on completing my tasks within the working hours.

2. Limit distractions and other non-contributing activities such as going out for coffee or catching-up with colleagues about random stuff during working hours. This can alsp help in delivering first time right output to avoid additional hours spent in rework.

3. Prioritize! This is highly related with numbers 1 and 2. Prioritizing is next to organizing and focusing.

I hope this helps. This are just very high level ways on how I maintain work life balance. It may not be applicable to all but still happy to share.

Prompt # 1 – Favorite Fruits!

List your top 5 favorite fruits.

It’s still summer and I love how fruits especially when turned into shakes give the perfect refreshment to beat the heat! Here are my top 5 favorites:

1. Watermelon

2. Strawberry

3. Mango

4. Lychee

5. Grapes