Can we prepare for the unpredictable? The past years have splashed the coldest of waters onto our foolish sleepy heads: indeed, there are unpredictable things that can catch us way off guard. There are many resources that are out of our control; therefore, to prepare for the unpredictable means to strengthen our resolve. Personally, I […]
The spiritual experience of a literature review … Haha! I can sense or anticipate that researchers might find the title of my reflection funny or weird. I have encountered both students and peers who are turned off by writing the literature review section of research papers. It feels laborious and a very taxing task – […]
To deny one’s ego is to develop one’s self It is tempting to let flatteries and sugarcoated words get into our heads. They boost our ego. It is also tempting to reject critiques. They hurt our ego. Yet, our goal should not be to boost our ego but to truly develop our selves. And authentic […]
Who are we? We’ve heard the cheesy line: “I need to find myself.” But we all have blind spots; therefore, there are certain “parts” of us that we cannot always see nor find. We cannot also rely on others to “define” nor “find” us because what they see is limited too. We can only better […]
Persistence and “kakulitan” Sometimes, a child’s persistence or “kakulitan” feels like a magical power. I recall Owen and Andi, one of my nephews and nieces. Owen would tell me everytime I see him, “Have you installed Roblox? Rec Room?” I feel indifferent at first, but the persistence is effective. I install them on my phone. […]
Taking courage begins with paying attention The sooner we take a sober acknowledgement of our own or organization’s internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external context (opportunities and threats), the stronger our courage could be. The VUCA-ness of our surroundings (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) can distract our attentions; instead of leaning into the best path towards […]
One feast Some YouTubers and die-hard fans have theorized that the story of One Piece and the real dream of Luffy is to have the biggest banquet for the whole world – “One Feast”. They pointed out that the major arcs of the long-running shonen manga usually ends with big celebrations between allies who succeeded […]
Stewards, not owners Our greed and vanity may drive us to attach our identity onto some things in such a way that we fool ourselves that the things, positions, and recognitions are what define us. Of things, we are stewards, not owners. Of positions, we are responsible, not privileged. Of recognitions, we are advocates, not […]
When should we enter into a promise? There are times when we enter into promises out of convenience, an emotional high, or to appease another at present without necessarily intending to fulfill the promise. If we want to honor our word, I am thinking of three conditions that must be met if we want to […]
Nourishing conversations There are particular people or groups that we respectively converse with based on what we need or want to talk about. We have our parents and family for life conversations. We have our mentors for professional dialogues. We have our friends and barkadas for both deep and nonsensical conversations that delight the child […]