Working With Idiots Can Kill You

Work, work, work. Who doesn't work at all? Everyone needs to work in some way or other to earn a living. Some may hawk their wares in night markets, some may hawk their fare in hawker centres or food courts, some may apply their designing ability in constructing beautiful homes or offices, some may apply their engineering knowledge in producing computer microchips, etc. The choice of occupations are myriad and only the natural creative ability of humans limits what can be done or made in this world of many opportunities.

Working with people can suffer you with idiots who continue to irritate you with their silly actions. However, working for yourself can also subject you to idiots for you will always have to depend on someone else to carry out some part of your job. Both ways, idiots will continue to ruin your working life if you choose to let the chapter continue to run its course. Would you prefer to do something about it or choose to turn a blind eye towards it? To suffer or to ignore, that's the question.

One can choose to take action by aggressively pursuing these idiots to their wits end. One can choose to live with the idiot's actions. But the issue here will be - which path will lead to a more comfortable life for yourself. Forget about the other party - it's your own life and health which is more important. In this dog-eat-dog world, survival in the corporate world is more important than anything else. Who will love yourself if not yourself?

Let's picture this scenario - continue to let yourself be affected by the actions of this idiot. One day, two day, three days, and by the fourth day you decide to live with the antics of this idiot. No matter what, you tell yourself that you can tolerate the idiocy in spite of the effects it has on your mental health and consequently, it will take a toll on your body as your blood pressure and stress levels increases every time the idiot carries out his antics. A recent study showed that working with idiots can kill you. I believe it's true. Heart attack kills, if stroke doesn't.

Or...you can take action to tell off the person and make your stand on how working colleagues should treat each other and then after that, consider that person 'invicible' in your daily life. Will you experience a better work life after this? Definitely. For you have taken control of your life and will not let anyone take away the joy of living from you. Clowning around is the way should be lived. Life shouldn't be too serious. In the end, you'd still die whether you choose to ignore or tolerate the idiots. But isn't it better to be die a happy person? Being selfish for yourself doesn't sound too good morally, but if you don't love yourself, who will?

The work environment should be filled with happiness and satisfaction. Happiness because you know that you're among friends and the good relationships go a long way towards ensuring that you'd have a satisfactory career because everyone is basically helping and supporting each other to ensure success in every work opportunity. Is this heaven or hell? Who will determine it? It's really yourself to decide whether the work environment is heaven or hell for yourself. What you do goes a long way to ensure a heavenly work environment. Who would want to go to work, dreading the moment each morning? Would you rather wake up in the morning, anxious to go to work and meet friends? Or would you rather wake up with hesitation, dreading the chore of going to work to earn a living to pay off the house or car?

I'd say take a decision to be happy and consider these idiots to be invicible and that nothing they do can destroy your beautiful day. Let the idiots suffer by themselves when no one longer pays any attention to them, while we go round our daily tasks with exuberance and anticipation. By treating the idiots as invicible, you've already taken a decision to be happy with life. Life's too short for you to let these idiots ruin your day. It's always better to have more friends, so concentrate on having more friends and more friends, for it's a joy to be working among friends. Idiots always are in the minority. Once they see that they no longer command any attention for their idiocy, they'd relent and hide in one corner and slowly, they'd fade way into nothingness for they no longer see any future working in an environment hostile to them. I choose to be happy and so can you. Enjoy yourself in the circle of life because if you spread cheer, you'll get cheer in return. Cheers!

Thailand - The Land Which Buddhism Reigns Mighty

When someone mentions Thailand, what images or impressions might the word conjure? A few words immediately comes to mind e.g massage, wats (temples), tuk-tuk vehicles, polite manners, tomyum, good food, etc. These few words are so synonymous with the country that if a visitor fails to grasp these few impressions, it would've been a futile visit to the country of smile and politeness.

I was there for three (3) days last week on a business trip to explore the running of a few ports. Staying along Rama IV, opposite Lumphini Park, is not really a nice spot. It was located smack in the middle of chronic traffic congestion. However, a call for taxi was immediately served within minutes. How efficient they are. It's just a call away even though traffic was snarling.

I never cease to be amazed at the cleanliness level of the whole of Bangkok and its immediate surrounding areas. Even though some of the buildings may be old, it's only covered with moss which grew over time in damp areas. However, there's nary a plastic or pieces of unwanted paper lying strewn on the road and passageways. Perhaps being a majority Buddhist country helped to nurture this discipline of cleanliness. Even it's public toilets are spotless. I'm sure many of those who've visited the country's capital can attest to this.

Peaceful the town of Bangkok was during my visit. Even though the politics wasn't favourable to Thaksin, the people of Thailand were not violently protesting the rule of Abhisit. The days of early protest were over and I can still hear praises of Thaksin even as he continues to live in self-exile. From the support from the poor and the football fans when he acquired Manchester United, the great man continues to live on as a legend, the white elephant of ordinary Thais. The mere mention of the word Thaksin brings smile to the people as they recall his efforts to help the poor rise above their poverty.

The streets opposite Siam Paragon were a hive of business activity. From street peddlars hawking food, to street performers busking for a bit of change, to transport providers aka tuk-tuk waiting by the roadside, to people buying lotteries in the hope of striking and subsequently obtaining a richer future...they mind their own business as each goes about their daily activities, in the hustle and bustle of city life. I should be ashamed at the lack of creativeness of the Malaysians in doing business. In between buildings, the streets were converted into little restaurants with both eastern and western fare on offer. Proper chairs and tables which are normally found in restaurants found their way into these cramped 'lorongs'. If one doesn't look at both ends of the alley, one would have imagined oneself to be in a comfortable but cramped restaurant. You have to see it to believe it.

The cost transport is phenomenal compared to what we pay here in Malaysia. Fuel price ranges from Bt21.79 to Bt41.30 which is equivalent to about RM2.18 to RM4.13. Even as we complain of paying a high price for fuel at RM1.80 for RON95 and RM2.05 for RON97, we should consider the suffering of the Thais as they battle the high cost of transport in their country, even though they don't produce fuel and therefore, suffer the high cost of purchasing the carbon energy to run their mechanised vehicles. But they're not the complaining type. They'll simply find a way to reduce their fuel consumption. Tuk-tuk drivers often switch off their engines at intersections as they await the change in traffic lights. Complaining and grumbling is not their cup of tea.

Being devout Buddhists, they'd rather live with it and consider it as one of the challenges in life and one must accept it and get on with life. It's part of the cycle of karma where one keeps on improving in the many lives that each has. I hope to be able to emulate them in this simple philosophy of life and I wish that everyone would do the same and accept that no matter how one well one succeeds in life or how rich one can earn to be, life will still end but how it ends will depend on how we handle this journey called LIFE...