Prof. Ben commented that I’m having fun in my previous post. Well, in fact, I really am! I enjoy chatting with my team mates and messing around with my assignment.
Actually if I put myself into the shoes of a student, I might not have done all these. Reflecting on myself seven years ago as a Poly student, I was too snobbish and competitive. I guess most students are like this, especially when they/their parents paid a fortune for the fees. Of course there are some others who couldn’t care less since they felt they were “forced to study”.
But I’ve learnt to lighten up a little. Let me share a short story.
I spoke to a friend A of mine who told me about this guy B whom he met many years ago. B was a very popular figure at many events and A always wondered why. He started to observe B’s actions – B would dress in jeans and tees when others were all dressed up, he’d talk cock at seminars and chat about irrelevant topics at business/networking events. At first, A thought B was an idiot and didn’t take things seriously, but yet he was so popular. A later made friends with B and found out that B didn’t really care what people thought of him and just wanted take it easy and have fun. A saw some light and started to take things easy as well.
Fast forward, A and B are currently successful businessmen.
Unfortunately, I’m not like any of them yet, but I’m starting to take things a little easier. I realize that doing so gives me a broader view of things. When I was a student, behaving the way I did only narrowed my vision as I was all out to impress… god knows who, but back then I was hoping it would be girls.
(Unfortunately, I got my equation all wrong and I found out that girls aren’t exactly attracted to snobbish geekguys.)
January 18, 2010 at 11:58 am
I think the phenomenon that you have described can be explained by this theory:
Type A and Type B personality theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_A_and_Type_B_personality_theory
In general, Type A folks are more competitive, while Type B folks are more chill. Both have their pros & cons. Studies have shown that while Type A folks usually climb the corporate ladder faster, Type B folks will eventually climb higher in the long run.
Recognizing the virtues of Type B, I am a Type A person who’s striving to become Type B.
Hope this is insightful. =)
January 18, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Very interesting indeed, thanks!
But here’s the weird thing. I know both guys A and B in my blog post. But B isn’t like what the link you gave described. He does have the sense of urgency when stuff needs to be done, it’s just that he decides to not be bothered too much about what others thinks and somehow his (weird?) character gave other people a good impression of him. (Shrug!)
Well, I wouldn’t use the term ‘climb the corporate ladder’ as I think a lot of people in CS3216 are not here to climb the ladder but to create the ladder and be at the top, isn’t it? 😀
End of the day, it still goes back to the definition of being successful, happy, etc. Who gets there first?
January 16, 2010 at 10:05 pm
aiyah, why you say girls aren’t attracted to snobbish geeky guys? like geeky is a problem. the problem is snobbishness, period. cheer up, surveys find that geeks make better lovers 😛
“That said, I think what really matters is not whether we care about what people think about it. The main problem is that some people are out to impress arising from a deep-seated insecurity.”
(Y)
January 16, 2010 at 9:18 am
B didn’t really care what people thought of him and just wanted take it easy and have fun.
In life, there’s always such a thing as “too much of a good thing”. I think there should be moderation in everything we do.
Impressions are made within 10 secs after you meet someone and impressions often matter, so you cannot be *too* boh chap also.
That said, I think what really matters is not whether we care about what people think about it. The main problem is that some people are out to impress arising from a deep-seated insecurity.
What Ong Peng Tsin said on Wed is correct. The key thing in life is CLARITY. If you are very sure about what you want to do, dun worry too much about what people think, just do loh.
When I quit my job with the civil service to do PhD (and become a prof), my mum and some of my friends thought I was out of my mind, since I was forsaking the time-tested scholar path that many Singaporeans think is the way to “success”. Maybe they are right – but I am having a damn good time, while some of my friends are stuck in miserable jobs. That said, I’m poor, they’re rich. So who is right?
Life is full of choices. The choices we make today determine the person we eventually become. More often that not, we don’t get the chance to change out minds, so we better be sure we know what we’re doing.
I found out that girls aren’t exactly attracted to snobbish geekguys.
Different girls are attracted to different types of guys. At least, you’re married, so it suggests that you figured it out eventually. 🙂
January 16, 2010 at 11:08 am
Wah. Sorry. I shall not write blogs at 4AM. I shall not write blogs at 4AM. I shall not write blogs at 4AM after a few glasses of wine. My blog entry looks a little “no link”. Yes, I wanted to point out that B took it easy, but he wasn’t really very exaggerating. People really liked him and that’s how he got all his business contacts.
Quite true. I think it’s related to being focused as well. Quite a bit of people don’t know what exactly they want in life (me included). So before 2010, I went out to meet some people (you included!) and these discussions formed part of my new year resolution.
You certainly aren’t ‘cos you’ve made a difference in hundred, if not thousands of students’ lives. 🙂
I don’t know if anybody here watches BBC on StarHub Ch. 74 but that channel has some good stuff. I watched a recorded Top Gear last night and they invited two guests from another show called Dragon’s Den. (The video I linked doesn’t have this part.) Dragon’s Den is about people who go to these VCs at the show trying to pitch their products/inventions and get investment money.
So what happened at Top Gear was Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis were asked what was their measure of success and if money really matters. In a joking manner, they said yes, but they also said that money was just a scorecard.
So maybe your friends beat you at one game, but you beat them at a few others. 😀
Yeah, I figured out during my FYP where I was attached for 5 months to a reasonably well-known government linked IT company. Me and my wife (who was my team mate back then) were sitting around idling for almost three straight months before some real work got assigned to us. Shows how efficient they are. Anyway so I started doing stupid things, like I bought a $30 guitar and brought it to office. (They threw all the interns in a large meeting room, so nobody cared.) I really learnt how to play it. So the guitar trick definitely works. (Henry, I hope you are reading this.) We played games and even wrote code that does stupid things. So it is true. I had nothing to do, so I figured I’ll be playful, and I found myself a beautiful girl who eventually became my wife! 😀