Cynicism, compartmentalisation and general musings

This post has been in my draft folder for some time and would not be up to date. Pertinent musings nonetheless.

I am someone whom you’d refer to as a cynic. I’ve always been a cynic. When I am confronted with a situation or an issue, I’ll almost always see the downside to it or even at times strive to find the negative side to things. I believe this side of me is due to my training as a lawyer. When a client presents an issue to me, the first thing that comes to my mind is the absolute worse the issue will get. By being in that frame of mind, I am able to formulate a solution which considers the worse situation first, before moving along to the positive side of the issue. I hold this belief firmly – hope for the best but always be prepared for the worst. That way I hope to never go wrong in my approach to every issue I or my clients face. Some call it pessimism. I think of it more as being cautiously confident.

That having said, I do try to balance my views, always taking into consideration the positive side of things. I have been training myself to put structure to every issue I face. It simply means being able to compartmentalize the issue into specific and clearly labeled boxes/pigeon holes in my mind. By breaking it up, doing that, I find that matters get easier to manage issues that come my way. You deal with it according to the boxes they belong to. When a solution is reached for the individual boxes, I will put them together and reach hopefully the best outcome. By saying that, I’m not saying there are 129 pigeon holes or boxes but just enough to give you a clear picture and structure to an issue. I find that it works well for me and I would recommend it as one of the approaches when confronted with an issue (I sense there’s an overkill of the word “issue” here).

Moving swiftly on. I almost never write about politics but I feel like I must. I am very clear about my choice. People who know me would know what I mean. On the same subject, I see a lot of hate in social media sites at the moment. I must say that some of my friends’ postings on Facebook shocked me. They say Facebook shows the world the person that you really are, but this just brings it to another level. I know everybody has beliefs and support a particular team but surely there’s no need to to throw tantrums is there? The level of labeling is frankly, absurd. If you look at the postings in Facebook, then the general elections would just be a formality. Based on the postings, we already know who will be governing Malaysia post 5 May 2013.

If you ask me, I just want a country that is peaceful with my rights preserved.  Most importantly, I want my children’s futures to be secure with a high level of security. Probably the same with every other person you meet. My message would be for everybody to think very very carefully before casting your ballot. Our future depends on it.

The above paragraph was written well before the elections. We know the results now don’t we? Subject to any challenges to the results of course. Oh, that and the ensuing mud slinging and racially charged comments. Just one observation of a simple point. When we look back, we realise that our future is shaped by what we had and went through in the past. I’m being very diplomatic and tactful here. It doesn’t matter that we have a brilliant attitude, great work ethics and the like. We still need help in realising our ambitions don’t we? It is very easy to see ourselves as the people that we are now. Some are utterly successful or at least have made it satisfactorily in life. But if we’d just spend some time to look back and contemplate on who we were then (without what we have now) and the way we conduct ourselves now concerning present issues wouldn’t we fall into the ungrateful bracket?

It’s sensitive, I know. But just think about it.