Exploring the ICEBERG

My dear friends who know that I love travelling, you gonna be disappointed b'coz this story is not about any trip to North Atlantic nor Greenland.  I'm writing about exploring my iceberg.

Well, the sessions that I have been attending since end February 2010 has thus far been an eye-opener as far as self-discovery is concerned. One particular lesson is on the Iceberg Model, which I find quite an "abstract" matter, but can be intriguing and useful in discovering our true self and potential.

Put simply, the Iceberg Model is a model for understanding the levels of self. The concept is rather simple and common to most of us --- an iceberg where what is above the water line is what is seen and what is beneath can be a plentiful of feelings.  What can be seen in this case is our behaviours and actions, while what reside beneath are our perceptions, expectations which influence the behaviours, and at the same time interacting with what’s deep inside (i.e. like our yearnings).  The  Iceberg model simply said that when we feel that our yearnings being met, some sort of life energy is created, which in turn develop our Self.

I try to associate this theory to my daily life by reflecting some of behaviour I am familiar with.  Those who know me very well and long enough, will surely remembered me as very quick tempered (but very much less now!).  But, our friends may not understand that the deep below the anger behaviour may include other elements or feelings such frustrations, hurt, insecure which more often than not are not readily seen or understood by others.  So, I guess the lesson here is for me to thoroughly examine such behaviour deeply, before any issues/problems that are bothering me can be addressed. 

 

Similarly, the iceberg model also helps me to understand other people's behaviour, or at least help me to recognize that there are much more to such behaviour and at least help me to react or deal with it in a more rational way. 

 

So, to Sharon Ho who always wonder why I am so patient nowadays, I probably can say it is all about the ICEBERG......

Renew Your Life - How about Jump Start it with Career Gap

Many of us have the habit of doing the same thing day after day, month after month, and year after year. How many of us really ever sit back and reflect the burden of hectic life @work? How about the loss of our precious time when we got stuck in heavy traffic when commuting to work? Has it ever cross your mind of changing or renewing your life?


I found that it is not easy to change or rejunevate or renew your life when one still shows up at the office every morning, continuing to work or reply e-mails after office hours or getting calls when on vacation or on weekends.  Is there a better way to rejuvenate your energy/life than putting a halt of what you are doing?


Do we need a breather ?  Taking a breather in life does not mean lazing around.  Some of my close buddies said it means taking a long holiday and then returning to work and continue with life as before.  I would agree to this years ago, but now I absolutely disagree.  Have our priorities just change as we grow older and wiser?  Taking a career gap is to free the mind from work to allow deep contemplation and to ask oneself what else gives more meaning and purpose other than working.

Taking a career  gap means much more than that to me.  I may wish to return something back to the community through a volunteering or social activity, or perhaps returning to study something I dream of.  What about develop a new skills that will enhance my ability in the future?  How about devoting more time to the long-neglected family member?

But it can be a scary packing in your job and skipping off to do something completely different. There are people who will be affected by your career break --- especially when you have your family or dependents to think of.   The issue of $$$ can really shut down your idea of a career break.  Facing the reactions is the toughest, I think and one must be prepared to deal with remarks that "it is a silly thing to do", "is she insane!", etc.  Many will try to talk you out of it.  All these fears always hold people back. Negative thoughts of making a mistake that one regret later, fear that money will be wasted,  worry of not being able to climb back to where you have left your career, etc, etc.

Anyway, taking a Career Gap is just like pitching any sales.  You won't always expect a "Yes" immediately. 
Therefore, to me when the small "Financial Cushion" is ready,  just do it so that when we approach 50 or 60 years old, we don't have to say "I always wanted to do it, but I never had the chance to do it.  Now it’s too late”
 
It is scary, but one has to deal with it especially when it appears so loud from your inner voice.  After all, it just means that we have to work much harder to return to the workplace to build the financial cushion again.  And who knows by then, we may have obtain a fresh perspective on life, or we may have developed new skills, broadened our personal horizons, or have made a rewarding contribution to the community....and most importantly we feel happy about it.   Aren't these Precious to our Life !!