All about Lina Lifestyle

Ways to Cope with Stress

I chose a stressful profession and during the weekends I often wondered if I had been able to relax my mind and body in a bid to unwind and decompress. It is not an easy task to disengage from the thoughts in my mind wondering if I am doing the right thing. Still, I would think that there are a few ways I look forward to the weekends where I recalibrate the state of mental health for the better.

First, I decided to scour charity portals looking for ways to donate sums to Ukraine, Turkey and Syria. When I preach healing the world to my students, I decided to put healing the world into action by reading all the ways to alleviate the sufferings of the world. It is an act of faith that my giving is legitimate and any amount given really goes to reduce the sufferings. In a way, this act of mercy really puts my stress in perspective. Somehow, when I look at war zone and buildings reduced to rubble, it made my less anxious in peaceful Singapore.

Second, I decided to eat out. I love eating Mala lunches and dinners. As I live in the Northeast, I often think about how fortunate to be living in the zone where it is a food paradise filled with throngs of food stalls. Eating mala reduces my stress in a way like no other.

Thirdly, I seek divine intervention by going to Chinese service in church with a university friend. I would like to learn my mother tongue which is Mandarin.

The Elevation of Stress can reveal the wondrous

It is the season of life where I felt the holiday spirit is going to be over and reality kicks in. When reality kicks in, I can often be in a firefighting mode when things take an unexpected twist despite careful planning. Well, I do think that emotional wellness is really of importance. Often times, I do think that my personality is one where I would get so caught up in meeting the needs of people that I forget to take time off to think about the highly stressful build up of emotions in my work life. On a Sunday, I do think I could recollect and calm down by scrolling through news feed on how to prioritize mental wellness. It is not easy to say that I am not a superhero who can work miracles.

I do find that it is easier that I get a good boss to confide in with my greatest fears and struggles about firefighting at work and how to get out of this vicious cycle. And remaining calm and steadfast and professional is something I get used to after a decade of working. Still, there is a part of me that I find that I am human being and there is a limit to what I can do. This limit or personal weakness is something I am trying very hard to embrace. So, chilling out and lounging around writing about wanting more rest is actually something I realized I have been doing.

Wish all have a good boss to talk to when things get tough! True enough, that is a blessing enough as I shared previously that I did not have such a privilege in my previous work life. And it is a wondrous feeling to know that I have gained something wonderful even through all the trials and difficulties.

Caring for the heart

I took leave on a rainy Valentine’s Day. I felt that it was a good decision to finally give the mind and soul a good rest. I was tired of all the hustle and bustle that comes with working really hard and wanted to care for my soul. On a rainy midafternoon, I went to a quaint and quiet cafe with a female friend who took the same leave days and had a good meal.

Often times, I will pass by the picturesque aviation route on the way to work. Sometimes, wondering what kind of life aviation workers lead. It was heartwarming to be able to visit a cafe in the middle of Seletar when the aviation workers were slogging it out at work . Because of its hidden location, we were the only guest in the entire cafe. Somehow, I managed to put all the stresses thinking about work behind and have a good experience of solitude. Being an introvert, it was a welcome escape from the busy Valentine’s Day. It was an experience that soothes the heart on a rainy February.

The best form of self-care is to take Ample Rest

Being a helping profession, I often time get caught up in meeting the emotional needs of students and parents that I have no time to prioritize self-care. I remembered that I used to go the self-employed route during the pandemic and had ample time for resting. Ample time for the occasional trekking through the lush Singapore nature reserves. Sighting natural animals and flowers were the delight of the day. It was a blessing to be able to tap on some interim welfare resources the government policy had during the heights of the pandemic.

However, with the hum of life returning to what it was before pandemic level where I had to work with groups of students and their parents. Life is no longer filled with ample rest and stay at home mandates to get sufficient self-care. Somehow, I made a decision to go full time as I knew that there is no more governmental policy to support the unemployed or self-employed as it used to be.

The onus falls on me now to decide where self-care comes in as I prioritize my own mental health over my work. It is not easy to hang in there when I actually recovered from a flu after taking that Sabbatical rest on a Sunday. I realized that I could climb out of bed after much sleep and had no valid reason to pay the doctor a visit. Well, before fatigue sets in, I was glad that when I decided to go full time teaching, I had taken two full days of leave next week to daydream and continue my wandering days of being alone in silence and solitude.

The invaluable need to Rest

I developed a runny nose yesterday morning and all that is on my mind is to tell my boss to make advanced planning for the likelihood that I will be absent. I anticipated that working full time, my body will eventually need a good rest after a rainy season. My nose started showing signs that it is a broken faucet on Friday needing paracetamols to fix it first.

Throughout the ordeal, all I want is to climb under the blanket and wrap myself like a teddy bear. My mind wandered all the time as I felt really fatigued if I should tell the boss that I am reporting sick for work on Monday. Feelings like wrapping myself up like a teddy bear and staying home feels like the right thing to do as I should not feel bad about falling sick and taking medical leave if need be.

I struggled with my mind wandering if my class would go haywire if I am absent for some time. And I stopped this wandering mind its tracks and just faced up to the inevitable need to disappear from work and sleep.

My message to the boss goes like this, “As I am having a flu now, may trouble you to find a relief on Monday if I am still unwell. I might need to see a doctor tomorrow. If (conditional) I am well on Monday, I will still go to work. Thank you for making any arrangements for relief in advanced.”

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Wishes in the Year of the Rabbit

It is the season of the Lunar New Year where I really do find rabbits cute and cuddly. I compiled a series of photos sent by friends so that I can have a warm year ahead. It is in the middle of the long Chinese New Year season, and I do find myself wondering what lies ahead in terms of the year. It is quite a different animal from the tiger year where my wishes were to be as courageous as a tiger.

Looking forward, I believe that for me a period of growth. This is where I managed to survive full time work for the past 3 weeks or so. Working full time in education is something where I need the ability of a rabbit to leap around. Also the ability to relate to the cute and the cuddly side of children. I believe there are traits of a rabbit that conjures images like adorable, love and joy.

Lunar New Year 2023

I spent the first day of the Lunar New Year at the National Museum. It was a Sunday and there was a light drizzle all around the town area. Stepping into the National Museum away from all the hectic frenzy of activities was a refreshing activity that I really looked forward to.

What better way to get away from all the stress is to look at the Doremon exhibition. The exhibition was kooky and fun as I work with young children recently, I managed to catch a glimpse of what they like to see. It was also deep and philosophical especially about how the characters go into the other worlds.

I do enjoy Lunar New Year and visiting all my relatives. However, my character is one of an INFP where I prefer the quiet contemplative space and to view artworks at gallery is soothing for my rather worn out soul.

The first eight days of 2023 had been wonderful

Reflecting back on the first eight days of the year, I felt that life can be wonderful. reflected a lot on whether I should scour the jobs portal, stay open to job opportunities or continue where I am. Satisfied that life is easy. Although I used to complain that life is hard but sometimes it can throw up surprises. I decided to start the New Year by going full time in the year 2023.It was indeed a bed of roses once I came to such a decision.

We go through metamorphosis when I used to think that working in the classroom can be full of stress rather than a challenge that I relish. I went through valleys that I felt so low I never wanted to walk into a classroom ever again. I never thought it was a vocational door to open right till September 2022. It was the one and only door that opened. Right where I am fearful of. Managing a classroom full of being. Alas, it is not something I can walk out of and close the door and seek other opportunities. I often tossed and turned wondering if I could have opened other doors in the events sector that I was trained in initially.

However, end of 2022 changed all that. Indeed, once I got the hang of the challenge of working part time at classroom management, life then becomes easier month by month. Till, the only door of opportunity was to go full time. It can be both exhilarating, fun and bewildering season.

It was empowering in a way that I overcame self-doubt and fears and decided to face it head on. What emerged was a stronger more courageous tiger that I wanted to become in the year 2022. Now, I am glad that the festival Chinese New Year is coming, and I love seeing rabbits everywhere.

Welcome 2023 with open hands and heart

Welcome to 2023!

I actually look forward to welcoming 2023 as a time I am going to work closely and intimately with new colleagues and a boss. I thought a lot about remaining self-employed for a long period of close to 7 years as I felt that temperamentally I am whirlwind that needed a change of scenery in order to feel excited about work or getting out of bed at all. With that change, I decided that I should erase all past employment on my Linkedin prior to that period I felt most alive.

I took close to 4 months to go from part time to full time employment with my current employer. I remembered in my past social media accounts of how the end 2014 had been when I left a previous employer. It was filled with dread yet full of optimistic hope that I can regain my own freedom to chart a certain desired course in my career.

2023 a year of commitment

I felt that I do not want to tick off what that employer wanted in their corporate checklist but create my own chart where I can finally dream of being the writer or go on a desired course of adult education and so on. So, 2022 had been a season where my past dreams were fulfilled in a small and intimate way. As the year comes to an end as I was contemplating full time employment, it was a season of clarity, certainty, tremendous level of faith and courage to believe that I can run someone else’s business and tick off their charts. I spent hours visualizing the boss’s corporate goals and felt that it synced closely with my heart’s desire. And so, I signed on after close to 4 months of waiting and heart preparation. It took that long as I felt that a full-time commitment is going to be a tremendous responsibility and when the time is ripe you will sense the blessings from the boss where you just have to receive the gift of employment with open heart and hands.

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Coming to terms with my selected Vocation

After coming to terms with my selected vocation in teaching, I felt that I might be less active on LinkedIn in 2023. 2022 is interesting as I have been online where I can access social media every other time. When I am free and I come online there would be someone intriguing to view and spark conversations with.

In summary, as I reflect on 2022 I felt that I have shared extensively on my seasons of existential crisis where I did not know who I am beyond the job title.

When life throws such a curveball like given the opportunity to pursue a new thing, I thought I would really be uncomfortable. But I am glad I embraced the new growth out of my comfort zone by training in a complete different industry in events.

I met many passionate trainers whose vast knowledge inspired me to excel at assessment and they were exceptional in getting me to read beyond the syllabus.

Studying something outside my vocation really helps my self confidence and I felt a sense of accomplishment this year by having the courage to pursue the novel.

My personal growth has been an enigma to me as I do not really know myself. I spent self employment years in solitude trying to figure what my introverted self really wants and 2022 is that milestone where I felt that kind of empowerment to be true to oneself instead of projecting an ideal work self that is not authentic.

Coming to 2023, what I do know is that after a long season of self employment I have to transition to working with a group of colleagues, clients and students regularly. This is where I will have to write a new narrative of my personal identity.