Friday, August 27, 2010

Everyone’s special in his own way

MY PAPER TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2010, PAGE A16, VIEWPOINTS
From http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ebook/web_php/fvbrowserjs.php?urljs=http://myepaper.mypaper.sg/ecreator/sphopf/mya240810cnd_opf_files/mya240810cnd.js&ver=Gen
By GEOFF TAN, myp@sph.com.sg



PHOTO: http://www.psychologytoday.com/files/u522/free%20from%20depression.jpg
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prescriptions-life/200910/is-depression-contagious-how-i-caught-it-and-cured-it



PHOTO: GEOFF TAN
The writer is a senior vice-president of Singapore Press Holdings’ marketing division.
MY PAPER TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2010, PAGE A16, VIEWPOINTS


I recently heard of a few cases of people suffering depression because they felt lousy about themselves, some to the extent of contemplating drastic measures, like suicide.

This has impelled me to share my thoughts on the topic of self-esteem.

In a country as affluent as Singapore, where the rich are fast getting richer while the poor find it a struggle to keep pace, the aspect of self-worth or self-esteem features as an important element that needs to be addressed across any individual’s scope of reference.



PHOTO: http://www.chopra.com/files/images/hands.jpg


Someone once wrote that self-esteem is about how much you value yourself and how important you think you are. It’s about how you look at yourself and how you feel about the things you have accomplished.

Many people get the wrong impression that self-esteem is all about how great you feel about yourself and visibly demonstrating your confidence and ability, sometimes to the extent of coming across as being boastful.

To me, self-esteem is akin to quietly knowing that you are worth a lot, regardless of race, wealth, intelligence or station in life. It’s all about recognising that you are blessed, talented and “priceless”!



PHOTO: http://www.alissaferullophotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Bailey5.jpg
http://www.alissaferullophotography.com/blog/


This brings to mind Master-Card’s “Priceless” advertising proposition.

Dr Jim Farrell, a professor ofhistory and director of American Studies at Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, has commented that “MasterCard’s ‘Priceless’ ads are obviously designed to respond to the American public’s worry that everything is being commodified, and that we’re becoming too materialistic”.

“So the ads emphasise the things money can’t buy, the intangibles that make the good life really good.”

You need neither money nor a high position to know that you are worthy of being loved and accepted.

Stop for a moment and you will realise that nobody in the entire world is perfect, and that having a positive self-esteem does not stem from material things but from a perception that is within yourself.



PHOTO: http://www.bonnieeverett-hawkes.com/images/iamsp.jpg


I stumbled upon a story recently about a well-known speaker who started his seminar by holding up a $500 note. In the room of 200 people, he asked: “Who would like this $500 note?” Hands started going up.

He said: “I am going to give this note to one of you but first let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple the note up. He then asked: “Who still wants it?” Still, the hands went up in the air.

“Well, what if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked up the dirty and crumpled note and asked: “Now, who still wants it?” Still the hands shot up.

The valuable lesson this speaker was trying to inculcate in his audience had to do with “value”. No matter what he did to the money, the people still wanted the note because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $500.



PHOTO: http://www.airsprungbeds.co.uk/images/bed-of-roses.jpg
http://www.airsprungbeds.co.uk/


Friends, I’m sure you realise that life never promises to be a bed of roses. All of us go through ups and downs, with more downs than ups sometimes.

Yes, there are occasions we are made to feel like the $500 note – dropped, crumpled and ground into the dirt, to the extent that we feel as though we are worthless.

We live through situations that come by us and we make decisions to the best of our ability. But things don’t always end up the way we want them to be.


PHOTO: http://eternalexpressions.net/images/Special%20Fruit%20Basket.jpg


But, regardless of what transpires or what will transpire in the future, you need to remember that you – just like the note – will never lose your value. All of us are special in our own right.

Someone once said: “Never let yesterday’s disappointments overshadow tomorrow’s dreams.”



PHOTO: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/kbaumle/Garden%202008/garden_7_18_08_f.jpg
http://ourlittleacre.blogspot.com/2009/01/island-girl-and-her-plants.html


So lift your head high and recognise that “value has a value only if its value is valued”!
By GEOFF TAN, myp@sph.com.sg

The writer is a senior vice-president of Singapore Press Holdings’ marketing division.



PHOTO: http://www.wan-press.org/advertising2009/images/upload/Geoff_Tan.jpg



HELPDESK
我的字典: Wǒ de zì diǎn
Self-esteem: 自尊心 - zì zūn xīn
Boastful: 自夸的 - zì kuā de
Crumple: 农皱 - nòng zhòu
A bed of roses: 养尊处优 - yǎng zūn chǔ yōu



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