Some said Happiness = Reality - Expectations
The word, "expectations" let us think about ideas like "goals setting, key performance indicators, career path, choices" etc.
I would say Happiness = (Reality) power of Mindset
Even negative reality, it might be possible to see enjoy happiness with the right mindset, and the mindset being the multipler of your Happiness or misery.
I deliberately left out "expectations", as I looked back, I thought I could done a lot of things differently in my younger days, especially in terms of financial decisions. i.e saving up more, spending less, be more frugal like AK, invest in property, do more regular investing during downcycle like Paul etc. It might be embrassing to say that at the stage where half of my life is perhaps already over, I still worried over money and retirement funds as compared to many bloggers who are already selling or marketing their FIRE methods.
Hence, I decided to take whatever I have currently and just learn to be thankful for it.
Below are some of the tradeoffs I thought I have internalised well.
1) Family over friends
I used to spend a lot of time with my friends in my younger days. During my NS days, I would stay over the night at friends' place or "tor" in the public areas with them, talking over the night and going home in the morning just to sleep.
I know meet my friends a lot less, and whatever I see gathering of my friends, I use to feel shortchanged at first, but now, I feel so much happier that I am still chatting with my son, because I have spent a long of time at home
Yesterday, he just came to my school to join me during my CCA training session, and we played volleyball together. When I am his age, I already singing "今夜不回家”
2）Comfort over money
I would like to save a large sum of money and have a good buffer for emergency. But I have loosen up my purse. I have more overseas holidays now, and I usually said yes, whenever my wife have some ideas to bring the family or our nieces out to have fun.
I resisted the idea of a private property for a very long time, but decided to take the plunge, and ventured into one. I still worried over money, but I am quite happy that I fulfilled my loved ones' aspirations.
Ok. Thank you for reading my nonsensical post up till now. May your search for happiness be fruitful, and better still, there is no need for a search, since you are already surrounded by it.
