A Walk In The Park (#MY Eng 69)

This is part of a running series about English idioms - less about language, more about life itself. Previously, we covered 'missing the woods for the trees', 'the elephant in the room', 'practising what you preach', blowing hot and cold', 'no smoke without fire', 'one swallow does not make a summer', 'apples and oranges', 'cut to the chase', 'leave no stone unturned', 'that's the way the cookie crumbles', 'can't have your cake and eat it too', 'old is gold', 'putting the cart before the horse', 'mountain out of a molehill', 'pot calling the kettle black', 'bite the bullet', 'go the extra mile', 'silence is golden', 'the devil is in the details', 'sink or swim', 'once bitten twice shy', 'don't count your chickens before they hatch', 'don't put all your eggs into one basket', 'chicken and egg', 'walking on eggshells', 'flogging a dead horse', 'better late than never', 'storm in a teacup', 'between a rock and a hard place', 'darkest before dawn', 'empty vessels make the most noise', 'birds of a feather flock together', 'separate the wheat from the chaff', 'let sleeping dogs lie', 'open a can of worms', 'light at the end of the tunnel', 'trial and error', 'look before you leap', 'lightning in a bottle', 'on the same page', don't judge a book its cover', 'reinvent the wheel', 'shifting gears', 'throwing in the towel', 'jump on the bandwagon', 'passing the buck', 'breaking the ice', 'cracking the code', 'when it rains it pours', 'bigger fish to fry', 'ball is in your court', 'back to the drawing board', 'square peg in a round hole', 'don't rock the boat', 'a whole new ball game', 'burning the midnight oil', 'never say never', 'get all your ducks in a row', 'make the hay while the sun shines', 'tick all the boxes', 'a leopard cannot change its spots', 'fools rush in', 'final straw that broke the camel's back', 'tip of iceberg', 'hold the fort', 'draw a line in the sand', 'sour grapes' and 'missing the mark'.

It was tough to get going, at the start. Not knowing what exactly I've walked myself into. Onto a journey to a new frontier with no reliable map or guide. After many twists and turns, I ended up hitting a brick wall anyway...

But after a few false starts and dead-ends, I managed to find my way through. Trial and error. Constantly learning and improving by myself.

But the process certainly was from easy. At some point, I wanted to give up. My heart couldn't take any more rejections. My heard was filled with self-doubt. Should I keep trying and trying? What if this publication thing isn't really for me...

* * *

But eventually, I made a breakthrough. After months of waiting in anguished suspense, the email notification I had been dreading to receive in fear of another rejection had arrived... FINALLY! ACCEPTANCE! WOO HOO!

And I never looked back since then. The next publication went well without hitch. And then the another. All in a space of one year.

So what had seemed like a hopeless cause a year ago had turned into a routine exercise. Of course, every new publication attempt comes with a different challenge. There's still a need to burn the midnight oil and bang my head against the wall.

But I've gotten the hang of the process. And with a few new trophies under my belt, maybe I can start setting bigger and harder goals...

* * *

There's a feather in my cap, spring in my step. I'm growing in confidence. What had seemed like an arduous trek through a mountain now seems more like a walk in the park...

There's a simple moral to this story. Don't give up. Keep calm and carry on. It's always darkest before dawn. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a painful few steps before your feet start loosening up and breaking into a run.

Yes, Confucius didn't say all that, I just made that last bit up. On top of my head. While writing all these words in a blitz run. Writing comes very easy to me, see? On good days. But sometimes, I struggle to even get pass the first sentence, and can only stare at the blank sheet in utter despair while questioning the very point of my existence...

The first run is always the hardest. Once you've found your pace, the rest of the journey will be a walk in the park...

Missing The Mark (#MY Eng 68)

This is part of a running series about English idioms - less about language, more about life itself. Previously, we covered 'missing the woods for the trees', 'the elephant in the room', 'practising what you preach', blowing hot and cold', 'no smoke without fire', 'one swallow does not make a summer', 'apples and oranges', 'cut to the chase', 'leave no stone unturned', 'that's the way the cookie crumbles', 'can't have your cake and eat it too', 'old is gold', 'putting the cart before the horse', 'mountain out of a molehill', 'pot calling the kettle black', 'bite the bullet', 'go the extra mile', 'silence is golden', 'the devil is in the details', 'sink or swim', 'once bitten twice shy', 'don't count your chickens before they hatch', 'don't put all your eggs into one basket', 'chicken and egg', 'walking on eggshells', 'flogging a dead horse', 'better late than never', 'storm in a teacup', 'between a rock and a hard place', 'darkest before dawn', 'empty vessels make the most noise', 'birds of a feather flock together', 'separate the wheat from the chaff', 'let sleeping dogs lie', 'open a can of worms', 'light at the end of the tunnel', 'trial and error', 'look before you leap', 'lightning in a bottle', 'on the same page', don't judge a book its cover', 'reinvent the wheel', 'shifting gears', 'throwing in the towel', 'jump on the bandwagon', 'passing the buck', 'breaking the ice', 'cracking the code', 'when it rains it pours', 'bigger fish to fry', 'ball is in your court', 'back to the drawing board', 'square peg in a round hole', 'don't rock the boat', 'a whole new ball game', 'burning the midnight oil', 'never say never', 'get all your ducks in a row', 'make the hay while the sun shines', 'tick all the boxes', 'a leopard cannot change its spots', 'fools rush in', 'final straw that broke the camel's back', 'tip of iceberg', 'hold the fort', 'draw a line in the sand' and 'sour grapes'.

It's hard - if not impossible - to stay 100% focused every waking hour. Perfection is a lofty goal that few can quite attained. In life, we make mistakes along the way.

We all have our off-days. Some off-days can stretch on for days. Like hitting a writer's block. Which happens quite a lot in my own writings.

Often times, I'll set out to write something with a general direction in mind. Halfway through, my thoughts wander and the words take a life of its own. And before I know it, the draft takes a unexpected detour to unknown destination...

* * *

Ironically, this entire piece about 'missing the mark' missed the original mark. I had something else in mind. But once I started actually writing - lo and behold! - the words took off into a different direction altogether...

Anyway, the important thing is that I'm heading somewhere, and that somewhere is worth exploring. Never mind where the original estimated destination was. Now that we're on an adventure, we should make the best out of it.

Some projects have been slowing, some deadlines have been missed. Through no fault of mine or my other team members. Just things happening beyond out control. That leaves a gap in my schedule, which I'm quick to fill up with something else. I'm never at rest for long. Boredom makes my hand itchy.

Yes, it's nice to have some extra spare time to work on one's passion project. And to catch up with outstanding chores that's been neglected. Oh, and there's this major global event that happens once every four years...

* * *

I never expected the end of the year to be this way. Work tends to get stuck in a bottleneck in Q4. A personal domestic problem that has been affecting my lifestyle is thankfully receding away.

So I've missed the mark in a good way. My worst fears never materialised. And seems like this year promises for a merry and jolly Christmas...

Sour Grapes (#MY Eng 67)

This is part of a running series about English idioms - less about language, more about life itself. Previously, we covered 'missing the woods for the trees', 'the elephant in the room', 'practising what you preach', blowing hot and cold', 'no smoke without fire', 'one swallow does not make a summer', 'apples and oranges', 'cut to the chase', 'leave no stone unturned', 'that's the way the cookie crumbles', 'can't have your cake and eat it too', 'old is gold', 'putting the cart before the horse', 'mountain out of a molehill', 'pot calling the kettle black', 'bite the bullet', 'go the extra mile', 'silence is golden', 'the devil is in the details', 'sink or swim', 'once bitten twice shy', 'don't count your chickens before they hatch', 'don't put all your eggs into one basket', 'chicken and egg', 'walking on eggshells', 'flogging a dead horse', 'better late than never', 'storm in a teacup', 'between a rock and a hard place', 'darkest before dawn', 'empty vessels make the most noise', 'birds of a feather flock together', 'separate the wheat from the chaff', 'let sleeping dogs lie', 'open a can of worms', 'light at the end of the tunnel', 'trial and error', 'look before you leap', 'lightning in a bottle', 'on the same page', don't judge a book its cover', 'reinvent the wheel', 'shifting gears', 'throwing in the towel', 'jump on the bandwagon', 'passing the buck', 'breaking the ice', 'cracking the code', 'when it rains it pours', 'bigger fish to fry', 'ball is in your court', 'back to the drawing board', 'square peg in a round hole', 'don't rock the boat', 'a whole new ball game', 'burning the midnight oil', 'never say never', 'get all your ducks in a row', 'make the hay while the sun shines', 'tick all the boxes', 'a leopard cannot change its spots', 'fools rush in', 'final straw that broke the camel's back', 'tip of iceberg', 'hold the fort' and 'draw a line in the sand'.

One of the basis rules of happiness is stop comparing oneself with others.

Be grateful and contented with what you have. Life shouldn't be a rat race. To each their own.

Still, every good life advice comes along with caveats and exceptions. Rules aren't iron-clad absolutes. Principles shouldn't be follow strictly like religious dogma.

* * *

It's normal to excuse our laziness on differences in life purposes and priorities. We tell ourselves: "Success comes with hard work, and not all of us are programmed nor desire to work hard." However, what seems like self-awareness can often times be merely a disguise for self-defeatism. We tell ourselves not to bother climbing the towering tree simply because the grapes beyond our reach are sour anyway...

That's the trouble I see in many youngsters these days. They justify their lack of effort, motivation, and success due to personal choice. Choice? Wow, really? Choosing a life of mediocrity rather than excellence?

There's a growing social movement fuelled with all the cool buzzwords: quiet quitting, work-life balance, right to disconnect, etc. Personally, I find it rather amusing that the people complaining about receiving work emails and messages pass office hours are typically the same people gazing at their phones and hooked onto social media at every hour.

You can't have it both ways, honey. You can't complain about work interfering with your 'free time' when you're not even fully focused on work during 'work time'.

* * *

So when young people tell me that they're not keen to go on a life-changing mission (e.g. take on an interesting but difficult project) because they're just too busy with their day-to-day work at office or school, I feel a twinge of sadness for them.

Where's your sense of adventure? Zest for life? Curiosity to face the unknown?

Why make rash assumptions that the trees in the dark forest are mostly sour and rotten? Or more importantly - why does it even matter what the grapes really taste like?

The fun part about adventuring is the climb itself, and not the fruits that you get out of the climb. After all - cliché as it sounds - life is a journey and not a destination.