The 4 Things I've learned in 2024

1. An hour is plenty of time.

It's my fault for not treating time as a precious commodity. I viewed time as something expendable. Or I'm always telling myself that I'll have time for things tomorrow. But time moves forward. We can't bring time back once it's spent. 

It's not about pressuring myself to do something early on; or adoring deadlines; but it's about trusting that one hour is plenty of time. What's ironic is that my work involves time management aka university exams.

So there was one time that I could not sleep at all. Not at all. I was still awake at 4 AM. I had no choice but to start the day early. A Monday to boot. I played New World for one hour: hence fought off a lot of enemies, completed nine quests, and earned about 3k gold coins. Then went back to bed at 5 AM to try to get some shut eye for an hour before getting up again at 6 AM.

Maybe it's the one in one hour. One surely sounds small. But one hour is still 60 minutes. A task or two can be completed in one hour. When I get home, I have to push myself to do something fun for one hour to break the monotony or fight off any looming depression. And not to be negative that I only have an hour of free time. Just because it's only an hour, doesn't mean that nothing will happen. Fun things (and many things) can happen in an hour.

2. Life can drastically change the moment you wake up.

Maybe you wake up from a phone call about a grim news. Perhaps you woke up because something happened and someone shouts your name at home for help. Or it could be that you woke up and heard a loved one having a nervous breakdown. It sounds like it's too much to ask but we need to be ready in life. And deep down have that spiritual peace no matter what happens tomorrow. Not to mention to avoid being negative about waking up to another new day. How we look at waking up everyday will steer the outcome of the day.

3. Health is wealth indeed.

What do you do when you're sick? 

As much as I wanted to game while being sick, I'm stuck in bed most often. I couldn't lift up a controller, or I get teary eyes when looking at a screen. The muscle ache or the headache makes it difficult to be upright and cozy. Although there are times when it's possible to game when sick, the bigger picture is that I can't do anything else. I'm exhausted. I don't have assets to help my burden. I can't prep something to eat when it's late. Or crave for fruit at 2 AM when there's no fruit in the pantry. Or look for a walk-in clinic during the holidays. We have to take care of our body and eat fruits and vegetables; at least stock up with these and vitamins at home.

4. Things that you take for granted get valuable fast.

And things that you value become worthless.

When you have a clogged nose, it's true that you suddenly appreciate the times when you were breathing normally. Or when you're too ill to drive to the supermarket and then realize the value of simply being able to go to places when you need to. Or have free time to play but are too choosy on which game to play; only to shake your head doing nothing because of real life responsibilities. It's about learning to appreciate what we have.

It's hard to play while I'm sick. I start to feel bad about two things: I can't use this thing I spent, and now I regret about being bored. Time becomes invaluable when you don't have it; a paradox. Finding the chance to play becomes difficult when surrounded by chores and it's time to sleep for work tomorrow. So when there's a chance, grab it. Seize that chance to become better, to unwind, or to discover. Especially when it's a chance to spend the time with those who you love.

Learn to value the priorities in life. Hold on to what's important. Find what you want; want what you find; have what you want; want what you have. Happy New Year to all.