Dozing ox?

This is a beautiful ox - young, shiny body and looks sturdy and alert, grazing on the field of grass. I hope the Ox year will be a year full of hopes and realisations for me personally, despite market sentiments.

Everyday, everywhere, every minute in the news, hearsay, and predictions, all pointed to gloom-and-doom year because of the dull global economic crisis. We could not help but only hope things brighten up soon.

Just the other day, I heard someone in the neighbourhood has jumped and committed suicide. It was learnt he was a foreign worker from China and struggling to work here and to make ends meet. It was said he borrowed about $2000 from his agent and remitted the money back to China for his wife and kid so that they could have a better CNY. With that, he was gone.

An aunt of mine who is a HR director said she has done 4-5 rounds of retrenchment drives for her company, and it was quite sad and heartbreaking to break the news to those staff who were being retrenched, and she was due to deliver another round of retrenchment after CNY. She was so despondent that she would be going for a short getaway during CNY, as she has no mood to celebrate. Another aunt is worried that her manufacturing company may retrench her and keeping her fingers crossed. Morever, her husband who is a GM in a Japanese representative company here, is also out of a job, as his company has closed operations in Singapore. And they have a big family of 4 children and maid and commitments to take care of.

Another uncle's son is due to start overseas studies in Australia, and the couple is coping to manage that. Luckily the son is obedient and earns his own keep as well, it is a blessing he is hardworking and willing to work to share his parents' burden. Another uncle's son has started his own business in this crisis, and has sought help from his father. I wonder if this was a good decision at this time when his parents are also struggling to keep their own business afloat as well as supporting 2 other children's university studies.

My brother-in-law left his 10-year-old job a few months ago to start his own business, and is trying to sustain it during this economic situation. On the home front, I hope to maintain the current job I have gotten used to, I need a lot of drive and discipline if I want this business to work. At the same time, I am also exploring some opportunities which I am familiar with in my past trade.

I hope I can turn this crisis period into my benefit, by riding on untapped opportunities and maintaining a good relationship with my clients. I have always been an optimistic person willing to take risks (eventhough if my luck may be down at times) and gungho in venturing into uncharted territories, simply because I believe in being optimistic (at the very least, act optimistic) then a situation will have a chance to succeed. If we remain pessimistic, the chances of you succeeding is almost zero, and worse, makes you down and unhappy and critical. Despite everything, let's remain positive, optimistic and pray for a good Ox year ahead.

“An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox.”

Let's charge head-on like a bull, and not be a dozing ox in this new year.