Chinkee Tan – Page 3

It’s Just A Habit!

News

May 062017

Chinkee Tan Are you always late? Are you always unable to finish your work or assignments? Are you always short on cash? Are you always in debt? Does this conversation look familiar… Why are you late? Traffic! Why didn’t you finish your work or assignment? I was busy! Why are you short on cash again? My salary or allowance is too small! Have you heard other people give these kinds of reasons? Or maybe, have you made excuses like these? Do you want to know the real reason behind being late, not being able to finish your work/assignment, or being short on cash and being in debt? HABIT! Being late is a habit! Not finishing your work/assignment is a habit! Not having enough and always being in debt is a habit! Are you always drinking, smoking, gambling, or partying? Or what about biting your nails, eating junk food, doing Facebook non-stop, or spending too much time on TV? One thing that is common in these examples is that they are all BAD HABITS. Why are they BAD? It’s simple. They’re bad habits because they cause serious damage to a person. They negatively influence a person in terms of work or studies, and in life, in general. I know this one person who grew up in an all-boys school. And then, because of peer pressure, he tried drinking alcohol at the early age of 16. His reason? Well, there’s nothing wrong with just a bit of alcohol. “I’m just trying it Read More …

Play Safe or Take the Risk?

News

Apr 282017

Chinkee Tan There are a lot of people who want to start a business but don’t actually do it. There are a lot of people who have great plans in life, but up until now, they haven’t acted on them. There are a lot of people who want to get married, but never actually prepare for the married life, and up to now, they’re still single. Why is this? There are many people who plan, but never really do anything about their plans! The answer is this: FEAR! FEAR OR FAILURE You’re afraid that you might fail? Well, the moment when you didn’t try — isn’t that a time that you actually did fail? Because you let an opportunity pass you by, you failed to get up and prove what it is that you can really do. And then there’s the… FEAR OF REJECTION You are so afraid that people might say no to you. Well, the truth is, no one wants to be rejected. My question to you now is, “So what if you get rejected?” Yes, it hurts, but only for a moment. Yes, it hurts, but it will make you stronger and better, so that you will know how to handle it the next time around. Another fear is the… FEAR OF NOT LIVING UP TO THE EXPECTATIONS OF OTHERS You start to doubt your own capabilities and ask yourself questions like, “Am I good enough?” “Am I prepared for this?” “Can I really do it?” If Read More …

Backstabber

News

Apr 212017

Chinkee Tan Have you ever been backstabbed? Are you a victim of people talking behind your back? You ask them what the problem is. “Nothing,” they answer. But the whole office or class already knows what the problem is. Or sometimes you’ll hear them say, “I’m not mad. We’re done with that.” But the moment you leave, they start spreading news and rumors about you. This is called BACKSTABBING. Some people try to hide their backstabbing by saying they’re just concerned about you. Then suddenly they say bitter and bad things about you. For example, in the office, someone got promoted or you were able to achieve an award, and were recognized for your effort. Then the people you call your friends say things like, “Don’t mind them! Just remember that I’m happy for you!” “They’re just jealous!” “They’re only saying those things because they’re not getting promoted no matter what they do!” But, little did you know that to other people, this is what they say: “He really is getting more boastful. He wasn’t always like that.” “It should have been me. He was just sucking it up with the boss.” “His head is getting big!” In this situation, you’ll see how backstabbing DESTROYS SOMEONE’S LIFE instead of helping him/her change for the better. If you’ve experienced backstabbing, instead of getting annoyed about it, why not just try to understand why people are acting that way? Why do people backstab? LOW SELF ESTEEM They don’t think so well of Read More …

Why Is It Hard To Talk About Money With Our Family?

News

Apr 132017

Why Is It Hard To Talk About Money With Our Family?

Chinkee Tan A lot of the parents teach their children basic things like… Saying “po” and “opo” Knowing right from left Memorizing the alphabet Counting from one to ten And many more… A lot of parents teach almost everything that a child must know, except for one thing: FINANCES Maybe this is because they themselves were not taught by their own parents. And their parents were also not taught by their own parents. In the process, some of us make BAD FINANCIAL DECISIONS. And because of these, we suffer. A lot of families also never talk about money. And because of this, we don’t learn how to… MANAGE OUR OWN MONEY I’ve never seen a baby go to a bank to open a savings account. Or, I have never seen a baby who already knows how to invest, and grows up to be a successful businessman at 5 years old. Have you? Why? Because everything that a child learns is passed on from his or her parents. And a child learns mostly by observing and imitating the lifestyle of adults. And if children are unable to find a role model, chances are, they will learn by hit and miss, and by trial and error. And if a person is not able to learn how to manage his or her money well, this usually results to… DEBT Because a person does not know how to save, budget, and spend right, the money that he or she has is usually not enough. Read More …

Don’t Be Greedy!

News

Apr 042017

Chinkee Tan “Money, money money Must be funny In the rich man’s world” These are lyrics from the song from Abba. Who does not want to earn more money? There is nothing wrong with earning money. But I’ve seen many families and lives come to ruin not because they are not earning enough, but because they are actually earning so much that they have forgotten what it’s like to have a sense of family. Some are so driven to become successful and rich that they forget the reason why they are working, and who they are working for in the first place — their families. It’s important for all of us to understand when we’re already going overboard and beyond the healthy limit — It’s already too much when you need to pee so badly, but you still don’t want to go on a CR break. It’s already too much when you take your breakfast during lunch, and your lunch during dinner. It’s already too much when you mistake your wife for your client. It’s already too much when you start whispering your workmate’s name in your sleep. It’s already too much when one can actually compare you to a raisin and not a grape because of too much stress. It’s already too much when you actually forget what day it is today, and the birthdays of all your loved ones. As they say, we need to work in moderation. Anything that is in excess will never do us any Read More …

I Don’t Want To Cram Anymore! I Don’t Want To Cram Anymore!

News

Mar 282017

I Don’t Want To Cram Anymore! I Don’t Want To Cram Anymore!

Chinkee Tan It’s Monday again! Time to go back to work and school. There are so many deadlines and homework to do. Have you ever felt lazy the whole night, and found yourself preparing and working on your readings only by dawn? Have you ever rushed to school or work, found yourself having a last look at your exams or reports? How about staying up late, chugging loads of coffee, and on your way to work, you rush? You almost tore the page of whatever it is that you’re reading, and you feel yourself having a cold sweat. The question is, “Are you finished with your work or are you just beating the deadline?” CRAMMING is the word for this scenario. We are all very familiar to this kind of studying and preparation technique. This is the quickest way to remember (at the very least) some parts from our notes, or do last minute changes that we were not able to finish ahead of time. When I was still in school, I was confident that I wouldn’t get called right away for any recitation because that was done according to class number anyway (overconfident). My style was to try hard to listen to what the teacher was saying memorize it. (Problem is, I’m often asleep.) I don’t study much. I watch TV and play games when I’m at home. So when exam time comes, “IT’S CRAMMING TIME!” When I took the exam, I couldn’t remember what it was that I Read More …

When Things Don’t Go As Planned

News

Mar 202017

Chinkee Tan Has this ever happened to you? You were planning to do something, but your plan didn’t happen. That’s exactly what happened to me today. I woke up at 2AM to catch a 4:30AM flight going to Cebu via Cebu Pacific Terminal 3. We arrived around 2:30AM at the airport. We reached the ticketing, presented our identification and plane tickets, but we were informed that our ticket was for PAL and is on Terminal 2. To avoid being late, we took the cab and weight straight to Terminal 2. When we arrived there, we were informed that we only have tickets for Cebu to Manila, but we don’t have Manila to Cebu. When we called our organiser, only then did we realize that they sent two different emails — one email had the Cebu Pacific ticket, and the other e-mail had the PAL ticket. What I was able to print was the PAL ticket, and not the Cebu Pacific ticket. The situation cost me an extra P8,500 to buy another ticket. What are the lessons that I learned? LESSON 1. NEVER ASSUME I travel a lot. Because of this, I didn’t even bother to check well which airline I was going to ride. So that was why when we were trying to do a web-check in, the Cebu Pac system wasn’t accepting my reference number because the reference number was for PAL. LESSON 2. PREPARE! PREPARE! PREPARE! If you do not prepare, you are bound to fail. Indeed, that’s Read More …

Angry! Frustrated! Stressed!

News

Mar 122017

Chinkee Tan Do you easily get angry? Frustrated? Stressed? It’s so frustrating to meet people who never think of anything else but themselves. It’s so frustrating to talk to people who never did anything else but lie and make up stories. It’s so frustrating to deal with people who can’t answer their cellphones and return a text message. Well, we all have the right to get angry and frustrated! Who wouldn’t be in situations like that? But, if we think about it, what good will it do if we are angry all the time? Angry! Frustrated! Stressed! Our days will only get ruined, and no good will come out of always being angry. Why should we punish ourselves for other people’s mistakes? The moment we don’t forgive, they win and we lose. Imagine this: you remember everything that all those “inconsiderate” people did to you every single day, whether they did it on purpose or not. You think of ways to avenge yourself every single night — you can’t even sleep at night just thinking about it! The truth is, it is you who are living in all the stress, not them. Let us not live in bitterness but in forgiveness. Let us live in peace rather than in hate. Let us live a stress-free life rather than a stressful life. I think the best solution to a life of stress is to release and to rest in the peace of God. Release your stress and you will be blessed! Read More …

The Value of Having True Friends

News

Mar 032017

Chinkee Tan People who will… Jump off a cliff with you… Go through fire with you… Wade through water for you… Save the last piece of biscuit for you… It feels great to have people like this to be your friend. These are the kinds of people who will be true to you, who will never leave you, who will be with you through thick and thin, through happy times and sad times. It’s possible for you to have a lot of friends, but to find even just one true friend is a real treasure. So how can you know if your friend is a true friend? What are their characteristics? For me, a true friend is REAL. Meaning, this is someone who is always and completely honest and transparent to me. True friends can tell you the truth even if it’s painful. Most of the time, we have “friends” who only tell us what we want to hear. And because of this, we get into trouble. True friends can tell you that your breath stinks, that you smell like you haven’t taken a bath for days, that you have hair coming out of your nose, that you need to start on a diet, and many more. They will not say things they don’t mean just to flatter you. Yes, they are sincere in praising and affirming you, but they are also sincere when there are things that you need to improve on or change. They are bold enough Read More …

How Have You Ever Felt Unloved?

News

Feb 242017

Chinkee Tan Have you ever felt or experienced these things… “I’m a legitimate child, but why are they treating me as if I were adopted?” “I’m married, but I’m taken for granted. He only notices me whenever he needs something.” “He spends more time with his friends than with us, his family.” “My son treats me as if I’m not his mother.” Do you sometimes feel like no one loves you? No one loves you in the sense that you can’t feel the respect from others? You can’t feel that the people around you value you? The worst part is that when you feel these things again and again, all the insecurity, negative thoughts, and desire to just give up will kick in. But it doesn’t have to end up like that. You, yourself can do something to relieve yourself of the pain that you are feeling, and make yourself feel loved. Because after all the way that you feel is something that you can decide on your own. What are the things that one must remember in the midst of feeling unloved, insecure, or unimportant? TALK TO THE PERSON WHO MAKES YOU FEEL LESS If you can’t understand why this certain person treats you the way that he/she does, talk to him/her. Talk to the person who has offended you. He/she might have a problem during those moments that he/she didn’t treat you kindly. Or this person might have no idea at all that his/her words and actions are Read More …

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