“Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering – because you can’t take it in all at once.”- Audrey Hepburn
Everyone knows life is stressful especially for those living in Malaysia more so for health care workers. We all feel sad about the news of a new house officer committed suicide in Penang recently.
The high-stress levels housemen face have been an open secret for quite some time. On a scale of one to five, 88.5% of housemen interviewed in Penang rated their stress levels at between three and five.
I always prepare my sons for a stressful life eventually during their adulthood. No job is easy in this world no matter how lucky you are. Life is going to get tougher as you get older and be prepared for more responsibilities in future, I remind them every day.
Since life is so stressful , is there any way to handle it? Besides living in an era of inflation, Malaysians have to tolerate the incompetency of the government, dwindling value of our currency and uncertainty of our future.
Although Kelly McGonigal, a Stanford lecturer and program developer for the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education might think stress isn’t too bad. No one likes stress in life .
The older I grow, after seeing so many deaths and sufferings in my practice, I understand and practice the following ways to live a happier and less stressful life.
The less you expect, the happier you become
Always expect less in life, the less you expect, the happier you become. Don’t compare yourself with others especially how much money your friends have. Money is none other than numbers that boost your ego after your basic necessities are met.
Life and work can be extremely stressful if you are trading hours in return for money especially for those who keep on upgrading their life style. The vicious cycle of ‘earn more‘ and ‘spend more’ will trap you forever in the rat race.
Wants are fickle, it is human nature to keep on wanting more in life. Unfortunately this never ending desire will make your life stressful.
Life can be short. We should live for today thinking that today might be the last day of our life. Living in a miserable and stressful state to stockpile money makes little sense.
Has the wisdom to differentiate
Change the things that can be changed to make your life happier, but accept those you can’t and have the wisdom to know the difference.
You can change a lot of things in life but there are things that you can’t. Don’t be overwhelmed and too carried away by things you can’t change. Life is such it doesn’t work the way you always want.
Accept those facts and move on. There are things in life you have no control, for example, whether you get cancer or not the next 5 years or MYR will appreciate or not next month.
Life doesn’t offer a guarantee and you have no say on a lot of things in life, just take them lightly ,be focused and carry on.
Know that you won’t last forever
Enjoy your life while you can. No organic thing lasts forever in this Universe. Since life is short, why bother about stresses in life.
Get out of the box and go outside your comfort zone to see the world.
” My boss humiliated me badly this morning!”
” My patient complaints about me and plans to sue me soon.”
Who cares about all these as long as you work according to good working ethic and conscience.
” There is one difference between a long life and a great dinner, in the dinner, the sweet comes last!” Appreciate your life, if you can’t take stresses early in life, more stressful things are coming your way when you grow old.
Eat, Exercise and Sleep Well
Exercise more and go outdoor, be connected with nature. Exposure to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension. Wake up early in the morning and feel good being alive.
Eat a balanced diet and avoid smoking and alcohol. Unfortunately a good sleep is luxurious for doctors. I try to take short weekend off sometime to have a good sleep, for me the best holiday is staying at home and have a sound and undisturbed night sleep.
Conclusion
There is no such thing as a stress-free life. We live in a imperfect world and not everything works according to your plan.
Don’t believe every worried thought you have. I have lived old enough to understand bad thoughts are notoriously inaccurate.
Try your best and work in accordance to good ethics and conscience. Our anxiety and stress do not come from our unpredictable future but rather our desire to control it. Let go things you have no control and be happy.
Hi Dr Goh, thank you for your insights to life. Simply written but deeply apt to learn about living a meaningful and purposeful life. I am a Singaporean in my 50s, closest brush with death was a hep flare at 38 yrs old. Recovered but on medication. Appreciate every living years ever since, esp. my morning coffee.
Dear Francis,
Happy you are doing well at this moment. Life always takes you by surprise, therefore appreciate every day in your life- live a simple and meaningful life!