My return trip to Singapore is very much like the time change we experience every year.  I feel like I’m falling back into a world that is so very different from the one I’m accustomed to.  I now live across the street from the apartment I first lived in when I came to Singapore 15 years ago. Much has changed but much has not. Here are a few reasons why I think we should all take the time to reflect as time changes.

Perspective

On one of my first trips out of my current home in Singapore, I realized that I was steps away from the first home I lived in when I first arrived in Singapore 15 years ago.  I recognized that the building I now live in is one I watched being built.  While that geography is relatively tiny, I have grown many times over.

One of the reasons I was so discouraged in moving to Singapore was the story of the American that got caned in Singapore. For many people, this was the only knowledge they had of Singapore.  It didn’t matter that the information was secondhand knowledge or viewed through an unknown lens, it was what they knew of Singapore, and it colored their opinions.

Reflection

For me, it reminded me of what others had told me 18 years prior.  Why would I want to become a flight attendant after earning a bachelor’s degree?  Why would I want to become a waitress in the sky?  The decision to become a flight attendant, like moving my family to Singapore, was based on the same premise. Looking back helps me to look forward and it gives me confidence in my decisions.

Confidence

Reflecting helped me realize that my life would have been decidedly different if I had listened to others and not myself years ago.  Reflection helped me know that I could make my decision confidently because I had faced similar choices before.  I was able to see the bigger picture that moving to Singapore meant for my family and me. In the years since I have made those decisions, I have had no regrets.

As time falls back today, I urge you to not only think of the hour loss but about the many decisions you could have made. Think not only about what could have been but about what could be?  Live life: you’ve only got one, so make it the best it can be.  Buy that ticket, take that trip. Alone or with others, take the journey and make it your own.

https://www.newsweek.com/justice-six-lashes-187070