Crash999 Posted February 8, 2003 Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 Says artiew: Lets face it - work is work : its what you can salvage at the end of a week/month/year of the stuff that makes all the difference. Taking a lesser job simply to be a short walk from your favourite part of Thailand may seem like a good idea, but I wonder how many expats have questioned the decision after a few months in the LOS ? I disagree here as a matter of personal philosophy. It's very hard to see work as just work and live for the weekends and live a happy life. You'll wind up living/waiting for 6pm, for Friday, for the next holiday, for retirement, etc. And when things get tough, or when work takes away those moments of solace then whole thing gets very depressing. If there's anything I've learned in life so far it's that life is really what one makes of it. Sounds like a cheesy cliche but there's actually something to this in that quality of life is directly related to how one perceives things. If you start to see yourself in a shitty situation then you'll start to feel like you're in a shitty situation and complain and moan and make yourself physically and mentally ill. Conversely, if one makes a conscious effort to see the good side of things then life will be much brighter. I'm sure we all know people (many retired folks seem to fall into this mindset) who really don't have many responsibilities but they find major hassle in their daily routines. It's like no matter how busy people are, they always see themselves being in stressful situations. It's no wonder that Prozac is the American housewife's drug of choice! One really has to learn to enjoy work. Work isn't a burden but more like a duty, a responsibility for onesself and others, through which one can find meaning and the satisfaction of accomplishment. Kazuo Inamori, the founder of Kyocera ceramics, derived a formula to explain personal success as follows: (natural ability on a scale of zero to 100) x (effort on a scale of zero to 100) x (attitude, positive or negative) The most interesting part of this formula is how one's effort is on par with one's natural abilities. Thus the lazy but brilliant person may accomplish the same or less than the person with that has only average ability but a high level of determination. And one's attitude must be positive/constructive as a negative attitude will invert the outcome. I have made a conscious effort to follow this formula and other principles of his and it really has made an enormous difference in my work. The days fly past. Weeks go by in a flash, often before I know it. Now I sometimes find myself surprised that it is already Friday instead of bemoaning the fact that it is only Wednesday. Another month goes past and hey, another paycheck has come in. The consequence of this is that I now have a lot less personal time than before owing to my greater involvement at work. Even though I live here in the LOS, I have ended up going out much less than before. I have some friends that I now communicate with more on the boards than in real life! But the most important end-result is that I am much more happy than before and have a great sense of personal fulfillment- a marked difference from when I was treating work as, well, just work. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 9, 2003 Report Share Posted February 9, 2003 Very good said! The formula is more than true, especially when working in a big enterprise. Natural ability and effort are worth nothing with a lack of political/ social skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous_Dog Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 I am an expat, who left his job and employer after a huge on going fight with my company president. I gotpaid in US$, which as an Aussie was great. Now the Euro is up - I'd like to get paid in Euros. So what did I do. I took an idea my President rejected, then tried to hijack as his own, then mothballed. I now have a major corporate backer and am launching my own company. back in the land of smiles where I Thought I was leaving for he last time on Jan 6 this year! HOWEVER - this time I have placeed my parent company in Singapore. As much as I live Thai women, bars etc, I'd rather live and work in Singapore and visit Bangkok very regularly, which I hope I can do. By the way - we are an electic bunch of guys, and I agree, maybe a few brains put together could do something unusual and successful, but living in Bangkok, it an get boring1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Cow Jai Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 "...but living in Bangkok, it can get boring." Who said you have to live in Bangkok? I used to live in Bkk, then I kept a weekend place there, but now to be honest, I have no desire to spend more than a few days at a time there. I live LOS the other way round - live in the quiet of the provincial countryside by week, and go to Bkk at the weekends once or twice a month. There's no shortage of girls who want to visit and escape from Bkk for a few days. For me the real joy of Thailand is the quiet provinces. Out here its beautiful, easy going, no traffic, easy to deal with in terms of size, better value, little stress and a great quality of life I could not hope to match in Bkk - regardless of income. I don't entirely understand why so many falangs tenaciously stick to Bkk and Pattaya. While I know many of the board members work there, and it is very difficult for them to find the time to explore provincial Thailand, I also think many others are blinded by the bright neon lights of the 'Pong and Nana and are sadly missing many of Thailands best points... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasmine Posted February 11, 2003 Report Share Posted February 11, 2003 Hi, [color:"red"]. Natural ability and effort are worth nothing with a lack of political/ social skills. [/color] I second that even though I need to update my political skills almost daily. Jasmine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 30, 2003 Report Share Posted May 30, 2003 I just started reading this post a few days ago, I also plan on making a move to LOS, I just can't get the plan together. I think everybody who is in this position should share ideas and maybe organize a plan! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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