Tag: Pressure

To Those Who Carry the Burden

Posted on by Seung Chan Lim 0

To those
who carry the burden.

The small business CEOs,
responsible for paying their employees’
salaries.

The parents,
responsible for their children’s
well-being.

The operating room doctors,
responsible for their patients’
lives.

To all those
who have experienced the weight
of responsibility on their shoulders.

You may be feeling the pressure
to meet expectations.

You may be blaming yourself
day after day
for failing to meet
expectations.

But may you never lose
the certainty
and confidence in yourself.

May you never doubt
your self-worth
or whether you’re working hard enough.

Because your life
is worthy of respect
exactly as they are.

While others may see you
challenged,
I see greatness.

Just
as the great mountains and valleys
are mere residues
of nature
under pressure and weight.

Great lives
are mere residues
of our will to sustain life
under pressure and weight.

p.s: This was inspired by my wife’s work and her comparison of nature’s work under pressure and weight and an artist’s work under pressure and weight.

p.p.s: I also made a video version of this narrated by AI.

Getting Lost by Doing Well

Posted on by Seung Chan Lim 0

When we work hard
we sometimes
lose
our way.

It’s nobody’s
fault.

When we work hard,
we tend to
focus.

When we focus,
we can
obsess.

When we obsess,
we can get
impatient.

When we get impatient,
we can become
myopic.

When we become myopic,
our priorities
can be decided for us
by our myopia,
instead
of our holistic
vision.

When our decisions
are made for us
by our myopia
instead
of our holistic
vision,
we can feel
lost.

It can be exceptionally hard
to be still
when this happens.

Especially so,
when we feel pressured
by external forces
and the fear of failure
looms large.

So we keep going
despite feeling
lost.

Gift of Permission

Posted on by Seung Chan Lim 1

I once told my mother, “You’ve lived a life of sacrifice. It’s time you lived for yourself.” She tells me this was a gift: a gift of permission.

As leaders, we often feel pressured to do things for others. It’s our way of being good, caring leaders.
We may also feel that unless we fulfill others’ expectations, we’re not good or good enough.

But what if these pressures and expectations are self-imposed?

Self-imposed notions of “good” or “caring” may be unappreciated—even resented—by others. Thus, “live for yourself” is an invitation, not to be selfish, but to be relieved of the pressure to satisfy false or unrealistic expectations. It is to make room in our relationship for realizing empathy.