Tag: Pressure

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.