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| Walking around Shinjuku in Tokyo |
I came back from the trip around 2 weeks ago and was back to the usual busyness of work and life. I didn't have the energy to do anything after work and weekends is mostly spent with the same routine of spending time with my fiancee on Saturday and exercise on Sunday plus spend time with my family. There are lots of things to plan for our big day next year which is getting closer each day. I also had catch up with my friends as well.
Life is full of surprises in a sense that there are always ups and downs. For me, its no different and I struggle to keep myself happy on some days and sink into gloominess. It gets worse and worse when I see the struggles in my life and also in other people's life. I get worried on certain occasions about health, money and so on. Many things have happened in the past 2 years seeing some loved ones gone, some in poor health and this worries me a lot. I no longer focus so much on money anymore as I felt life is getting shorter and shorter. I do hope this feeling is normal and I'm not the only one who feels this way.
One of the reasons I stopped blogging for so long is because of all these negative emotions and I wanted to hide it and to be alone. In the 5 years of starting this blog, I don't think I have stopped for so long before. Now, I feel better and ready to take on life challenges again and wanted to share this episode in my life with all of you. If you're also facing life challenges and feel that life is hard, do not give up as you will definitely be stronger after this. Life is not always smooth sailing and there will always be problems to deal with. Yes we may get tired so we need some time to relax and recharge again. In this instance, spending money on good food and going overseas may be the best thing to do.
For work, its always busy even after 9 months on my new job. This is my 3rd job and its the most hectic among all my jobs so far but its also the job I find most meaningful to do. I've been tasked with big projects to really change things which I feel happy to take on. The working environment has been good and people are generally nicer here in the healthcare sector. This is also the 3rd industry I've changed to and its interesting to learn new things and see how different industries in Singapore operate.
For investments, its been a good year even with the trade war still ongoing. Stocks have went up crazily and with my portfolio made up of mostly blue chips and REITs, it benefited a lot. My portfolio is already up 11.3% for the year and I've started to sold some of the stocks such as Frasers L&I and Starhill global REIT. One of my favorite stock, Ascendas Hospitality trust is having a merger with Ascott residence trust and I think the offer is quite decent. In any case, I've held this stock for many years with almost 100% return on investments already including dividends received. This is the highest dividend yielding stock in my portfolio at 8.4% for many years. Its a pity I can't get that kind of dividend yield anymore if the deal goes through.
I do feel life is short and I want to enjoy fully what life has to offer. Someone younger than me and whom I'm close to passed on a few years back and till now its still hard to accept the loss. There are other things that happened but I shall not mention here. Life situations has changed my view towards it and I hope its a good change for now.
Hey SGYI,
ReplyDeleteRegarding "I do hope this feeling is normal and I'm not the only one who feels this way", you are not alone. I'm feeling it as well.
Jia you!
Cheers
UN
Hi UN,
DeleteGlad to hear I'm not alone. Jia you too!!
Cheers
Hey, been following your blog for quite awhile.
ReplyDeleteQns: on buying dividend stocks - i want to accumulate and earn dividends as passive income but however when stock price rises - should I sell for capital gains?
Or is a matter of preference?
Hi JC,
DeleteI would think at some point in time we will have to sell some stocks for capital gains. I wouldn't sell all but probably half or more to lock in some capital gains first. Unless the stock has really went up so much (eg capital gains is more than 3 years worth of dividends) then i may sell all since 3 years is a long time and I can still get the stock at lower prices when it goes down later.
Hi SGYI,
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone. I am also going through a roller coaster ride. My problem is I tend to worry and think too much. What is a seemingly ordinary task can become very stressful for me. Even as I look forward to a happy occasion, I can't help but worry that something will go wrong.
Here are some things that I am doing which I hope it will help you. Think of one positive thought. No matter how much negative thoughts or emotions I am swarmed with, seeing my wife at the end of the day makes it all worthwhile. I also confide with my wife, parents and a few close friends. It takes courage as no one likes the feeling of sharing one's weakness with another. I also fear that sharing my problems will add on to their problems so I split my problems with people that can mostly like help me.
Lastly, take inspiration from others. I am talking about ordinary people around us (not Bill Gates, Jack Ma but the man on the street), if they can do it so can I.
Be strong. Cheers!
Hi Derek,
DeleteThanks for sharing your experience with me. I feel comforted just reading it. Good advise there!
Hi Derek ,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're feeling better. Stay Strong and positive even though easier said done. Looking forward to your blog posts.
Hi Von,
DeleteThanks for your encouragement. Btw, you might have called the wrong name as I'm not Derek ;)
Hi bro, i think brian from 3foreverfinancialfreedom prolly encountered similar feeling as you. Recently, his recent post on his dad's stroke impacted him and he had to abandon his mini retirement plan which he just started (He quitted and left his job) and plan to go back into the corporate world. Proverb goes "Man proposes, God disposes". While F.I.R.E is many people holy grail, it's good to have a yin yang balance. You push yourself too hard to achieve your goal, you might compromise your health and neglect life simple pleasures with people around you. Life is like yin yang in a circle, the better you can balance the yin yang, the further you can sustain and live happier each circle day. Any time, people close to you including yourself can vanish suddenly even before you achieve F.I.R.E. So take care of your physical and mental well being. Sometimes once damage is done to our well being, it's hard or impossible to reverse. Try to live each day as if you have no regrets if you were to leave this world suddenly, knowing that you have "consistently" live your past daily life to the fullest.
ReplyDelete“The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered "Man! Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”
Yes its good to live each day with no regrets. In the past, I always focus on saving money bec of fear of having not enough for future. Now, I see future is uncertain so trying to enjoy more. I probably didn't regret saving more money when I was younger as it did put me in a better financial position to spend more now without going into financial problems. I guess once habits built up (I've been a hardcore saver for the past 10 years or more) its difficult to reverse it. I'm enjoying more of my present now but still worry about the future. Haven't figure out how to get this worry away or not worry too much.
DeleteThanks for your advise! Its insightful and i appreciate yoir sharing :)