As I stare at the biggest crossroad of my life, I know the time has come for me to make my move.
After building my banking career for over 20 years and moving up the corporate ladder to be part of the senior management team, I will be calling quits and moving to a new country with my family.
Family members and close friends were shocked at my decision. I have a successful, well paying and stable banking career in cosmopolitan and safe Singapore. I live in a comfortable private apartment located in a sought-after neighborhood. My wife can easily get a comfortable job and both my children are studying in top schools in Singapore.
I am fully aware that life will not be easy in the new environment. Overnight I will probably become a 2nd class citizen. I will miss my support network. I will have to make new friends. I will never be able to get a job that is anywhere close in term of my current seniority or salary. I may even end up jobless or doing menial job. Basically I will have to start all over again.
So what had happened that has caused me to be at this crossroad? Am I being naive to embark on this route?
Logically, I do not have an answer. I know it does not make sense, especially if I look in terms of dollars & cents or the physical & material well-being that I have now and may have to forgo. The opportunity cost is really high.
Could it be mid-life crisis? Perhaps I am getting tired of my work-centric life, leaving home at 7am & returning after 8pm? Maybe, after more than 2 decades of working in a fast pace environment, I just need to slow down & take time to smell the rose?
One thing I am sure is that I need a change. Perhaps a new challenge in life. Doing something that I will find meaning and fulfillment. After all, I have just one life. How much more time do I have in this life journey, I will never know. I must therefore make the best of the time that I have now in appreciating life and living life to the fullest.
What does all these entails in concrete terms, I also do not know. What I know is that I will enjoy spending time with my wife and two children. I know I will enjoy drinking a cup of coffee whether in the heat of summer, the bloom of spring, the breeze of autumn or the freezing cold of winter. I know I will find peace in doing my own things or even doing nothing.
Will this move turn into an illusive dream? or a nightmare? I am confident that it will be a dream come true because it is a change that I am looking forward to. I am not dreaming of a successful new career. Neither am I dreaming of walking on streets of gold. I am just dreaming of a simple life with my family.
There will always be many questions about the unknown future. But I take great comfort in one of my favorite Christian songs .."I don't know about tomorrow......but I know who holds the future and I know who holds my hand".
If things just don't work out, I will still be proud that I have done it. I will then be staring at another biggest crossroad of life!
This is life.....
After building my banking career for over 20 years and moving up the corporate ladder to be part of the senior management team, I will be calling quits and moving to a new country with my family.
Family members and close friends were shocked at my decision. I have a successful, well paying and stable banking career in cosmopolitan and safe Singapore. I live in a comfortable private apartment located in a sought-after neighborhood. My wife can easily get a comfortable job and both my children are studying in top schools in Singapore.
I am fully aware that life will not be easy in the new environment. Overnight I will probably become a 2nd class citizen. I will miss my support network. I will have to make new friends. I will never be able to get a job that is anywhere close in term of my current seniority or salary. I may even end up jobless or doing menial job. Basically I will have to start all over again.
So what had happened that has caused me to be at this crossroad? Am I being naive to embark on this route?
Logically, I do not have an answer. I know it does not make sense, especially if I look in terms of dollars & cents or the physical & material well-being that I have now and may have to forgo. The opportunity cost is really high.
Could it be mid-life crisis? Perhaps I am getting tired of my work-centric life, leaving home at 7am & returning after 8pm? Maybe, after more than 2 decades of working in a fast pace environment, I just need to slow down & take time to smell the rose?
One thing I am sure is that I need a change. Perhaps a new challenge in life. Doing something that I will find meaning and fulfillment. After all, I have just one life. How much more time do I have in this life journey, I will never know. I must therefore make the best of the time that I have now in appreciating life and living life to the fullest.
What does all these entails in concrete terms, I also do not know. What I know is that I will enjoy spending time with my wife and two children. I know I will enjoy drinking a cup of coffee whether in the heat of summer, the bloom of spring, the breeze of autumn or the freezing cold of winter. I know I will find peace in doing my own things or even doing nothing.
Will this move turn into an illusive dream? or a nightmare? I am confident that it will be a dream come true because it is a change that I am looking forward to. I am not dreaming of a successful new career. Neither am I dreaming of walking on streets of gold. I am just dreaming of a simple life with my family.
There will always be many questions about the unknown future. But I take great comfort in one of my favorite Christian songs .."I don't know about tomorrow......but I know who holds the future and I know who holds my hand".
If things just don't work out, I will still be proud that I have done it. I will then be staring at another biggest crossroad of life!
This is life.....
Hi. I stumbled upon your blog from Channel's. I am in Toronto too. I identify with your thoughts and situation. Some say it is suicide when I was in Singapore, but to me, it just makes perfect sense. We make hay while the sun shines. But the sun ain't going to shine forever. Like the seasons you mentioned, there will be seasons in life. Instead of avoiding the season, we should accept the seasons. God bless. Have a great evening from a friend in Toronto.
ReplyDeleteI am really really touched...this is the kind of post that is so true so real...an excellent and touching piece ..life is real and we can't fake it..
ReplyDeleteI have not read anything so heartfelt as this..I love the person who wrote this...
Making a choice that leads us to a road less trodden is likened to choosing the narrow path..
The thought of losing everything can be scary but no one can outdo HIM in overcoming all our fears.
Thanks....dear...
Hello,
ReplyDeleteA friend has asked me to respond to your blog. If it is any consolation, there is a doctor who has worked for 15 years in Singapore working as a general worker to gain Canadian experience.
Another example is a decorated ASP and national sports celebrity who gave up his promising career in Singapore to take up a trade as a carpenter in Vancouver. The list could go on and on.
I have just written an article, "Emigrating to Canada - My personal experience." that you may like to read. I have also just posted a cartoon series on ,"The Plight of Singapore Males". Hope my article could be useful for you.
www.sg-quitters.blogspot.com
God Bless
Wing Lee
Hi, Thks so much for all your comments & encouragement. Its so uplifting to be in the midst of like-minded people who understand. Yes Wing Lee, I have already read your article, an excellent piece of work that has been a great assurance to me. God bless you all!
ReplyDeletei take my hat off to you for having the clear-sightedness to know what you want, and the courage to go out and try and realise it. i hope you achieve your goal. i found when i was retrenched 5 yrs ago that starting anew can be enervating. and when you trust in yourself and god, things somehow work out.
ReplyDeletei dont know you and you dont know me, but your piece moves me and i wish you the very best.
it is a pity though that you are leaving. this country needs people like you, people with guts and gumption, with values that go beyond money, now more than ever.