i have been wondering lately.

Although i’m still at my early 20s, thoughts and plans of future do sometimes cross the fickle mind of what a person really wants in mind.

At this age, we should at least have thought of what you want and what you want to have 10 years down the road, or at least 5 years from now.

This has been occurring to me of late. So plans of “wanting” more responsibility starts to find it way around the details and figures.

And after a while, you start to tell yourself that it’s quite hard to live the life you want with the current life that one is going through.

Why you asked?

Whatever you wanted, whether it’s for the next 5 years or the next 5 minutes, in 99% of the cases, whatever you had wanted or dream for it’s always something better, something greater, something more pretty and something more respectful.

It’s because you want to live a better life, you want to be more happy, you want to be more satisfied or you want to be more respected.

And all this better,greater, more prretty and more respectful dreams comes with a heavy price tag.

Let me illustrate.

10 years back, most probably you will be in high school like me, AND probably wanted the same stuff as me. You wanted a better performing computer so you can play the latest games - you wanna have fun.

Or you probably wanted a more stylish and performing bike so that you can enjoy your ride - you wanna feel comfortable.

5 years later, at the end of high school, you still want that higher performing computer, in addition, you want a stylish mobile phone.

And also you started to enjoy good expensive food and soon crave for it now and then or you want to have a better wardrobe collection so that you look more presentable and impressive.

At present time, you still probably want the same thing as i want.

You want a house, you need a car, you want that reasonably huge LCD TV so you can watch either ESPN or Discovery channel. You also want a bloody powerful home theater system to compliment your huge LCD screen.

Then you start to fill up your house with the contemporary designs you have in mind.

Now lets bring reality to life, at any time of this “phases” of wants, it’s always something to you need to pay extra for and you strive every inch of muscle so you are able to achieve it.

Lets take the current example, you want a house.

A decent house cost RM300k or so and after getting the house key you want to renovate the house, there goes another RM30k. Furnishing it with decent furniture and electronics take another 20k.

All in all, your house costs RM350k and you take a RM320k loan to buy your dream home after saving all those years for the 30k house down payment.

For the next 30 years, you are a committed slave to the bank that you find paying the interest of the loan can be challenging enough.

Together with your insurance, car loan, and credit card bills, you tell yourself that you need to work harder to get that pay raise and find no time enjoying the bigger, greater, more pretty and more respectful dreams that already you have on hand.

You start to wonder, what happened?

Was it the planning that went wrong? or was it the greed that make you suffer?

Am i not suppose to dream? or am i having a too ambitious dream?

My opinion is that the society has painted this rule through media and education. Fathers always tell their sons to work hard so that they can have a better life. And better life indeed the son enjoyed, but not through many miserable periods at the end of each month.

Paying 33% of your salary to pay for your kancil is the same as paying 33% for your BMW when you’re a doctor.

Yes, you are living a better life by society standards, but are you living a better life by your own standard?

Now if you are able to pay your BMW with only 20% of your salary, AND not committing that 13% extra to other commitments, i say that you can afford to live better.

You now have MORE choices in life.

So now you realized this, you choose a honda civic which is ain’t that bad over a BMW and you tell yourself one day you will drive one.

The keyword?

Delayed gratification.

It’s never wrong to be greedy and ambitious, but it’s a big wrong if you have uncontrolled greed.

Always dream for the highest and enjoy the latest.

Happymah!~




Bone Connector