Words

"Broken pencils still write, encouraging us to never underestimate the potential within something seemingly damaged."

Be The Exception

Our insecurities stem from the greatest and most predominant force on earth: the force of fear. The most prevalent way of dealing with fear is through attaining power. However, power is often attained by oppressing others, and this is where the tragedy lies. When taking advantage of another person for one’s benefit, the oppressor becomes truly oppressed because they rely on their oppressive behavior to feel powerful. In truth, power is gone, fear remains, and insecurity flourishes.

You can almost think of the above as an equation, and if skilled enough, one can rearrange the letters to create a more familiar word, such as “love.”

Thus, solving the equation involves the following:

Acknowledge and accept fear since it can never be banished.
Always, always, always be good to others.
Never take advantage of someone for personal gain.
Help people overcome their insecurities.

These are the routes to true power. Perhaps it would then no longer be called "power" but something more beautiful.

Make Bold Moves

I'm not procrastinating. I'm just biding my time and waiting for the moment that seems right in my mind. For even when tension begins to take hold, the art of good timing is worth more than gold (or so we've been mistold) to mask the inadequacies that is about to unfold.

Advice on how to avoid procrastination:

Breakdown Tasks: Big tasks shrink when you break them twice, turning something daunting into something nice.
Set Deadlines: Don't hesitate. Set a date and begin work at a steady pace. With a planner or calendar, plan your fate. Deadlines push you, don't be late.
Create a Reward System: Reward yourself when tasks are no more. Treats are available at the store.
Eliminate Distractions: Turn off the noise and keep focus instead. Quiet places give you space to concentrate on the tasks ahead.
Practice Time Management: Work in bursts, then let the clock churn. Short breaks give you energy to burn, ensuring your mind stays sharp in turn.
Address Underlying Issues: Look inside where fears may hide. If deeper issues have your hands tied, seek help to turn the tide. Don't let procrastination be your guide.
Start Small: Perfection isn't the goal at all. Just take more strides, but start small. Then reach for more, and that's all.

The world doesn't see the struggle, just the strength to endure it. We must prove our worth to upper management, or else we will vaporize as quickly as morning mist at the office, vanishing faster than our boss's promises, which became a major source of grief for us. So now we apply time management practices to stay productive or deal with the consequences, while drowning in deadlines, lost in an abyss of stress and unhappiness.

Be Intellectually Curious

It's 5:00 a.m., and I have no clue what to say.

I will play music in the background and wait to be stolen by its melody. But where will I go? Where will it take me? I will listen to the most personal songs I heard long ago. One song, in particular, transports me back to an instant when it first caused the reverberation of a new and mysterious emotion. Okay, I’ll tell you the song’s name as it plays: Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers.

I was sitting in my car, lazily huddled in the front seat. My back crouched low, and my legs stretched to meet my feet, resting high on the door's ledge while the passenger-side window remained rolled down. The car door was open, and I was in the sorriest state I could ever be. I remained sad as the fires from the heavens rained upon me. I laughed cynically at how I could be envied for owning such a beautiful car—a perfectly sculpted Mercedes-Benz, graced with the brightest red, glowing in the sunshine of this perfect summer’s day.

But I was destroyed.

My thoughts scattered into a thousand pieces, and all of them had fallen and been lost. My soul had already abandoned me, incapable of existing in this state of confusion. I was so lost. Even my wisdom, the only remaining ally, conspired against me, telling me that I would never pick myself up, and instead, I would continue to fall downwards into this endless hole of worrisome thoughts.

But for a moment, that song opened a window in my dark and shrunken universe. I was able to peer through and breathe again. I was able to feel my existence despite my circumstances. My body regained form, and my senses, deadened by depression, were suddenly alive as if I had just been reborn. The scent of life entered me, and though I was utterly still, my mind was soaring on a journey of dreams.

In an instant, I was overwhelmed by the sensation of such perfect and complete happiness. Then, as the clouds in my mind cleared, I became aware of a tingly feeling of warmth on the side of my face exposed to the sunlight.

I was at peace.

Burdens are carried in silence, even when everything seems wrong. In a sudden revelation, I now realize that it was a powerless position to be in. But an ultimatum was handed to him and he had to carry out the will of the CEO… and just like that, everyone was let go.

Champion Good Ideas

Positive thoughts shape how we feel, bringing a brighter state that's strong and real. By focusing on the positive aspects of our lives, we begin embodying what we feel inside, translating idle thoughts into action, and working toward a desired outcome. But in momentary contemplation, creating the right conditions to gain traction requires abandoning a Goldilocks approach to life: "Not too afraid to act or too complacent," holding firm to our goals, being ever persistent.

Here's four key lessons in rhyming form:

Positive Thoughts Have Emotional Appeal: Focus on the lessons learned to allow the heart to heal, while turning idle thoughts into actions that are real.
Channel Feelings into Action: When purpose fuels our every action, we chase our goals with greater satisfaction.
Create Conditions to Write: Express yourself with confidence and let your words ignite. Outline a clear path for sucess and step into the light.
Stay Committed to Progress: Always give your best—no matter the challenge or test. With persistence and focus, you'll surely find success.

We don't have to smile through the pain all the time. It's okay to let the weight show sometimes in a workplace filled with toxicity. We made countless pleas, while falling to our knees, huddled up in a ball, bullied into the fetal position, but that's not all. There are places in the office hidden from the public where people go to gossip. Unconditional hubris created an ego as big as the universe in a full display of arrogance, while we are drowning in middle management.

Put Service First

I woke up heavy and unusually worried. I may have made a mistake. The problem is related to a particular email I sent, and now I am anxious to see if I received a response. So, the first thing I did was turn on the computer to check my inbox. If that person did write, I could at least evaluate whether there is a problem. If the person didn't write, I have more reason to assume that there is one. While waiting for the browser to load, I unlocked all the applications using multiple password combinations as the antivirus performed its routine scans and updates, slowing the operating system to a painful crawl and requiring me to clear the catch, disable Wi-Fi, and reboot the entire computer.

I patiently waited for Outlook to open, and when the messages finally loaded, I realized she hadn't replied. My chest pounded like a prisoner banging on iron bars as I reviewed what I had sent, checking for self-incriminating evidence that might have triggered her to go silent. It was mentally exhausting to re-read the content, as I had written everything with great thought and care. It seemed like I was taking away from the natural order of how every thought and emotion flowed, which prompted me to write in the way I did.

I thought, "Let me take a break," and in doing so, I remembered the lessons I told myself: "Enjoy life." "Don't worry about anything." "No matter what, forgive yourself, even if you are wrong, because you are a good person." Still, I must meet a monthly sales quota, and she was my best lead or so it seemed. I can feel my chest tighten when my boss entered the scene. My thoughts scream—he is mean, like an evil queen!

Pursue Passions

"Dance like nobody is watching, sing like nobody is listening, and live like no one is judging."

While this phrase invites us to be bold and free, to sing with glee, to just be "me," it sounds good in theory to a person without much responsibility. But life weighs heavily on those juggling the demands of reality, which takes a toll on one's mental inventory, where even the simplest tasks seem like an impossibility.

Here's three lessons I see:

Overcome the Fear of Judgement: Fear of judgement keeps us shy, but we'll never know unless we try.
Find Happiness in the Present: Live in the moment by finding joy in the now and release tension, if clarity would allow.
Embrace Change: We run past our shadow to see what's real, and as we find closure, our heart begins to heal.

Ebb and flow is the way life goes, throwing unexpected curve balls to test our resolve, while we spiral out of control. But amidst the chaos and noise, we find a steady voice by allowing our thoughts to gather, and since good deeds come from a good place, I suppose that's all that matters, especially when working in a nonprofit foundation dedicated to education. Our words should be consistent with our actions, but what we reported didn't match the outcome. There was no system to monitor or track our progress, no guiding compass, no clear fallback mechanism. We were shown a project framework with hollow design. Yet our work was hailed as complete as if all is fine.

Be The Hero

"The atmosphere is scary, but he proceeds with nervous energy. With a steady voice, he takes a stand and finds courage while clenching his hands. The faces in the room are expressionless and cold—Some filled with doubt, and some eyes rolled. But with a single step, his resolve grew strong until he found the place where he belonged."

Our company is entering a terrible period that the Great Book calls "Falling Away" as we undergo a second purge and recruit more hardline party loyalists to fill the power vacuum. I played my hand carefully by maintaining an impartial stance through a calm demeanor, which helped me gain the favor of the hardline party and, more importantly, maintain it. They have a diplomatic way of excusing people: "You can hang out in this meeting if you want, but your presence is unnecessary." It's a childish way to dismiss someone. If you want me to leave, just tell me. I won't take it personally (I'll understand). Showing complacency won't give them the satisfaction of being ignored. I will maintain an indifferent stance, and so my foreign policy of neutrality still stands.

This problem isn't about me. It's about what happens behind closed doors. I adopted Marcus Aurelius' stoic philosophy of self-restraint, often playing a lost boy looking for answers. I would make subtle remarks suggesting they have the solution, effectively blowing hot air into their self-inflated egos. They dispassionately discuss the fate of workers in a meeting while an impassive secretary quietly takes notes. It's an eerie, bureaucratic way of systematically eliminating people. They are quick to blame others for their failures, so when a mistake happens, I proactively flog myself in public, repeating the phrase, "Mi Culpa," "Mi Culpa," "Mi Culpa," to neutralize the situation (it's a great equalizer). I apply my finest acting skills to support a unified front. When they no longer see you as a threat, they will only begin to trust the dark shades in your honey-brown eyes, and, with all the vanity in the world, I will tell them, "They are almost as beautiful as mine." I can stop buttering them with compliments now because the trap is set, and they've already walked in—smiling. Oblivious to the plan I had been silently concocting to dismantle the laughable systems that kept them running.

Climb Your Vine

Kriss was…

Burdened by deadlines, and his inbox could not get any fuller. He wanted to quit.

The nameless figures in the open-plan office did not speak coherent sentences, only in short-form emails and passive-aggressive Slack messages. They performed endless, baffling meetings, when they were not buried in spreadsheets and performance reviews.

Once every three months, they forced him, exhausted and weary-eyed, into endless quarterly reports. During the ordeal, he would sign off on information he didn't understand, approve budgets he couldn't justify, and deliver presentations to people who barely listened. Time blurred into a haze of fluorescent light.

He envied the overworked interns, the forgotten middle managers, the ones who had finally been laid off. Their suffering had an end.

His did not.

Click.

Send.

Repeat.

To someone trapped in an endless cycle of fear-driven work, here's what I'd say:

Define your endgame. What are you working toward?
Make yourself too valuable to be trapped by investing in yourself.
Measure your output to remind them of your worth.
Have a backup plan. The more options you have, the less power they have over you.
Ask the hard question: What's the worst that could happen?

Toxic workplaces push good people away. Others stay and slowly change, displaying the very traits they once despised—manipulation, indifference, or ruthless self-preservation—until they become the monster they once feared inside.