I was like that too

I had a wise friend GM in my undergraduate days. He is still my friend now and I have known him since Sec 1. But it was during our four years in the same society (i.e. ECA) that we interacted more and were closer. He was well read and could often quote meaningful verses, some of them which I still remember today.

He was the person I first heard the phrase ' 将心比心', 'even our fingers are not of the same length, so do not have overly high expectations of people to treat every one equally', '一个人的快乐，不是因为他拥有得多，而是因为他计较得少' and many more.

As I mentioned in one of my previous post, sometimes it could be many years past before one really understand some things.

Now that I am not so young, when I encounter young people, I am reminded of the same things I once did.

In my weekly badminton group, there is a person who is not very popular because he is simply not a good sport. He wants to win every match and will show his displeasure at his partner for almost every point lost, and he himself is not a terribly good player and almost as liable for the lost points as his partner. In the beginning, I try to avoid partnering him and even to the extent of avoiding playing against him.

But after I ' 将心比心 ', I know that I am also guilty of such unsporting behaviour too. During my JC days, I normally play basketball, but there was an opportunity to play badminton and I was very excited because I used to be from my primary school team and thought I could show off. But I was paired to play with one of my classmates who played very badly. I sulked and finally stomped off from the court. Thankfully, I had another wise friend then, who followed me off the court and sternly rebuked me and ordered me not to display my tantrums and return to the badminton court. I am forever indebted to this friend for teaching me this important lesson of life.

In my work in recent years, I supervise younger or lesser experienced officers and often have to vett their work. Sometimes, I get frustrated that they are not able to meet a certain level of proficiency but then I will remember I was like them too as a young officer. I was fortunate to have good bosses who patiently go through my work and point out where improvements need to be made. Come to think of it, even now with some seniority, I know that my level of work, when viewed by my supervisor is probably not up to his mark as well. haha