What I'm reading today

• Android or iPhone? Looks like Android it is.
• The JD has lost its prestige here in America. Is it worth going to law school?
• Advice like youth, probably just wasted on the young.
• I want one of these for my bike ride this summer.
• I have set up a new blog to document my experiences as I bike across America for cancer this summer! Please check it out and donate to the cause!

A Relationship with Self

The most important relationship we have in our lives is with our selves, mind, body and spirit.

The most important relationship we have in our lives is with our selves. And even though we are the only ones who are present at every moment of our lives—from birth onward—this relationship can be the most difficult one to cultivate. This may be because society places such emphasis on the importance of being in a romantic partnership, even teaching us to set aside our own needs for the needs of another. Until we know ourselves, however, we cannot possibly choose the right relationship to support our mutual growth toward our highest potential. By allowing ourselves to be comfortable with being alone, we can become the people with whom we want to have a relationship.

Perhaps at no other time in history has it been possible for people to survive, and even thrive, while living alone. We can now support ourselves financially, socially, and emotionally without needing a spouse for survival in any of these realms. With this freedom, we can pursue our own interests and create fulfilling partnerships with friends, business partners, creative cohorts, and neighbors. Once we’ve satisfied our needs and created our support system, a mate then becomes someone with whom we can share the bounty of all we’ve created and the beauty we’ve discovered within ourselves.

As we move away from tradition and fall into more natural cycles of being in the world today, we may find that there are times where being alone nourishes us and other periods in which a partnership is best for our growth. We may need to learn to create spaces to be alone within relationships. When we can shift our expectations of our relationships with ourselves and others to opportunities for discovery, we open ourselves to forge new paths and encounter uncharted territory. Being willing to know and love ourselves, and to find what truly makes us feel deeply and strongly, gives us the advantage of being able to attract and choose the right people with whom to share ourselves, whether those relationships fall into recognizable roles or not. Choosing to enjoy being alone allows us to fully explore our most important relationship—the one with our true selves. 


[Relationship  with Self, 04/30/2010]

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What I'm reading today

• It says a lot when 5 of the Fortune Global 500 top 10 are oil companies. 3 of the 5 most profitable companies in 2010 are oil companies- I can only seek solace in the knowledge that their profits have fallen tremendously from previous years.
• The secret to beauty unlocked. A MUST-READ for males who are successfully failing in their pursuit of the female kind; it will force you to rethink your strategy.
• Bringing power to the people.. with rice husks. Inspirational.
• Major Dick Winters, a truly great man, has left this world and his mark on it. I shall never forget in Band of Brothers when he talks about the seconds before he jumped: "When the jump light turned green, I was out that door immediately." We should all strive to be like him, men of action and character.
• Facebook will end on March 15th. It is time to go outside and make real friends. If only this was real..

Best short movie I have ever seen.

3 Minutes from Ross Ching on Vimeo.

Susan Hockfield, the president of MIT, explains the secret to innovation quite marvellously-

You start with some very bright people, let them hang out with other very bright people and let their imaginations roam.

[MIT and the art of innovation] 

 

What I'm reading today

• Wait, marriage is not about putting the relationship first? It's about me? Awesome.
• This sounds like every parent I knew in Singapore.
• America has a LOT of money to burn on useless things. Look at the comparison list at the bottom- puts things in perspective.
• This is my new bible for choosing a medical specialty.
• King Kenny is back to rule the fields of Anfield Road!!!

a few lines that hit the spot.

This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, Love to complete your life.

Pay-for-performance tutoring?

The fee-for-service model in the service industry is a problematic one. It creates an undesirable set of incentives for the service provider, which does not involve improving service quality delivered to the consumer. The failures of the fee-for-service model in healthcare are well known-- physicians are incentivised to provide more services to the patient that are not necessarily for their benefit. This past semester, I took a health economics class in which we discussed the different compensation schemes and their characteristics. I thought, why not extend this to other service industries as well? When purchasing a service, we are at the whim of the individual service provider; we are dependent on his or her skills and ability as well as desire to offer service of the highest quality. Shouldn't it make sense that we turn this around and let the consumer be the judge of the service being provided? Pay-for-performance is the way to go in my book!


This would make a lot of sense in the tutoring industry. Currently, tutors are paid on an hourly basis rather than on the quality of the tutoring session. The impetus lies with the consumer to take the initiative and be willing to learn. The tutor is more concerned about the length of the session and is not as invested in his or her tutee's learning experience. With a pay-for-performance system, we could revise the payment scheme such that the tutor is paid per concept taught or per chapter taught. The tutees could take a mini-test of sorts once the concept/chapter has been taught to test their newfound understanding of the subject, and once a minimum score has been met, it could serve as proof that the tutor has actually done his or her job and justify payment. This shifts the initiative from the tutee to the tutor and requires him to be very well invested in his or her tutee's learning experience. Outcomes in the tutoring industry would improve dramatically. because the incentives have been set in the right place. In reality, this may be hard to lobby for as most tutoring agencies are for-profit machines that are far more concerned with the money they rake in than their customers' academic performances. Still something to think about though..

What I'm reading today

• Smack in the middle of winter, and desperately needing to learn how to pack a snowball.
• Medicine is not just science anymore. Medicine is more business than anything.
• India's New Generation of Caste Busters.
• A classic Cold War era-esque spy thriller. The Last Raven by Craig Thomas.
• Signs that the mighty America is in decline.