Since in practice I have no editor in the local newspaper I am writing for, I’ve come up of my own ‘rulebook’ where I list all the things I learned during my reports and interviews. Later on, I also wrote in it the things I’ve learned in my day-to-day life here in the UAE. Share ko lang. I might learn a thing or two pa : )
(Note: I did not include the grammar lessons I had from Jad. There’s just too many of them.)
- Think before you research.
- Read invitations carefully.
- Consider what you could do than what you want to do.
- Control the urge to defend yourself. Stick with your arguments.
- Refrain from giving off-hand remarks.
- Do not forget to introduce yourself (and your job title) to the secretary.
- State your purpose before you interview.
- Eliminate your need for perfection. Things are fine without your judgment.
- Do not let yourself get caught with negative thoughts.
- Live a life of blamelessness.
- Value today. Value each day.
- Being right is different from insisting that you are right. If it’s not a do-or-die situation, allow others to be right. They would eventually know if they are wrong anyway.
- When things get out-of-hand, re-evaluate what is more important. Let your priorities be your deciding factor.
- When in doubt, pray. There is God. There can be miracles.
- The more we struggle with our problems, the worse they would seem. The more we want them to go away, the more stress they would cause. But if we will just accept them and consider what they are teaching us, they would just go away.
- Do not reveal your weakness (especially when no one's asking). It may cause other people to lose confidence in you, leaving small room for improvement.
- Voice your opinions if you are sure of your facts, and accommodate other’s views.
- There’s no such thing as fate. It is the person who can make his or her destiny, his or her Personal Legend.
- God is good – so good that He/She blessed us with our lives and entrusted us with it. The least we could do is give it importance and enrich it.
- Even if you are determined to achieve something, if you do not really desire it, you will have a difficult time attaining it.
- Vengeance is a plotted accident that could never bring good. It only wastes people’s lives and resources.
- Say what you believe in even though it gets unheeded.
- Respect tradition but be innovative and wise.
And my favorite Confucian proverb (that I paraphrased for my own sake): “Forget what you hear. Remember what you see. Understand what you do.”
