Don’t give up easily
On Thursday night, I was watching this documentary on NTV 7. There are 2 reasons why I even bothered to look at NTV 7 – the lady hosting the documentary is very pretty (that is the reason why I stopped my channel hopping) and the content is very good and touching.
What we don't see, is the amount of efforts behind this stunt
It’s actually about how kids in rural areas of China start to learn Chinese acrobatic at a very young age. It shows their daily lifestyle and their training process.
It was quite sad actually. I found myself staring in disbelief. I really cannot believe the amount of pain and suffering these kids have to go through every single day and some of them are only 4 to 6 years old (4-6 years old kids in Malaysia are still busy playing game).
And yet, after all the tears, these kids push on….and on….and on.
Why? Because that’s their only path to success even though that path is covered by so many obstacles and the chances of becoming successful is close to zero.
Yet, they do not have a choice.
When you think about their situation and ours, it’s like heaven and earth. We’re like spoilt brats compared to these kids. People here always complain that they are not given enough opportunities to be successful but the fact is, it’s all there for us to grab. Just that we’re choosy and we are not willing to sacrifice. And when we really go and grab those opportunities, most people will just give up halfway.
Reason? It’s too difficult. It’s too tedious. It’s taking too much time. They need a life. It’s not fast enough to make them rich, etc.
And the list of excuses will keep on growing.
But the conclusion is this – people here give up too easily and that should not be the way.
Think about it. When was the last time you feel you want to pursue something, only to give up halfway through? Now, imagine if that is your ONLY path to success. Will you still do it?
Maybe we should start thinking that way and learn from those kids in China. Work hard towards our dreams and never ever give up easily. There will surely be plenty of obstacles along the way, but those should not be made as an excuse for us to give up.
And at the same time, appreciate what you have because you are a lot more fortunate than those kids.
Hope it helps. 
China is notorious for child labor and the sad truth is, many parents think its okay to let 6-year olds work so that they can bring home money that a parent uses to buy a pack of cigarrettes. I saw it with my own eyes when I was in China.
Having said that, I agree that it is possible to make a living anywhere if you’re not choosy. As long as humans must consume to survive, there will always be an opportunity to supply. The only thing that stops us from doing that, usually, are delusions of pride and granduer. Its for the same reason why we won’t find ex management consultants selling mixed rice by the roadside in KL or Sg. They feel they have a reputation to protect and they might feel its silly to slog all day for a $50 profit when they’re used to earning 20 times the amount sitting in a nice airconditioned office.
In the US, that attitude is changing because as I commented before, we’re starting to see ex VPs grabbing bus driver jobs. I don’t think we’ll see that in Asia anytime soon though, seeing how losing face is too high of a price to pay. In Japan, I hear recession victims would rather retreat to a “suicide forest” near Mt Fuji to end their lives.
Damien Tan
7 Apr 09 at 12:13 pm
@ Damien
But I believe there are still parents who have no choice but to let their children do such things. They dont really have much option.
Ah, didn’t know Japan has such a thing called “suicide forest”. LOL. Hopefully it’s not filled with bodies now =_=”
Hmm, its funny how some people don’t give up…but in the wrong way, due to their ego.
Some people are not willing to admit mistakes, and continue to plunge through the obstacles head first. =_= They might as well put down their ego, and look at things clearly………then plan again. *sighs*. In the end, who suffers the most from this ego? The people.
Ok, just ranting. LOL.
Alvin Lim
7 Apr 09 at 4:25 pm
Yes that’s true. Perhaps for every child a parent forces to work for frivolous reasons, a hundred or more do it because they truly have no other choice. So count ourselves lucky that we can send our kids to the kindergarten when many others can only send them to the factory.
Damien Tan
8 Apr 09 at 10:46 am
ya, sometimes when this is the only way out, then we will find our way to make it work…
Jys
8 Apr 09 at 4:03 pm
@ Damien
Yeap. We are indeed very lucky and yet, many people do not realize that.
Guess that is also why we have so many people who give up way too easily.
After all, they have other OPTIONS if they don like the thing they are doing now.
@ Jys
As the saying goes, happy people don’t have everything they want, they just make the most out of whatever they have.
Er…or something like that. Forgot the actual phrase.
Alvin Lim
8 Apr 09 at 5:32 pm