Look for the forest, not the tree

Hey everyone, welcome back to the majestic Sunday Journal! Another week has passed and this passing week has been an amazing one. From the arrival of Verene to the arrival of my work laptop, everything just seems to get more and more exciting. However, recently, due to the change of government in the UK, many new policies are coming into place with the priority of easing people's daily lives and curbing inflation. Not going to lie, I quite like them. They’re cutting income taxes, reversing the national insurance policy, and pulling in more investments. Of course, I love what they’re doing, but I do have to say that it’s a high-stakes game. The economist aren’t believing in what this change can offer and thus making the pound fall again. These are bad but it’s not what I wanted to talk about. What I want to talk about today is how my friends reacted to this change.

So yeah, while this change is great, it is mainly making the rich richer, but still, it doesn’t mean that it’s not benefiting us at all. My friends who are working started complaining about how much he has to pay for income taxes, national insurance, and council tax (I have no idea why he’s complaining when he’s obviously going to pay less for all these after the change), another friend who’s yet to graduate said that working in the UK is a losing game. Welp, It’s probably true for them but even with this impending recession and downturn, I still find this a good place. I guess the reason why they see it negatively is that they’re looking for the tree, not the forest.

First thing first, the simple surface has easily shown that earning an average salary in the UK is better than in Malaysia. (Of course, unless the pound continues to drop below 3? for GBP/MYR rate) With a similar amount of salary dollar to dollar, you get at least 3 times more buying power, a better social health structure, and not to say better work-life balance, what is there to complain? Yeah, we do have higher taxes and everything because duh, you live in a first-world country but you still can save money monthly, think about the possibility of this in Malaysia. Seems unlikely tho.

But yeah, let’s say we remove the buying power, social health structure, and work-life balance from the equation. The single reason why I choose to stay in the UK is because of the opportunity it provides, the freedom it gives, and the care it has for all the talents. It gives me the opportunity to do things and shine when I want to. Look at Malaysia, I’m not saying Malaysia is a shithole, I’m saying that the government is. Even if you pay me the same amount as what I earned in the UK, I wouldn’t go back because I don’t feel welcome, I don’t feel valued, I don’t feel like I can be me.

Of course, no one is right here. Everyone has their own perspectives and everyone is free to voice. One of the beauties of the UK is the mutual respect everyone has towards each other. However, I just want to say that instead of being kopitiam uncles complaining about everything, it’s probably better to find ways to take action. Of course, the country's policy is out of our control but our own selves are in our control. If you think this country is terrible, leave it. No one is stopping you. In fact, I do have a plan for this. I mean if the pound really falls to an unacceptable rate, why not, I would probably move to Singapore or the US. Who knows.

The main thing I would like to convey is that money isn’t everything. You are the key. Don’t limit your world buy the money you make, you can make the money you want anywhere, it’s just whether you want to. Make yourself valuable. Look for the forest, not the tree. The tree is only limiting you.

Andrew