Title: Seize the day / Carpe diem

Dear fellow toastmasters and guest,

[opening] I have looked up the phase“seize the day” in a dictionary. It means to take the opportunity to do something at the present moment without worrying about the future.

I would elaborate it a bit further. A great opportunity does not come often and can only be seized within a short moment of time. When we take the opportunity to follow our passion and desires, we can live a more fulfilling and meaningful life.If seizing the day is as promising as it sounds, why people don’t just go ahead and “seize the day” ?

Well, we are not entirely free. Perhaps, we sometimes are not aware of what is possible. Even when we know our possibility, we worry about taking the wrong steps. We tend to avoid losses at the expense of gain, and incline to resist change until a crisis is here. Finally , we hate ourselves for draining our energy this way.

[Transition] Let me share with you my own personal journey I embarked when I seized my day and the lessons I took away from it.

[Background]

In 2018, I applied for a programming job at a startup company in Singapore. After passing two rounds of interviews, I got the offer, but with strings attached. The startup was in the process of relocating from Singapore to Beijing, so the boss wanted me to work in Beijing instead. There I was, facing an opportunity, should I seize it or should I let it go and find another employment? Fears and worries popped up all over my head.

For those of you who don’t know me. I was born and raised during the colonial era of Hong Kong. I was at most a half-baked Chinese.

I was uncomfortable with Beijing simply because I only knew where Beijing was on the map. I had never visited it. I knew nobody, and I was nobody.

To make things worse the employment package did not provide any accommodation assistance, so I needed to find a place to stay on my own. I knew nothing about the rental market in Beijing, yet there were plenty of scary stories on how renters got ripped off on the internet. Worst of all, I could not speak mandarin fluently.

The job front did not offer any comfort either. I had ZERO working experience in China. What I was going for was a programmer role with some research flavour. What made me stressful was that NOT ONLY my background was not in computer science, but also I wanted to use this job as a springboard to steer my future career development. I needed to become acquainted with a new domain by picking up new skills and adapting my work habits.

[transition] Needless to say, I was very worried and disturbed by the gravity of the challenge. On the other hand, this was a golden opportunity for me to try many new things all at once. I tried to channel my thinking away from the risks and negatives and towards the rewards and positives.

I slowly became excited. After all, this could be a once-in-a-life-time chance to be paid to explore China. As a Chinese, I felt wrong not to spend some time at the Capital and explore the land.

I would hate myself for passing up the chance. I picked up the courage. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Finally, I enthusiastically bought a one-way flight ticket from Hong Kong to Beijing.

When my plane landed, I was in deep trouble. My clothes were inadequate to even handle Beijing’s Autumn (which is considered very cold by the Hong Kong standard). The air was so dry that my nose bled easily. Since I had no bank account in China, my wechat pay account wasn’t set up, and I could not transfer fund from Hong Kong to Beijing. And by law, I could only bring a limited amount of cash on me. Thus, my cash ran out pretty quickly, and I was down to penny very soon. Luckily, my new colleague was willing to lend me some cash and I paid him back when I got my first paycheck.

Like the old adage: There is will , there is a way. After several weeks of struggles and learning, I managed to adjust to the pace of Beijing, to cope with all the practicalities, and to pass my probation and to start a career that I continue to this day.

I started to explore the city and the people. I visited all the must-see tourist destinations such as the great wall and the forbidden city, parks and many national museums. I listened and tried to understand those, like myself, who came to Beijing for work. I was surprised but later understood why graduates would give up a better paid job for the prospect of obtaining the right to remain in Beijing. This exposure helped me connect and relate to them deeper.

In retrospect, I had regrets. I regretted that I did not have the chance to attend some very traditional celebrations over the Chinese new year as they were all canceled due to covid. I did not have time to visit Northern part of China, such as inner Mongolia.

Seizing the day does not mean it is all sunshine. Our imagination may fail to foresee all the troubles and difficulties lying ahead. They can get much worse before getting better. Yet, the upside can just be as surprising as the downside. To be safe all the time and to go through life without mental distress and difficulties is to remain ignorant of half of the natural world. Seizing the day leads me to take a road less traveled. On it I saw a part of China that I would otherwise never experience.

It is now xxxx. Spend the rest of this afternoon however you like, you can’t take it with you.