I'm writing this post on the train back to London from Leamington Spa, where I spent the last weekend with my cousin and her husband.
I graduated last July and started a full-time role very soon. Until July 2025, all I've ever known is the grind of working towards the next big thing. There was always a higher purpose, even at a ridiculously young age.
The culmination of primary school was the Checkpoint exams across maths, English and science. Secondary school ended with IGCSEs, then a foundation year pre-university. A degree ended in about 3.5ish years. Then a year of work, where I spent most of my time thinking about a master's degree. Then a year at Cambridge.
But all this is over. I have an established routine, a full-time job and about 40 years of this ahead. A lot has changed since I started working in London, but the biggest of which is the lack of that "next goal".
We often get stuck in this flat hyperplane, the rut of the 9–5. And in this world, I want a new purpose. But this time, I want a purpose that does not feel like everything is on the line all the time.
They say effort compounds, and returns are realised much later. Working hard early in life puts you in a stable position later on, and allows you to spend your free time searching for what truly matters. Coming from an Asian upbringing, the prevailing mindset is that security must precede enjoyment - the books must always balance, and the rainy-day fund must be absolute before you allow yourself to experience the world. Unlearning that deep-seated guilt of spending on experiences is a process.
But privilege must be acknowledged; the buying power of most Southeast Asian currencies doesn't afford the same luxuries as basic European wages. So this is not just a cultural paradigm, it is a generational difference in the way society is set up. I have nothing more to say regarding this difference, except I now find myself in a position to finally give myself permission to explore without that constant, underlying worry.
I can choose to live a bit more intentionally now, unburdened by the rigid financial anxiety I was conditioned to carry.
I am setting 3 goals for every coming year.
Goal 1: To take 6 trips in a year at least One lavish trip. One adventurous trip. Two trips to see family. One trip with friends. One getaway to a nearby city.
Goal 2: Get in the best shape of my life To get absolutely shredded as they say, and to maintain a physique I can be proud of.
Goal 3: Live with "intention" Live every day like it's my last. To write off the petty worries, to do things I love with the people that matter to me.
I feel liberated to not have worries about the next big thing. Life often throws curve balls, and it has been a long road to get here. Countless sacrifices, sleepless nights, anxiety, imposter syndrome - when I say years of sweat, blood and tears have helped me reach this state in life, I mean it. I am grateful for all the support I got from people around me, and all the people that kept me on track along the way. I don't believe many decisions I made were right, maybe there was a better way to get here, maybe there isn't. But it doesn't matter, I'm now here and the dots have connected in the most incredible way.
I of course still have professional ambitions, but they are no longer my identity or something I am actively racing toward. With the working world experiencing a massive generational shift, stepping off this bullet train for a moment to let the rest of my life catch up is exactly what I need.
So the focus of at least the next 3 years is personal growth, to live life to the fullest, to rejoice in both the simple and visceral joys in life, to live a life worth living, and evolve both physically and mentally.
It paid off, it all paid off. Now it's time to live a life worth living.