Let’s introduce the nutty little friend that inside the brain of every one of us: the amygdala. The little friend of ours are a group of small nuclei in our brain, having the size of a peanut. It may be tiny, but it has been a part of us since the very early days of our human species.

The fact is that this little friend of our is so crucial that, without it, we wouldn’t have roamed the earth till this day. It ensures our very survival by triggering two of the strongest emotional responses we had: fear and rage. With that, our ancestors are able to flee from predators as well as fighting against them. This allows us to conquer the harsh odds that were stacked against us in survival and becoming …

Usually when I am having lunch in a shopping mall, I’d set myself down into a state which I tuned out all the hustles and bustles that goes around me. Clattering trolleys, howling children, the drowning noise of idle chatter among shoppers don’t bother me as I enjoyed my meal in this internal oasis of peace.

One day, I sense something curious passing by – and for the first time I lift my head and it was an unusual sight. I saw a young woman, probably in her twenties, fashioning a look that was pretty odd for this age: her overly large glasses, freckled face and sporting pony tails, which looked liked a cross between Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

As she strides past me, I notice that she’s holding handle bars but …

This is one of the earliest quotes that I’d conceived and has since become one of my key supports I lean upon.

This especially rings true when life’s a mess and the future seemed bleak and shrouded in darkness. While it’s easier to wallow in self-pity, this is exactly when one should police the thoughts that goes through our minds. No light can come in if you allow yourself to drown deeper into a negative spiral of despair.

It takes courage to accept our sorrows and the undesirable state we are in. It takes effort to pick ourselves up and take a correction course to improve or change our situation. It takes confidence to trust ourselves that we have the skills, resources and ability to pull it off and overcoming obstacles ahead …

Personally I’m really a big fan of Marcus Buckingham’s “Now, Discover Your Strengths”, which advocates the importance of focusing on our strengths and harness that in-born powerhouse to achieve greatness. One great thing about the book is that it gave exclusive access to their Strengths Finder online test which leaves you with an accurate profile of five strength themes that you possessed, based on their intesive academic research and a large dataset of individuals who have taken the same test and later studied.

Two week ago, Sam Radford and his readers discussed about my strengths profile, engaging in a discussion as I attempt to explore new territories in explaining how I feel about these strengths and how have I (or have not) utilize them in my own life. In the discussion, I mainly …