Under Pressure

“self control: is it that difficult?”

This November is a pretty hectic month for me,
from doing lab for the research thesis and side project,
creating a video for competition,
preparing for intern presentation,
and blogging.

Feel under pressure? definitely Yes.

pressure here means feeling pursued by deadline, fast-beating heart, worry, adrenaline increasing, and staying up til 2 A.M. for 2 weeks.

But that’s what “a uni student” has to deal with.

As I was moving from one place to another,
I notice that everyone has a various response to a pressure.

One will stay calm, the other will be freaked out,
one will never think too much about it, the other will be overthink
and maybe most of them will procrastinate.

Here in “under pressure”, some of us may tend to lose self-control,
which is really important in doing something under pressure.
It’s pretty difficult to hold temper when we’re stressed out.
The result is we rebuke everybody for doing nothing,
or pulling ourselves from crowd.
We could even think the worst case if we couldn’t fulfill the deadline.

Again, while it is pretty difficult to hold temper,
doesn’t mean you can not.
I have some tips to hold it.
They may not 100% work for you,
as we are a different kind of person, but it will be wrong not to try.

1. Identify what kind of situation or person increase your temper
   you should know first, what kind of situation you can’t stand with,
   what kind of person annoyed you, what kind of person induced you to lose self-control when you’re under pressure.
2. Keep in mind: they are not the source of problem
   this may be difficult to do, even though they might contribute in adding pressure, we tend to forget that they are not our main goal; we forget that we have energy to be given to something more important than rebuking people.
3. Tell them that you are in a hard situation
   this may be worth to try, as they could understand you and your problem,
   so you could support each other;
   maybe spending time together to relieve stress,
   or planning to go somewhere after the deadline,
   or give a little compliment to raise the spirit,
   and who knows they might offering help.
4. It is (really really) okay to ask for help
   some of us may feel not okay when asking for help,
   we may feel that we should help them someday,
   so we thought that as long as we can do it, we’ll do it alone.
   well, the fact is not everyone would think for a reward,
   but you should know whom you’re going to ask for help.
   embrace yourself that you are a human,
   which is not a God nor a despicable thing,
   so you deserve a help.
5. Motivate yourself
   you need to keep telling yourself that you are in a hard situation,
   but you don’t have to worry, as surely everything will pass.
   do something that motivates you could also help,
   you may find that watching movies will help you stay motivated.

Below are movies recomm to keep yourself motivated

– Inside Bill’s Brain (2019)
– Overcomer (2019)
– The Founder (2016)
– The Intern (2015)
– The Imitation Game (2014)
– 5 cm (2012)
– Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
– The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
– Remember the Titans (2000)
– Air Bud (1997)

 

pic source: Google

Authentic

“Bumi Pasundan lahir ketika Tuhan sedang tersenyum” – Brouwer

Bandung (Bumi Pasundan) breathtaking view

Just about last month, I took a way back home from internship using one of the online transportation. Along the way, the driver always said that he doesn’t like Indonesia, especially the people. I could only nod. He seems a bit weird, so I kept silent.

When we went through a narrow street,
a motorcycle accidentally hit the driver’s rearview spion,
but the person in motorcycle didn’t apologize at all.
My driver tried to pull out his safety belt, opened the car’s door,
and he wanted to chase the motorcycle – in anger -, but the traffic light already Green.
I felt afraid of him, I thought he would be mad to me,
so I said to him, “I’m really sorry, sir. He hit your rearview spion because we took that narrow road.”

He replied,
“No, no. Don’t be afraid, ms. I’m really upset with that person, he didn’t say sorry at all. If he can’t fix it, at least please say sorry, then I wouldn’t be mad of him.”
He continued,
“You know, ms. Bandung is someah (really friendly) in the past. Just when the outsiders come here, Bandung has became very different since 4 years ago.”

He’s not totally wrong.
Bandung, where I born and live,
well, already different since I was 13.
The air is not as crisp as 10 years ago everytime I woke up at 5 A.M.
My housing area is not as dead as 10 years ago, where there were no coffee shop, no restaurant, no minimarket, no doctor, and even only 1 school.

But different doesn’t always mean bad.
I saw Bandung has been growing lately,
especially since Ridwan Kamil titled as the Mayor.
He’s really good at urban planning, I can see it from the decorations around the place where KTT ASEAN held in 2015.
He also built places for millenials to be creative,
to collaborate, and to explore themselves.
As Bandung growing, the ousiders starting to look at Bandung,
they interested to have businesses here, they interested in investing,
they also interested on exploring cultures and arts.

Well, Bandung is still Bandung for me 🙂
where Chinese and Sundanese meet together here,
friendliness everywhere,
tourists come here every week,
where I could find many breathtaking views,
and it’s a blessing to feel every bit of Bandung side.
Even though many things change,
but many are good too.
Change is meant for a better Bandung,
so I think I don’t have any reason to not loving Bandung.

 

Pic source: author’s private collection

Minimalism (Part 2)

…Overeating contributes to the global food waste problem…

Food. Who doesn’t love it? From sweet to sour, healthy food to junkfood, we love them. Yes, we do love them. Yet, we often throw it away.

According to Waste4Change, almost 13 million tonnes – that’s 13 with 9 zero – of food are wasted every year in Indonesia alone. It could feed about 28 million people, the same number of hunger rates in Indonesia.

Since I live in indonesia, I see the food flow here. I think most of the food waste are coming from many events, often related with our customs.

So, as an Indonesian, I have to marry the guy that I love in order to live together.
Our culture prohibit us to live together before married,
even if we’ve already in a relationship or engaged.
Well, it’s a good culture,
teaches us to have a real commitment before deciding to live together.
On the other side, it makes us have to held a wedding ceremony,
inviting dozens and hundreds of people.
Those people need to eat, right?
And not everybody eat ‘cleanly’, some even not eating at all.

In fact, as much as 1.94 million of marriage in Indonesia was recorded in 2017.
Not just wedding, think about graduation, birthday party, lebaran, christmas, new year, etc.

Fortunately, there are some people concern about this issue.
A Blessing to Share, for example, give the leftover wedding dishes to the poorest members of society in the capital.

Brotherfood.org is also give your leftover food to the people needed the most, it works like we could share our lefover food to others through Brotherfood community.

MIT has invented a FoodCam to decrease the food waste,
while my university is also has a food junction that provide a lendable tupperware,
so if you want to borrow it, you’ll only have to
write your name and mobile number in the form.
And you should bring it back the next day (should’ve been washed).

Since it will be difficult to shift our culture,
we could contribute to the global food waste problem in some ways:

1. Don’t Over-served Food
   Over-served food are mostly happen in households,
   where we don’t estimate the amount of food needed for the amount of people,
   resulting in too much leftover food.
   Or if there’s no leftover, they will get fat and bigger,
   increasing risk in obesity, diabetes, and other complications.
   Well, overeating is also categorized as wasting food, folks.
2. Limit Your Food!
   The common problem in every ceremonies and events is too much food waste.
   While we can’t take them home, most of them will end up in landfills.
   The event’s committee needs to limit their food, for example
   using boxes in catering, or having a collab with communities.
   Also, if you’ve bought a food and it’s impossible to eat-all-clean, put it in your tupperware and continue eating at home.
3. Remember the Leftover(s)
   Yes, some of us had took away the leftover(s),
   but we often forgot to put it in a refrigerator,
   until the next day we saw it and said…
   “omo, why did I forget this thing?”
   rather than forgetting the leftover ‘accidentaly’,
   we could give it to our surroundings when going back home.
4. Check the Exp Date
   U.S. and some countries are confused by the exp date labelling, whether it’s in a canned food, cheese, noodle, etc. Some companies use ‘best before’, ‘exp date’, ‘used by’, and there’s no “one labelling for all”. That makes the society confused, rather than eat it and getting sick, they often throw it away. In this case, the government has to determine a certain labelling for all products.
5. Share It
   Last but not least, simply share it with the security officers, or the office girls, sweepers, scavengers, etc. They may need food more than you need it.

 

References

Statista. 2019. Number of Marriages in Indonesia from 2011 to 2017 (in millions). Retrieved from Statista: https://www.statista.com/statistics/705540/number-of-marriages-in-indonesia/ (23 June 2019).

Waste4Change. 2018. Three Important Facts About Food Waste That You Need to Know. Retrieved from Waste4Change: https://waste4change.com/3-important-facts-about-food-waste-that-you-need-to-know/ (23 June 2019).

Vox. 2017. Climate Lab: Food Waste Is the World’s Dumbest Problem. Link Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RlxySFrkIM&list=PLJ8cMiYb3G5fP5oq01TBp9fgh70vDDSMe&index=4

 

Minimalism (Part 1)

Plastic is the best weapon to kill the world’s sustainability.

While Raditya Dika and most of books in a bookstore talking about minimalism in financial, here I’d like to talk about minimalism in lifestyle (well, yes, lifestyle also talks about financial).

Based on The Minimalists, Minimalism is where you have to live less than a hundred things, you can’t own a car, home, or a television. You can’t have a career and must start a blog, you can’t have children, and you must be the one that from a privileged background.

Well, OK.

They’re joking.

Actually, minimalism is not about any of those things, but it can help you to accomplish them, it is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom (from fear, worry, guilt). In other words,

minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important – so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.

On April 2019, I get a chance to visit the “waste house”, Bantar Gebang. It is located in Bekasi, has been been a place for many kinds of wastes from 15 million Jakarta people everyday, with a total of 7.000 tons/day.

Not too surprising, as there are many people live in Jakarta than any other cities.
The ‘/day‘ is surprising.

If we try to calculate, a person can produce about 2.14 kg of waste per day. That is ONLY in Jakarta area. According to The Jakarta Post, the whole Indonesia is estimated to produce over 190.000 tons of waste/day, which is about 1.39 kg of waste/person/day.

Compare to China, the most populated country, with a total of 1.3 billion people produce 167.000 tons/day, China is still the winner in producing waste (about 7.78 kg waste/person/day).

But, according to the World Economic Forum,

” Indonesia is second only to China as the world’s largest contributor to the ocean plastic problem – with four of its rivers among the top 20 polluters globally. “

Plastic waste produced in Indonesia is around 25.000 tons/day. It’s not including the plastic waste imported from countries around the world (UK for example).
Take a look at this graph below from BBC.

I think of plastic as the best weapon to kill the world’s sustainability. In fact,
they have killed more than 100.000 marine animals every year.
Maybe you’d think about recycling,
but it only happens in <10% plastics in the world.

 
Tortoises would think a white plastic bag as a jellyfish, they can’t differ it.
Then why don’t use a degradable one?
Of course it’s better than the ordinary plastic, but still could be accidentally or naturally torn into microplastics.
What’s the deal?

The fish could eat plankton along with microplastics,
those microplastics can’t be digested,
fisherman catch the fish,
sell it,
and eaten by us,
with microplastics inside.
Yumm..

So what’s the solution? Are there any alternatives? Yes.

While San Francisco has been completely ban plastic bags in 2007, some countries try to shifting the plastic bags culture to the recycled paper bags or biodegradable ones. Many of them also put additional tax in buying paper bag, plastic, or biodegradable plastic.

Currently, Indonesia is also putting efforts to reduce the plastic usage
by applying a new regulation (additional price in using plastic bags),
shifting into biodegradable or oxodegradable plastics,
and some retails even provide cardboard boxes with no plastics at all.

Well, right now we can’t just force the plastic industries to shut down, cause it will increase the total of unemployed people in Indonesia. The oil company would also lose demand from plastic industries, where they are their second major income. Overall, we need to shift our plastic culture, and it can only be done slowly in Indonesia.

 

But all the regulations and additional fees are useless
if we don’t take action to be a part of the solution.
The major problem is many of us are not aware of these things.
Most of my friend think plastic is still OK to use, and they don’t care much to the environment.
I think as human, we don’t want our child to live in a non-sustainable life. As they said a hundred times, a little action is take into account.
Here’s how to be a minimalist in using plastics.

1. Bring Your Own Bag
   It could be a simple tote bag, a biodegradable plastic, or a paper bag. If buying a single plastic could spend US$1, you could save US$1/day when using your own bag.
   I used to say ‘no, thanks’ when the clerk gave me a plastic bag, I’m using a tote bag to bring groceries, or a biodegradable plastic sometimes.
2. Bring Your Own Bottle Water and Food Container
   The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in Indonesia has ever mentioned, sarcasm actually, about using a plastic bottle water in a legislative meeting.
   Well, using your own bottle water could reduce your spending more than US$10/month and helping to create a sustainable world.
   I also bring my own bottle water and it could save my wallet every month.
3. Bring Your Own Food Container
   In Indonesia, it is common to use styrofoam, plastic paper, or plastic container to put the take-away food. Not only the container, the plastic cutlery is also used. Fortunately, Governor of West Java has released a regulation to not using any styrofoams as food containers, and it impacts a lot.
   In other places, my university for example, provide a lendable plastic container in its Food Junction, so the students could take foods to home and bring the container back on the next day.
4. Use Less Straw or Bring Your Own One
   Many pictures showing a tortoise get it nostril stuck by a straw get public attention. That’s when many activists and environmentalist switch to use stainless straw.
   I prefer not to buy the stainless straw, but I try to not using plastic straw in restaurant.
   Some companies, like ReJuve, already made their own straws from corn starch.
5. Track Your Plastic Footprint
   In order to track your contribution to plastic waste, you’ll need a calculator, for example Plastic Pollution Calculator by Earth Day Network or Plastic Footprint Calculator by Omni Calculator.
   Who knows maybe government could held a zero plastic waste competition? The winner maybe could get a certificate of appreciation and a T-shirt.
6. Spread the Movement
   The last step is to inspire everybody to be a part of the solution. When I’m doing all of the step mentioned, I get a different happiness. While some people in other parts of the world is throwing plastics into ocean, at that point I feel like I contribute something to the earth. As one of my favorite person said,

” If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re still a part of the problem. ”
– Silvia Halim

 

I looked up into a mountain of waste in Bantar Gebang,
It’s pity.
As an undergraduate, I can’t blame Indonesia
or government.
It is us, the one behind those mountains of waste.
Here is the face of Jakarta,
the face of Indonesia.
…What would you do?

 

References (and additional articles to read)

Brooks, A. L., Wang, S. & Jambeck, J. R. 2018. The Chinese import ban and its impact on global plastic waste trade. Science Advances, 4: 1-6.
Crockett, Z. 2016. There Are 5 Trillion Pieces of Plastic Floating In Our Oceans. Retrieved from Vox: https://www.vox.com/2016/5/23/11735856/plastic-ocean (30 May 2019).
Dhanniary, A. 2019. Menteri Susi Sindir DPR Masih Saja Minum Pakai Botol Plastik. Retrieved from Viva: https://www.viva.co.id/berita/nasional/1131660-menteri-susi-sindir-dpr-masih-saja-minum-pakai-botol-plastik (30 May 2019).
Dinas Lingkungan Hidup Provinsi DKI Jakarta. 2019. Tempat Pengelolaan Sampah Terpadu Bantargebang. Retrieved from DLH: https://upst.dlh.jakarta.go.id/tpst/index (29 May 2019).
Harrabin, R. & Edgington, T. 2019. Recycling: Where Is The Plastic Waste Mountain? Retrieved from BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46566795 (30 May 2019).
Mann, A. 2019. The Waste Challenge: Is Indonesia at A Tipping Point? Retrieved from The Jakarta Post: https://www.thejakartapost.com/academia/2019/03/01/the-waste-challenge-is-indonesia-at-a-tipping-point-1551431355.html (30 May 2019).
Millburn, J. F. & Nicodemus, R. 2019. What Is Minimalism? Retrieved from The Minimalists: https://www.theminimalists.com/minimalism/ (29 May 2019).
Strand, B. & Kerr, C. A. 2019. 10 Cities and Countries Confronting Plastic Bag Pollution Head-On. Retrieved from Earth Day Network: https://www.earthday.org/2018/04/20/10-cities-and-countries-confronting-plastic-bag-pollution-head-on/ (30 May 2019).
United States Census Bureau. 2019. U.S. Census Bureau Current Population. Retrieved from US Census Bureau: https://www.census.gov/popclock/print.php?component=counter (30 May 2019).
Whiting, K. 2019. Indonesia Has A Plan to Deal with Its Plastic Waste Problem. Retrieved from World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/indonesia-has-a-plan-to-deal-with-its-plastic-waste-problem/ (30 May 2019).

Pic source: Google (exc. the Mountain of Waste pic)

MATTER

“…Human do have limits…”

‘that looks good on her’, ‘should I buy that too?’, ‘she could do it? i can do it too, even better’…

Those are just little things that matter to somebody most of us. But, why?
Why are those things really matter to us?
The answer is: our human nature.

Since we’re a child,
we really want to be like somebody, we want to try everything,
we’re Curious.

As we grew older, some of us treated (in our family) to always be the best
or at least be a better one.
We’re ensured that we are not different from others, because
we were born in the same country, we’re eating the same kind of food, we’re raised in the same school.
It made us think…
What’s the difference?

 

That’s why social media is a powerful tool to change people, to feed our curiosity, to feed our ego, the child part of us.

Now, many of us when opening the social media and uploading the post or stories or status, feel like we have to get like more than the most popular friends,
or even some of us feel like we have to upload stories whenever and wherever we are
to STATED that we are doing something (busy), that
we are not alone, we are popular, we are kind.
ok.

Have you ever think for a second?
What is all that for?
If it’s just for popularity, just sit down in your room, deep thinking, and ask yourself
What is the purpose of your life?

It’s not easy to answer that question, and many of us really don’t know our life goal(s).

Second, not only in social media, I often found even my surroundings have a ‘greedy’ side. Greedy is

having or showing an intense and selfish desire for something
(Oxford Dictionary)

Let’s make it clear,
greedy and ambition are different, everyone may have ambition in their own fields;
for example you have a high willingness to learn from anything anywhere anytime, that’s called an ambition.
But it turns out to be a greed when you have a high willingness to learn
but only keep it for yourself and
you don’t like to see anybody who’s have a high willingness to learn too, you just don’t like it.
You feel like that you have and must be the one that know everything so well.
That’s greed, my friend.

Ambition is good, because

intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.

When you feed your greed routinely, it will grow, into much much greed.
Careful, know your limit.
Sometimes, it is ok to admit that the other person might do something like you, or even better than you, because you’re not the smartest person in the world,
you’re not GOD.
you’re HUMAN.
And human do have limits.
But the universe don’t, so we need companions to lift up each others.

When you’ve admitted that you have limits, you could swept away the greedy side, so when you open the social media, you’ll be like…

she’s pretty, i’m blessed to have a friend like her,
that place looks like good, maybe i should ask her to go together,

At that point, that is where you could be the ‘I DON’T MIND’ people.
You don’t mind not because you can’t do it,
but because you know everybody could do it,
and you keep telling yourself that YOU ARE YOU,
that don’t need any evidence to proof everybody.

So, yeah, human have something called ‘human nature’, and it is just happens like that,
but human also have freedom to choose everything, even to not following our human nature.

Last, I’m going to tell you, that I’m blessed to be one of the ‘i don’t mind’ people since a kid. I always believe in myself that I don’t need to proof anybody who am I. I will let people judge me by their own experience with me, that’s why I’m not denying if there are some people don’t like me, scared, or even love me so much. Those people illustrating who am I, and it’s really diverse.

For you, the one that struggles with this problem, you can try my suggestion above, or even try to read this book: Mark Manson – The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck, they said it’s great.

It's not the world that is too demanding,
it's you that are not loving yourself.

 

pic: Google.

Contagious

We know sad is the opposite of joy. Light is the opposite of dark. Big is the opposite of small.

I wake up early to go study everyday. Once, there was a moment when I didn’t want to care about everything, I didn’t want to go to my class, all of my life feels like a stationary stage. Flat, really.

But my day took me differently. I took a step outside, then a friend of mine (a boy) greeted me, saying “Hello, sis! Have a nice day today, goodluck!” enthusiastically. For me, that kind of spirit is contagious.

I don’t know why,
but just a single ‘hello’ could change my mind on that day.
I felt more excited.

I walked upon a cafetaria to buy a drink,
and there I had another spirit from a 50-years-old man in the counter
saying “Hello, mrs.” with a warm smile
“Goodluck for today!” he said.

Maybe a positive mind is contagious,
and so is the negative one,
but you have rights, you have freedom
choose it wisely.

A little spark could lit up the whole universe. Dark universe.

Instead of grieving and annoying too much, try to be the joy. It’s contagious.

Who knows if you smile to a random person you’ll meet today, it could lit up her/his universe. Maybe if you give something to a random person, she/he will be grateful, at least for today.

How if I give you a challenge?
Try to do something contagious today (doesn’t matter small or big), in a positive way, and tell me 🙂

 

pic: Google

Mistaken Mistake

I am proud of making a  good mistake. – Unknown

Human make mistakes. It is our nature. How many mistakes you’ve made today? Even if we already know it is our nature, yet many of us are afraid of making mistakes. In school, we have been taught for years that there is a primary classification: the right stuff and bad stuff. When we did the bad ones, we will be punished. Punishment gives various reactions towards everybody, some of them will be afraid and then trying to obey every rules, the result is: they will grow up being a perfectionist. It has been set in their mind that mistake is bad and they need to stay away from it.

School has taught us moral values, but it didn’t taught us the immoral values; concept of making mistakes. Common problem after graduating school: fear. Fear of not getting a job. Fear of making mistakes. Fear of losing money. Fear of taking risks.

So, is it really wrong to teach moral value?
Absolutely not,
but we should also teach kids about the function of rule and punishment.

Teach them not to be afraid of rules, that it is okay to make a mistake,
that there will be always consequences in their life, that they are not alone,
and that they could be who they are.

Of course I’m not saying that making mistake is always good, but the fear of making mistake is worse. It could affect many aspects in our life. Ideas will take a longer time to generate, creativity will be reduced, along with increased guilty feelings. When you skip an opportunity to take risk, and the other day you know that you should’ve take it, you would have a guilty feeling, and it will haunted some people for days.

And along the way, after we’ve grown up, we knew that not every mistake is good and not every mistake is bad. The good person doesn’t always good, and the bad person doesn’t always bad.

When we talk about ideas and creativity, we should take a look at Mozart and Beethoven. Fur Elise didn’t become a well-known song in a day. Beethoven has made more than 300 compositions and took many years to get Fur Elise, and so did Mozart. It is also applicable to all scientists. They would do trial and error a hundred times to get a Nobel Prize. Not limited to business and startup field, you’ll need to try harder smarter.

The key is this. The more you fail, the more you’ll try, the more you’ll learn, and that is the point to be the next level. It doesn’t mean that you’ll have to fail fast, as Adam Grant said in his book ‘Originals’:
Most of the successful businesses brought by the originals.
And those originals do not rush.
They would think about the business concept for months, as it needs to be ‘mature’.
Well, it is ok to be a procastinator, it is one of many ways to generate an idea.

Besides all those stuffs, afraid of making mistakes will lead you to become a ‘fixed person’. Compare to the ‘growth people’, ‘fixed people’ is less likely to ask others about themselves. For them, it is quite hard to take down their ego and pride in front of others. It is quite hard to be humble. Asking others about your strengths and weaknesses could improve yourself to become a better one.
Possibility to gain more jobs will increased.
And most important, you will live a happier life.

For the one with ‘fixed mindset’, try to ask anything related to you with your family or close friend. Prepare yourself to get the worst answer, ask them what is the best solution to overcome your weakness, and DO IT.
It all starts with your mind.
What kind of person you wanted to be?

pic: Google