Our Alab or "Passion" Monday (sharing Session) in the office talked about finding one's missing piece. That missing piece may not be a person or an object, but may attribute the intangibles such as love and happiness. Now, if i'm going to throw you this question - have you found your missing piece?

I believe all of us, though not explicitly expressing it, is continuously in search of our missing piece. There's this certain grey area in our life, where we tell ourselves "I wan't this, and that... i need to be this...and that in order to be happy and content. The nature of humans is to fulfill his/her basic material needs, and as we progress in life and as these needs are met, we aim for more. We may not compete with others in this life, but to some... competition is within themselves - the innate longing to surpass individual thresholds. We are humans, and in this case, we aspire, we dream, and when we dream, most of us work hard to achieve in order to fulfill that dead space, thinking perhaps that it would make ourselves whole.

But then again, when that gap has been filled, once a standard or a goal has been met, when a dream and an aspiration has been accomplished considering the enormous amount of effort and time we put to it - why is that sometimes we find ourselves still incomplete? There are those who give up everything and realize that big accomplishments in life, acquisition of wealth, or simply finding the ideal lover based on our personal expectations may complete us - but sometimes the definition of real happiness can be misconstrued.

Sometimes we are already happy, but we just fail to see it. The modern era is very rich in visual stimuli and it can greatly influence our lives. Sometimes we just need to go back to the basics. Maybe we already got what we are searching for. Maybe we don't really need what we think we need. Maybe...

 “When people hurt you over and over, think of them like sandpaper. They may scratch and hurt you a bit, but in the end, you end up polished and they end up useless."― Chris Colfer

 I am a product manager. Part of my job is to pipeline new products for the consumption of  certain types of customers. I do market research, competitive analysis, field surveys, launches, and other marketing related activities somewhat similar to advertising and promotions. It is a pretty tough job not only because of the numbers, but physically it could be a lot draining as well.

I am very thankful because at a very young age, i was blessed to land this position. (The age bracket for this post usually starts at the age of 30 and up) Yes, i still have a lot to learn still, but i consider this as a big break.

Going up the career ladder is not that easy. Aside from the heaps of work you need to do to prove yourself, you also need to gain the respect of your co-employees, and for me that is the most difficult task. You don't get to please everyone since you deal with different personalities - biases and perceptions included. You get to work with the most difficult people alive.

If you think you already escaped bullies way back primary education, well think again. Bullies also thrive in work settings. My say? Don't mind them. As what the famous proverb said - "If people throw you stones, throw them bread in return."

Do not attempt to get even. Do not let them get into your nerves, instead prove them of your maturity. Bullying is a defense mechanism for bruised egos. In psychology, they might have very devastating childhood experiences. I just rely on to my family and and God whenever i encounter difficult challenges in the workplace.