Be Prepared

31st August 2019

Dr Lennon’s Sunday Musings

Lord Baden Powell (Founder of the Scouting Movement) said that “Scouting is a game for boys”. I remember first joining the Scouts in Singapore when I was 11. I remember donning on the uniform and spending a lot of time perfecting the way to roll the scarf and to place the woggle after. I remember the pride I felt during the Investiture when I actually became a scout to join the ranks of my fellow brothers. I remember the campfires nights and singing to our hearts’ content. We sang numerous scouting songs which I still sing to my sons to this day. I remember the various skills we learnt, from building wooden structures (pioneering) to learning 25 different types of lashings and knots, from public speaking to camping and from learning how to forecast the weather by assessing the clouds to building a fire and cooking for the juniors. Oh, those were great memories!

The biggest lesson I took was living by the Scout’s motto, ‘Be Prepared’. Those two words may seem simple but they are extremely profound to me. It is easier said than done. It can be as simple as having a consideration of taking an umbrella before going out just in case it rains to learning how to cope with life in all of its strangeness and wonder.

Being prepared has allowed me to thrive in situations outside my comfort zone. In my teens, it has allowed me to achieve good grades by taking the right actions to ensure the best results. In the army, it has allowed me to pack sufficient equipment and plan and execute various missions successfully. When I arrive in London alone, I was able to integrate into student life here.

Being prepared does not merely mean to do the right things. More importantly, it means having the right mind set. Mentally, we must be prepared. Only then, we may also be physically prepared. I had to be mentally prepared for living in a foreign country with a different culture. I had to be prepared to be misunderstood due to my poor command in English, cultural difference and heavy Singaporean accent! After the first year in university, I had to be prepared to work three jobs while studying full time as my family’s funds had run out and I (being foreign) was not eligible for a student loan. It was my ability to be mentally prepared that allowed me to pivot and shift my course swiftly and quickly to ensure success.

In life, there are many things that may happen that we simply cannot prepare ourselves for. However, I believe the need for mental awareness is of utmost importance. It not only allows us to live life purposefully but also allows us to experience more of life at a much higher level. I do not believe in luck. Rather, I believe that ‘Chance favours the Prepared Mind’. By being mentally prepared, I believe we are able to create our own luck or rather, we are able to see opportunities more often than not for we are truly open to the abundance of the universe. By being prepared, can we truly live life at our terms more often than not and not let life live us.

On another note, check out my funky spectacles from the 80s!

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