Learn to protect your quiet

 

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LIFE is noisy.

And I don’t just mean the traffic jams or construction drills outside your office window. I mean the constant pinging of notifications. The flood of messages, e-mails, deadlines, expectations. Everyone – and everything – seems to want a piece of your attention.

We rarely realise it, but attention is a precious currency. Once spent, it doesn’t come back easily. And yet, we give it away so freely.

That’s why I’ve come to believe this: In a world full of noise, protecting your quiet is one of the most powerful things you can do.

I’m not talking about silence in the literal sense – although that’s a good start. I’m talking about those little pockets of time where your mind can simply breathe. A morning walk before the world wakes up. A cup of tea in the late afternoon, steam curling softly into the air. The solitude of a hot shower after a long day. Moments where you’re not doing anything for anyone, but simply being.

It’s in those moments, more often than not, that your best thoughts arrive.

I can’t count how many times an idea for an article, a teaching strategy, or a long-delayed solution to a lingering problem popped up, not during a meeting, or while staring at a screen but while tying my shoelaces before a slow run. Or while absentmindedly folding the laundry. Or during the quiet stretch of road between the city and home.

That quiet is not wasted time. It’s integrating time. It’s when all the loose threads of our thoughts

find ways to knot themselves into something useful, or at least something meaningful.

Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet wrote, “There is a voice that doesn’t use words. Listen.” But how can we possibly hear it when our ears, eyes, and minds are constantly being pulled in a dozen directions?

We can’t. Not unless we make space for it.

The irony is that we tend to undervalue these gentle moments. We label them as idle or unproductive. We try to fill every pause with something – a scroll through social media, a podcast, a reply to a text message. But not every blank space needs to be filled. Some of them are sacred.

It reminds me of a lesson I learned (or rather, re-learned) during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Those years, 2020 and 2021, was a strange period of time – heavy, uncertain, and unusually quiet in all the right ways. With no meetings to rush to and no travel on the calendar, I found myself rediscovering the small joys: walking around my neighbourhood without a destination, sipping kopi while watching the rain, or just sitting still – doing nothing, really – and feeling OK with that.

Somewhere in that stillness, clarity returned. Not suddenly, not dramatically, but slowly. Thought by thought, breath by breath. And I realised how often I had traded away my quiet for noise disguised as urgency.

Even now, the temptation is always there to squeeze more into the day, to reply faster, to be perpetually available. But I’ve learned to put boundaries around those moments that keep me anchored.

A walk is a walk. A bath is a bath. A cup of tea is sacred. No phones, no multitasking, no performance. Just me, being human.

So here’s my gentle challenge to you: Find your quiet. Guard it like it’s something valuable – because it is. Whether it’s 10 minutes in the morning, or an hour on weekends, protect that time. Make it yours. Make it non-negotiable.

You don’t need to meditate or write a poem. You don’t need to come out of it with anything profound. Just let your mind wander. Let your shoulders drop. Let yourself be.

And if someone asks why you’re “doing nothing”, smile and say, “I’m protecting my quiet”. Because in that space, your sanity lives. Your clarity returns. Your soul exhales.

And honestly? The world can wait.

dr nahrizul Adib Kadri is a professor of biomedical engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, and the Principal of Ibnu Sina Residential College, Universiti Malaya.

Have something you feel strongly about? Get on your soapbox and preach to us at lifestyle@ thestar.com.my so that we can share your opinion with the world. The views expressed here are entirely the writer’s own. - By NAHRIZUL ADIB KADRI

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Financially independent but still working? It’s a possibility worth exploring

There’s nothing wrong with Financial Independence, Retire Early as a goal, but true financial freedom can look very different from the picture this ethos paints. (Illustration: CNA/Samuel Woo, iStock)

Over the past decade, the FIRE movement (Financial Independence, Retire Early) has been gaining widespread popularity online, inspiring and motivating more people to manage their money better in order to retire sooner.

Some fantasise about how they can “fire” their boss once they retire early. Others dream of being able to stop working entirely to spend time on family or passion projects.

There’s nothing wrong with FIRE as a goal, but true financial freedom can look very different from the picture this ethos paints. 

NO LONGER TRAPPED BY OUR NEXT PAY CHEQUE

The relationship between our work and finances is a tightly entwined one – most of us need our next pay cheque in order to cover our living expenses and bills, so we keep working. As such, it can be easy to equate the idea of “financial freedom” with that of “freedom from work”. 

But in reality, financial independence and early retirement are two distinct, different things. 

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Not everyone wants to stop working. Studies show that purpose and productivity are essential for our long-term happiness – even post-retirement. 

Many who reach financial independence continue working, not because they have to but because they want to. But what financial freedom really gives us is the power to make decisions about how we work without worrying too much about financial repercussions. It allows us to choose roles that align with our values, take breaks when needed, or say no to toxic work environments. 

When we're no longer trapped by the need to rely heavily on our next pay cheque, we gain the freedom to work for our own growth and purpose. 

WHAT IS YOUR VERSION OF FIRE?

The original FIRE ethos called for saving aggressively (usually more than half your income) and investing wisely so you can retire early. It sounded great in theory, but for most, it often required high income and extreme frugality. 

Today, the FIRE movement has evolved to encompass varying definitions of financial independence. It is no longer about reaching an end goal, but more about the type of lifestyle we desire and the level our finances will need to hit in order to support our aspirations. 

For instance, “Lean FIRE” refers to a minimalist lifestyle where you retire with a lower budget. There’s also “Barista FIRE”, describing a point where withdrawing from your savings and investments can cover your major expenses and bills, while you supplement the shortfall with part-time or passion-based work (such as being a barista).

The original FIRE ethos called for saving aggressively and investing wisely so you can retire early. It sounded great in theory, but for most, it often required high income and extreme frugality. (Photo: iStock)

These newer variations of FIRE may seem like dilutions or compromises – but in reality, they are just as true to the core essence of financial freedom. 

True financial freedom empowers us with choice rather than demanding retirement. It should mean more options, not less. 

This shift in mindset can be liberating. Instead of chasing a retirement date or age, we can focus on building a lifestyle where money supports flexibility, purpose, and well-being rather than escape.

Perhaps you might decide to stay in your current job, but negotiate fewer work hours that would allow you to care for your children or ailing parents. You might explore part-time roles, start a small business, or pull a Jeremy Tan and pursue advocacy for change (even if it’s not as an independent candidate in a general election). 

ARE WE LOOKING FOR ESCAPE, OR A BETTER BALANCE? 

Out of all the people I know who’ve successfully achieved financial independence, the happiest ones are those who never quit working – but it’s not because they particularly love slogging. 

A friend downsized his role to two days a week to spend more time looking after his mother after her cancer diagnosis. Another stopped chasing yearly pay increments and started mentoring juniors instead, finding deeper fulfilment in growing the next generation than a fatter pay cheque.

Clearly, the real problem isn’t work itself – many people find meaning, identity, and purpose through their work. Rather, it is the lack of control over what, how, when, and why we work that has us dissatisfied.

Financial freedom can still mean not working at all, but it’s important for us to understand that this isn’t the only version of true freedom. 

Maybe it’ll mean a smaller pay cheque, but while it may look to others like you’re settling for less, you’re in fact gaining more in time, autonomy, and peace of mind.

Ironically, when we do work that we’re passionate about – work that energises us instead of draining us – we are much more likely to stay the course.

WE DON’T HAVE TO WAIT

Even so, I get why FIRE remains so popular not just in Singapore but around the world. 

Trying to achieve financial security is getting trickier and trickier, especially in a world where inflation only seems to keep climbing and job stability is quickly vanishing in the face of repeated layoffs and the proliferation of artificial intelligence. 

That’s why the FIRE movement appeals to millions of people around the world, because it seems to offer a solution. A way to regain control.

But the core tenet of financial independence was never about never working again – it was about never needing to work out of fear or survival.

So instead of running towards an arbitrary finish line, consider the path you’re on instead. Is there a way to redesign the way work fits into your life now? 

We don’t have to wait until we retire, whether it’s early or not.

Dawn Cher, also known as SG Budget Babe, has been running a popular blog on personal finance for the last 10 years.

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Youth-chasing US millionaire Bryan Johnson says S’porean Chuando Tan’s agelessness is ‘encouraging’

 

Bryan Johnson (left) acknowledges that Chuando Tan appears to have found the fountain of youth with a much simpler lifestyle.PHOTOS: NETFLIX, CHUANDO TAN/INSTAGRAM

Alison de Souza

LOS ANGELES – Imagine spending millions of dollars on a public quest to become more youthful, only to face cruel comments about your resulting appearance.

Some people say you now look worse, and a few compare you unfavourably with Chuando Tan, the Singaporean photographer who went viral for his age-defying looks, even though he is a decade older.

This is the reality for Bryan Johnson, the 47-year-old American entrepreneur who, in 2021, embarked on a controversial one-man experiment to extend his longevity and reverse any age-related decline.

But his response to the backlash has been to take the high road, engage with critics and respond graciously to even the most savage detractors.

And he acknowledges that Tan, 58, appears to have found the fountain of youth with a much simpler lifestyle.

Johnson displays this disarming attitude in recent podcast interviews, as well as a new documentary, Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever, now streaming on Netflix.

If sensational headlines such as “Millionaire spends US$2 million a year to live forever” suggest an eccentric vanity project, the film adds nuance and humanises the man, who comes across as earnest, curious and humble enough to admit when some experiments go wrong.

Johnson’s programme, which he calls Blueprint, entails a rigorous diet, exercise and lifestyle regimen, as well as taking dozens of supplements and injections, including a novel gene therapy to boost muscle mass.

The technology entrepreneur, who made millions when his digital payments company was acquired by PayPal for US$800 million (S$1.09 billion) in 2013, was overweight, overworked and severely depressed as he was building his early businesses.

And he did become fitter and healthier after doing the Blueprint programme, but his rapid weight loss and pallor – the by-product of trying to avoid sun damage – attracted numerous negative comments.

In the film and on his YouTube channel, Johnson acknowledges that the haters had a point. Even though he had become healthier overall, he lost facial volume, and with it, the appearance of youthfulness.

Bryan Johnson in Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants To Live Forever.PHOTO: NETFLIX

Yet, despite a concerted effort to rejuvenate his visage, he is still routinely the target of barbed comments.

On an episode of the popular More Plates More Dates podcast released in December 2024, Johnson is shown a tweet in which SpaceX founder and Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, 53, agrees that he looked better before he began his anti-ageing journey.

But Johnson laughs good-naturedly, describes Musk as a friend, and embraces the joke often made about his vampiric complexion.

He is then asked about Tan, whom the podcast host cites as an example of “people who seemingly pay very little attention to what they’re doing and yet look way better than people who are doing everything”.

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Johnson reveals that he and Tan, founder of Singapore modelling agency Ave Management, had actually planned to meet. “I was just in Singapore, but didn’t get a chance to meet him,” he says.

Agreeing that Tan looks at least 20 years younger than his age, he adds: “I don’t fault people for being confused.

“They look at that person (Tan), and then they see the headline, ‘This guy is spending US$2 million a year’, and they conclude, ‘This guy should look like that guy in one year’s time.’”

Johnson argues, however, that this is because people do not understand “the biological principles of ageing” and advancements in rejuvenating technologies.

It would be interesting to run the same tests he does on himself on Tan, he adds. “What do his insides look like? Is it as pristine as his appearance?”

Still, the fact that Tan looks as ageless as he does is promising to Johnson.

“To me, that’s really encouraging because biology is capable of the things we’re asking it to be. We’re just trying to sort it out.”

Johnson’s programme measures health and ageing using dozens of biological markers, ranging from established metrics such as bone density and VO2 max – a measure of cardiovascular fitness – to esoteric ones such as DNA methylation “clocks”.

These clocks track chemical processes in DNA to determine “biological age” or if someone is ageing faster or slower than his age in years.

The validity of these clocks is still debated by scientists, but they are one of the main tools Johnson uses to calculate his speed of ageing, and the basis of his 2023 claim to have reversed his biological age by five years after two years on his protocol.

Chuando Tan is the Singaporean photographer who went viral for his age-defying looks even though he is a decade older.PHOTO: CHUANDO TAN/INSTAGRAM

The Netflix documentary details the lengths he goes to daily to adhere to and document this demanding programme.

It includes swallowing 88 pills, eating a calorie-restricted vegan diet that always leaves him hungry, and something called “penis shockwave therapy”, which he hopes will boost his sexual health and performance.

He has also created a community that follows a pared-down version of his protocol and attends his Don’t Die Summits, where attendees get to test their biological age and see the latest longevity-boosting therapies. One was held in Singapore in September 2024.

But equally fascinating is what drives Johnson to do it all – a touching backstory that includes growing up with little money, becoming estranged from his family, then reconnecting with both his father and his 19-year-old son.

Whatever you think of the longevity goal, this is a father making up for lost time – and trying to extend that as much as he can. - The Straits/Asia News Network

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