Its been really long since I last wrote anything on this blog.
However, at the current moment, I feel like this is my only escape.
It has been a rollercoaster ride with everything that has been going on in my life the past few years. Firstly, I graduated from my degree studies and entered the workforce in 2014.
Since then, I have held jobs in e-commerce and marketing and even arts management. I finally found a place that I really felt could provide me fulfillment - Insurance.
It may come as a surprise to others. However, it is something I thought long and hard about. It isn't easy going through all the exams and interviews getting into this career coupled with the training that I have attended the past 3 months as well. (Yes, its been that long since I entered the industry).
However, I really want to make this a long term career.
Most people that know me asked me why did I leave the marketing industry just as I was stepping up into bigger roles and progressing in my career. Simply put, I felt a little empty inside as I go to sleep each day after a day of work. I felt like I wasn't making an impact with what I'm doing. Sure, marketing is my passion. I really enjoyed what I was doing before this. However, I also got to experience a whole different side of the insurance industry.
Earlier this year, I was warded quite frequently due to severe gastric reflux issues. This was due to long term "abuse" of irregular meals and extreme meal portions (sometimes I eat too much, other times, I eat too little or not eat at all). After medical screening, I realised the severity of my condition even though it may sound small. This new finding could have massive impact on my lifestyle in future. Thankfully, I was brought up in an environment where insurance education from my family started from a young age. My maternal family was a big believer in the benefits and necessity of insurance and hence I had adequate coverage for medical expenses. At the same time, I was lucky to also have gotten a policy for myself when I completed one year of my full time job. With my new medical condition, it may be excluded in my future policies and thankfully I already had something in place.
This may sound like a small and irrelevant issue but being at the age of 23 and being told that my condition may deteriorate to something of severe complications in future was a scary thought. I thought to myself of all the people around me that I cared about who don't have basic insurance in place. I took it upon myself that insurance was really something that is beneficial to people - whether you need it now or not. Purely because you won't be able to get it when you realised you need it! Its one of the few things in life that can only be bought with health and not just purely wealth.
When I entered the industry, of course there were many negative opinions that surrounded my choice. Some felt that I was crazy to abandon my career that I've worked to build up for the past few years for something completely new and shunned from in Singapore.
It was really tough for me - someone who really enjoyed social interactions - to suddenly receive so many objections from my friends once they knew that I was a financial planner. Most of them avoid contact and some even complete deleted me from their social circle. It was a huge blow for me to handle.
Even right now after 3 months in the business, I often feel lost and confused. Negative thoughts often fill up my mind and cloud my judgement. I feel less of myself and unable to handle the expectations that everyone had of me including my own expectations of myself.
However, thanks to some really encouraging people, I managed to stay as positive as I can in my career. It gave me the motivation and hope that I can really make this work.
I know that I am still a long way from reaching my goals that I set for myself joining this business. However, knowing that I made an impact in the lives of people I met and those that trust me in my role as their financial planner gave me a huge comfort and kept me going.
To all my clients, friends and family who showed me love every step of the way to not give up, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I'll only work harder to be better than I was yesterday.
