A Decalogue

I have been blogging since 2001, but this is the first time I have put together a website with the infrastructure to showcase my adventures as an author as well as a wide array of writing-related subjects close to my heart.

Rather than offering a long-winded introduction about myself, I wish to share my personal “decalogue” to give you an idea of my personality and what to expect from me as a storyteller and a person as a whole.

A decalogue is a rundown of 10 short philosophies by which I live my life. I was made to write all these down by our Philosophy I teacher in university many years back, and I have hung on to the list ever since. What’s more, I even got a decent grade out of it.

Shirley’s Decalogue

1. The challenges that do not kill you will make you stronger.

2. Time is more precious than gold – or any other thing of material value. Time cannot be bought, stored, pawned, redeemed or reshaped.

3. It is better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all. That way, you would not wallow in the “What if..?” muck.

4. Problems should be faced the moment they start brewing – or else they will spill over and get out of your control.

5. Open-mindedness is a good quality to possess. You become less fussy, less judgmental, and much smarter in life if you have it.

6. Do not try to please everyone. You will end up pleasing no one at all, including yourself.

7. Weaknesses are the reasons why we should never take our strengths for granted.

8. Holding grudges is like committing suicide slowly: You fill yourself up with hate, which is poisonous for the soul.

9. In striving to reach a goal, it does not matter how many times you have stumbled, fallen, or tripped – it is how many times you have gotten back on your feet and resolved to go on.

10. The only constant in life is change. Deal with it and, as always, move on.

I guess the above list sounds straight out of a pop psychology book (or Marlboro commercial, for that matter) and some such.

However, that’s really me summing up what I make of my life. And I am very grateful because I had the strength to do such a thing.

Image credit: Haute Stock