Finding their own level

There is something which Tash Aw said in an interview with ST which struck me. He is a Malaysian author whose work was long listed for the coveted Man Booker prize and he was asked by ST why can't Singapore produce an internationally acclaimed author like him.

Basically he ascribed it to the pressure and anxiety to be the best that Singaporeans face. He thinks that state of mind and the " constant striving to reach a level imposed on them by society...  crushing" and impeding them to rise to their own level. The structural quest for straight As would have left little room for the development of creative instincts.

He says in Malaysia there is less expectation of success. "If you don't make it, you are basically measured to the mediocrity around you, so there is no pressure......" and then what really strikes me are these words that follow : "And when there's no pressure, exceptional people tend to find their own level".

I think most Malaysians in general enjoy the freedom to find their own level , their own space. In Singapore however too much well respected chartered paths have propelled parents and society to cheer youngsters to take such well trodden paths without the space to dream and discover where their real interest and calling lie. Most are fine and do not end in despair because people are propelled to reach various milestones in terms of starting a family, achieving certain status at work and possessing certain trappings of material success which signal their achievement in life. For many work is just a means to hit all these milestones. These milestones became the end and meaning in their lives irrespective  whether they hate their job or not. In a survey conducted in 2016 Singaporeans ranked the lowest in job happiness, giving reasons like lack of training and career development and poor leadership as causes for unhappiness. I am just wondering whether there is also an underlying unhappiness because they are not in the field of their true and unexplored desire.

Maybe things will be alright in Singapore because when people were not given the space to dream they lost the interest or don't know how to dream. Being in the Matrix is fine with them. I do not for once mean that living outside the Matrix is more noble or better off, only that people who discover themselves in a deeper way seem more alive to me.