Problem Solving & Decision Making

son,
i want to tell you something about life. something that you can't find in any book. maybe there's friends of yours or anybody you know tell you that life is as simple as A B C or 1 2 3. and you may know about A,B,C; 1,2,3; a+b+i = abi; m+o+m+m+y=mommy; 1+2=3; 3-3=0. or maybe when you learn about calculus, you'll know about x^2+2x-3=0. but we want you to be a doctor! but life ain't like that. it's not only x^4+15x^3-24x^2-x=1!

life is 2xy+3pq-12qyz=w, and you're not given any value! you may go to Mr. A. he assumes w=3,z=2,y=4,q=9 and his theory was 'the shape of those numbers are similar to the alphabets given'. and you just have to find the value of x and p. then you go to Mr. B. his theory is different. Mr. C also gives the different story.

that's life. and it applies in everything.

you may want to live as simple as you can, but Mommy & Abi want you to have a meaningful life. not only breath, eat, poo, school, work, get married, then die... but we want you to success, in life and hereafter. the school of life is enormous and unlimited, and we want you to learn as much as possible, to the final limit of a human being.

the formula is not A B C but--> fact, myth, theory and practice. why? because fact is there, something you can't change. myth, sometimes right sometimes wrong, sometimes with argument sometimes not. theory, is depend on who's saying & doing it. practice, which is the things happen in our daily life but not necessarily right. example. fact is, the sky is blue. myth says, it's because of the blue wolf. while theory says, the sky ain't blue but earth's atmosphere makes it looks blue. and practice, who cares? whether the sky is blue or black or red, as long as there's rain and sun.

when comes to pregnancy, babycare and parenting, the formula applies. there are lots of facts, myths, theories and practices in pregnancy, birth, babycare, parenting, nutrition, etc. sometimes they put the first timers like us be in the middle of the road. wondering about which way we should choose.

how did we overcome the dilemma? one thing you have to remember, nobody is perfect. so we should always practice critical thinking. take all information with a grain of salt. we did some reading, joining forums, discuss & asking the experts, listening to others, etc. meanwhile we mapped our own plan by compiling all infos and do screening under our own judgment, base on our interest, situation & condition. and now, we have it already, a set of draft plan for you. we know it's not complete nor perfect but at least we know what we're gonna do next.

talking about parenting, everybody is saying that they are right. everybody is right actually, that's why we have to know our own right before making any decision. example, in choice of feeding. A may wants to breastfeed while B prefers formula feed. there's no right or wrong, cos everybody has unique reasons for each decision. majority may choose blue for baby boys & pink for girl but it's nothing wrong if C wants to pick blue for her baby girl. D may needs a stroller while E doesn't. and you can't say F is going ridiculous for her decision to have baby everyyear just because you plan to make it every 3 years.

before sticking to any decision, we should know ourselves, understand our needs, analyze our economic condition, check our lifestyle, etc. so that we can make choice that really suits us rather than suiting others and leave us under depression because we can't fit in. now the fact plays it roles. before listening to others, grab the fact first. do lots of reading. when we master the fact, then we can consider others' practice and theories. and myths as well. but still depends on our situation and condition.

why i keep on mentioning about our situation and condition? cos each of us are unique. others may need big, imported, hi-tech cars but for us, a lowest~standard~in~its~class-manual-local car is enough. others may need their very own houses by now but we don't, maybe later. others may need 50 pairs of newborn sets but for us 3-4 pairs is enough. we don't measure ourselves using others' scale. we have our own ability and capability which is different than them. we have our own need, which is not similar to them.

so son, be wise in making decision. remember that what is good for others is not necessarily good for us. learn the fact, know ourselves and get others' advise. then make decision using our own map. then you won't say "menyesal aku ikut cakap si D ni...." later. =)