Lesson Learnt 1: Reset the Importance in Your Life – Wants vs Needs

“If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a LOT of time dealing with a life you DON’T want.” – Kevin Ngo

When I was in Standard 4, my father told me: “Work hard so you can get what you want later in life.”

It sounded simple. But it actually took me 20 years to figure out what I really wanted—and more importantly, what I really needed.

Along the way, I discovered three reasons why I wasted so much time chasing the wrong things:

Delusion from External Influence

At every age, your wants and needs are shaped by the people around you.

Your friends buy fish tanks, so you buy one too. A few weeks later, the fish are dead, and you don’t even care.
Your colleagues are all into road bikes, so you spend thousands on one. But the truth? You never liked cycling.

That’s how you get trapped—confusing other people’s wants for your own. You call it “desire,” but really, it’s just peer influence dressed up as your dream.

Wrong Priorities

At one point, I was supposed to master Occupational Noise Management at my company. It was a key skill for climbing the career ladder.

But I let “urgent” distractions steal my time. A hundred ad-hoc jobs every week. Endless requests from others. Six months passed. Then a year. My progress? Only 5%.

Looking back, I realize I could have invested just 15 minutes a day. By doing so, I’d have logged 92 hours in a year. That would be enough to complete all the learning modules.

Instead, I spent my hours solving other people’s problems while ignoring my own growth. That’s how dreams rot quietly in the background.

Not Knowing What You Really Need

In university, I thought my only need was to graduate with top grades. I studied hard for four years and achieved it.

But when I started working at a small company, I realized grades couldn’t help me adjust. I turned to my old classmates for advice—yet no one was there.

Why? Because back then, I had ignored them. I focused only on results, not relationships.

It hit me: university wasn’t just about academic excellence. It was also about building networks, friendships, and future partners. That was a need I had ignored—and it cost me.

The real lesson: define your needs not just for today, but for the next 10–20 years. Future-proof yourself.

So, What Is the Ultimate Need?

I won’t dictate what your needs should be—they depend on your goals, lifestyle, and situation.

But one truth is universal: health is non-negotiable.

If you don’t manage what you eat, your body will break you from within.
If you don’t move, the hospital will move into your schedule.
If you don’t protect your mind, negativity will poison your joy.

Every ambition—whether you want to be an artist, entrepreneur, or CEO—crumbles without health.

Take Action Now

Reflection means nothing without execution. So, here’s your homework:

List your real needs. (Not what Instagram says. Not what your friends want. Yours.)
Act on them daily. Even 10–15 minutes a day compounds into mastery, health, and freedom.

Because if you don’t decide your needs now, life will decide them for you later—and trust me, you won’t like the bill.