Creating Memories: Five Memorable Moments from My Day

Foreword

Today's theme is "creating memories."

Many years ago, I came across a passage that essentially said: Life is truly about the continuous creation of memories.

The author argued that if you sleepwalk through a year and cannot recall a single distinct event, that year was effectively wasted. A high-quality life, therefore, means creating memories every single day, in every moment.

That concept left a profound impression on me. So today, I want to share my day from this perspective. I thought about it carefully—it is nearly 10:00 PM now—and I have gathered the following memorable moments.

01. A Dog's Cough: Realizing What Truly Matters

My first memory point is about our dog, Cutie. I took him to the vet the day before yesterday; he has a slight tracheal collapse, though nothing too severe.

This morning, I was jolted awake by his intense coughing, which lasted for a solid 20 minutes. I hurried downstairs, administered some cough syrup with a syringe, and thankfully, he settled down.

Hearing him cough so violently made me feel awful. It was the first time I had seen him struggle like that, and I was incredibly worried. That anxiety completely ruined my mood.

This moment made me realize just how important Cutie is to me. He just coughed intensely for a bit, and I found myself overwhelmed with worry. Normally, because my wife and daughter dote on him so much—his status in our house is arguably higher than mine—I assumed my bond with him was not that deep.

But this morning’s scare was a sudden awakening to his true place in my heart. A poignant memory to start the day.

02. An OKR Epiphany: Reading at 10:00 PM

The next memory emerged during my workday.

My primary focus today was Globevisa's OKR (Objectives and Key Results) planning for May, June, and July. I need to align the upcoming quarter's focus with all my direct reports. Because my reporting structure is quite extensive—around 20 to 30 professional reporting lines—I have to conduct 30 meetings in a very short timeframe. It is a grueling schedule, and I have been at it for days.

During one of these discussions, we were breaking down the "O" (Objective): identifying what is truly important, yet frequently neglected in the daily grind.

To illustrate, I casually used an example from my own life: one of my most crucial daily objectives is to start reading at exactly 10:00 PM.

Why is this so vital? Because when I read at 10:00 PM (usually serious subjects), it focuses my mind and brings me a sense of calm. Deep concentration naturally leads to relaxation, followed by sleepiness. If I read earnestly, I usually drift off easily by 11:00 PM.

Sleeping by 11:00 PM guarantees I will wake up naturally before 7:00 AM with excellent sleep quality. Once awake, I always do my morning workout. Since I work from home, I follow that with a shower and a cup of coffee, which sets a fantastic mood for the entire day.

Through this casual explanation, I realized that protecting my 10:00 PM reading time is actually one of the most critical routines in my life.

03. "Facial Expression Management" Under High-Intensity Work

Today’s work intensity was relentless—not a single moment to catch my breath.

At 5:30 PM, I had a half-hour meeting with Vivian, the CEO of our Shanghai office, to discuss an internal company matter. The outcome was quite positive. Afterward, Vivian remarked, "Henry, I brought up a very challenging topic, but you handled it perfectly. You didn't get angry or upset about our differing opinions. But when you were reading the document during the meeting, why did you look so incredibly fierce?"

Her question gave me pause.

We structure our meetings using the Amazon method: if you want to meet, prepare a written document first—no PPTs. I read it thoroughly, and then we discuss. For our video call, I put on some background music to ease the pace and began reading her memo. I had no idea I looked "fierce."

I explained to Vivian that my intense workload today might have left me drained, causing me to look a bit severe while reading.

Curious, and since I have been experimenting with social media videos lately, I recorded myself reading a document today. Looking at the playback, I had to admit she was right: my eyes were narrowed, my brow was furrowed, and I did look quite intimidating.

I was surprised. I consider myself someone with excellent emotional control; I never lose my temper or shout at people. I thought, how could I possibly look fierce? But the video did not lie. It also reminded me that my kids sometimes say I look angry even when I am not speaking. I always felt wronged by that!

This was a fantastic takeaway. It made me realize that I need to manage my resting "thinking face. Simply put: stop squinting and frowning. I clearly have a default expression when concentrating that sends the wrong message. It was a great reminder.

04. Working on Holidays: Tracing Back to Foundational Values

While explaining my fatigue to Vivian, I showed her my schedule to prove the sheer volume of tasks I was juggling, including working through Saturday.

But as I said it, I asked myself: Why am I working tomorrow?

The logistical reason is simple: Globevisa is an international company. When China has a public holiday, our overseas offices do not, so I work. On Saturday, Hong Kong and the overseas offices are off, but mainland China is working, so I work again.

But the deeper question was: Why not just take it easy?

I am someone who takes things seriously, so I reflected on this. I realized it stems from my core values, shaped by growing up in the 1970s.

My foundational belief is this: If you want more than just fleeting moments of contentment—if you seek profound happiness in life—that happiness is directly proportional to the effort you exert. I am not sure if this comes from reading the novel Ordinary World or just the era I grew up in, but the conviction is deeply ingrained.

My philosophy is that effort does not guarantee success, but a lack of effort guarantees failure. To enjoy great happiness, you must work hard.

Realizing I am simply a product of my era brought me a sense of peace. These are my foundational values. If this is your worldview, you live by it, and as long as it brings you fulfillment, that is what matters.

05. Taking it Slow: A Small Milestone Approaching 1,000 Views

I thought the previous point was my last one for the day, but right before writing this, I checked my social media.

I started managing these accounts just a few days ago. Today, I noticed one of my videos has reached 992 views. It will soon be my first piece of content to break the 1,000-view mark.

If you ask me, I will only be truly satisfied when a video hits 1 million views. But you have to take things one step at a time. Breaking 1,000 means 10,000 is possible; 10,000 leads to 100,000, and eventually 1 million. Right now, my likes are barely in the double digits, but I hope to hit 100, then 1,000.

So, while a thousand views might seem trivial to some, it is a significant milestone for me.

Postscript: A 5:00 AM Singapore Run

Just as I was wrapping this up, another memory point popped up! I am flying to Singapore tomorrow night, and I arranged to meet my UTMB running buddy. He suggested a run on Sunday. I agreed and told him to pick the time.

He just messaged me: "See you Sunday morning at 5:00 AM."

It suddenly hit me—he is Singaporean! Morning workouts there happen early to beat the heat. Thinking about a 5:00 AM run on Sunday makes me want to cancel my flight altogether!