Growing up in a low-middle-income single-parent family, I grew up in an environment with scarce resources and limited options. While I acknowledge that I still grew up more privileged than many others — those who fall through the cracks of our society, paying it forward and volunteering did not seem pragmatic during the early days of my childhood.
Today, having secured a career with a rewarding remuneration and stability has helped me to elevate my family’s socioeconomic status alongside establishing the necessary financial safety nets.
To provide a sense of scale and context, my monthly salary as a fresh graduate is approximately the median monthly salary of 30–34 years old in Singapore. I am immensely grateful for the mentors and social support I had received in my various social groups. Without them, I would not be where I am today.
I am the product of all the efforts paid forward by my mentors, friends, family, and immediate community. As a result, I want to continue paying it forward and serving the community which provided the necessary social support for a young single-parent child to do well in today’s world.
To dive deeper into why I choose to continue paying it forward, it boils down to seeking a higher purpose in life beyond simply work. A financially rewarding career does not equate to a meaningful one. While I do see the merits of fulfilling one’s needs before ideals, I also acknowledge that life is short and unpredictable.
In my pursuit of financial stability to fulfill my Basic Needs as per Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I also sacrificed my Self-fulfillment needs as my current role within a large organization results in the minimization of individual impact. In turn, this results in a reduction of self-fulfillment.
While we can discuss the difference between large and small organizations in one’s career, I want to focus on the topic in this write-up.
While I do believe in the need for a hierarchical framework, I personally prefer to view it more realistically as a spectrum of needs that do not have to be served in sequential order. Indeed, to view it from such a perspective requires a level of privilege and I fully acknowledge it.
Regardless, I choose to pay it forward despite not having fulfilled all of my Basic Needs. Why?
There are meaningful visions set in the organizations I offer support to — Being able to play a significant role in advancing these visions brings meaning to my life, far and beyond what I may gain from working in a large organization.
To me, paying it forward is not a zero-sum game. There are impactful lessons and values which can be imparted to those who give, and those who receive. While paying it forward does take up time and effort, my willingness to do so mainly stems from my understanding of the unpredictable nature of life and death in our world today. In a world where we are systematically trained to follow frameworks designed for success e.g. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, we often forget that our time alive remains an unknown. The uncertainty of such a variable is precisely what drives me to seek a higher purpose in paying it forward despite not having completely fulfilled my family’s basic needs.
In a post-truth era, plagued with pandemics, wars, and climate disasters, there is no “right time” to pay it forward. The right time is now.
