EDITOR’S NOTE

From a young age, many of us were convinced that we had to achieve certain goals by certain stages of our lives. If not, we’ll be deemed failures by the likes of ourselves and society.

However, the journey to where we are today isn’t always a straightforward one and oftentimes, surprises show up – which means changing courses. If the journey was a straight and narrow path that ticked all the boxes, chances are it would also have been plagued with boring conventionalities and less growth opportunities.

We can only learn the lessons we do, and unlearn the ones moulded by social conditioning, through adversity.

During our inaugural Her World Live! event, panellist and founder of digital agency 21 Stories Jeneen Goh (page 114) shared how it took her 10 years of her adult life to finally realise what she’s really passionate about. Fellow panellist Ang Jinyuan said if her previous employment was never terminated, she might not have discovered her now-successful business Style Lease (and her newly launched venture The Ivory).

The three women we featured (page 126) were clinically diagnosed with depression but, after hard work on their part, are now mental wellness advocates who courageously put their faces to the socially stigmatised illness.

These fearless women wouldn’t have realised their true calling if they weren’t first presented with the challenges.

So perhaps the way to live our best lives is to choose the winding path that is a lot less taken.