From Fear to Flourishing: How Singapore Can Reclaim Its Collective Well-being
The E.G.O Shift: Redefining Singapore’s Success Beyond Fear and Competition
SINGAPORE: As Singapore celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2025, we find ourselves at a critical juncture in our journey of nationhood. From a struggling, resource-poor island to a global economic powerhouse, Singapore’s achievements are remarkable. However, amid this prosperity, we face an urgent challenge — mental health struggles that are increasingly pervasive among Singaporeans. Despite our success, we feel disconnected, overwhelmed and anxious. So, how do we shift from a place of fear to one of flourishing? How do we reframe our narrative — from a story of scarcity and survival to one of strengths, solidarity, and human flourishing?
The answer lies not just in policies or resources, but in also taking mindful actions for wellbeing. I offer the E.G.O model, learnings from my own mental health journey and supporting many as a coach that could guide us in how we manage our (E)nergy, practice (G)ratitude, and take (O)wnership so that we can thrive as individuals and as a nation, not just survive.
Energy: Managing What Fuels Us
Energy is our most precious resource. Unlike time which is finite, energy is renewable — but it needs to be replenished and restored in mindful ways.
Ever since our school days, we have been working according to timetables. Managing time and schedules has been of paramount importance. So, thinking about managing our energy levels instead of our time is a paradigm shift in thinking. The key is understanding what fills us with energy and what drains us. Each of us must be conscious of how we engage with tasks, relationships, and environments that either restore or deplete our energy.
For example, as individuals, we can recognise when our energy peaks during the day. It isn’t the amount of time one devotes to a particular task but the quality of energy we bring to it. I, for one, am most alert and creative in the mornings so I use that time for the most demanding tasks — writing, thinking strategically, and addressing complex problems. My calendar looks like a Picasso-painting with different colours denoting activities which gives me energy or requires me to give energy. Some work-related activities can be energising whilst some life demands can be emotionally complex and therefore energy-depleting.
A coaching client similarly found much success and joy in her work as a lawyer when she started organising her days around her energy fillers and killers. She started winning her cases in court when she wasn’t preparing for them with low energy. More importantly, she had more joy and satisfaction.
Indeed, a study by the Harvard Business Review found that employees who managed their energy levels were 50% more productive and had 25% higher job satisfaction.
Rest is a big part of energy management. Studies found that even short rest breaks during mentally demanding tasks can improve well-being, reduce fatigue and enhance performance.
Similarly, as a society, we must also consider how cultural habits influence our collective energy. A legacy of kiasu (fear of losing) and kiasi (fear of taking risks) often leaves us drained, anxious, and constantly racing against one another. These fears stem from our survivalist roots, when success was about proving ourselves. But if we focus on what energises us — our resilience, our community, our multicultural strengths — we can create an environment that fosters connection rather than competition.
We can therefore thrive as a society and perform as an economy without the high cost of our wellbeing.
Gratitude: Shifting from Scarcity to Strengths
In Singapore, we have long been driven by a mindset of scarcity and the vulnerability narrative from our collective historical trauma of a nation’s birth by expulsion.
Recently, a Singaporean CEO shared that despite her financial success, she still feels anxious about the future — constantly, “why is this not enough?”. This sentiment, also known as scarcity consciousness, is widespread. Research shows that when people are constantly exposed to scarcity, it triggers chronic stress, anxiety and cognitive overload.
This “survival mode” mindset has shaped our society in ways that can be both productive and limiting. In the face of existential threats, such as climate change, shifting economic powers and rapid technological advancement, a culture rooted in fear and competition could leave us more vulnerable rather than more secure. In this time of heightened global change, the survivalist mentality that has served us so well in the past must evolve. It’s time to stop running on empty out of fear and to start thriving by focusing on the strengths that have carried us this far.
What if we shifted the focus from what we don’t have to what we do? Instead of constantly striving to win against others, we can choose to start from kamsia (‘thank you’ in Hokkien) — a deep sense of gratitude for what we’ve achieved and what we have.
The first step is recognising that we are no longer a struggling, resource-poor nation. We have achieved much, not in spite of our limitations but because of our unique advantages — our strategic location, our multicultural history and the resilience of our people. In fact, our vulnerability narrative — smallness, lack of natural resources — may have birthed our greatest strengths: agility, resourcefulness and adaptability.
Gratitude is more than just a positive emotion; it’s a mental and emotional practice that nurtures well-being, strengthens relationships and enhances creativity. Research consistently shows that practising gratitude is strongly linked to improved mental health, including reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, increased happiness, and better overall well-being.
It shouldn’t be hard to understand that the way to navigate the uncertainty ahead is clearly not to stand on fear and lack (or nothing) but to be anchored deeply in our strengths with gratitude and hope.
A simple practice of gratitude can transform workplaces and communities: it’s an energy filler for both the one who shows gratitude and the one who receives it. Take the example of a CEO I know who writes weekly gratitude notes to team members. By acknowledging contributions, leaders inspire a culture of trust, collaboration and well-being.
Gallup’s study also found that followers with leaders who provide trust and hope are just as likely to be thriving as those with leaders who provide hope only. But when hope — the foundational need — is combined with trust and either compassion or stability, rates of thriving increase again. No one thrives with leaders who manage by fear and scarcity.
And for your own wellbeing, end each day affirming something you are grateful for; even on the worst day, there is still gratitude that can be had e.g your kid is safe.
Ownership: Responding to Change with Agency
Finally, ownership means taking responsibility — not just for our actions, but for the changes we wish to see around us. We can no longer accept the passive mindset of bo bian (“no choice” in Hokkien). In fact, even that phrase is a choice — one that reinforces a limiting belief. The key is shifting from taking responsibility to enhancing our response-ability — recognising that we always have the ability to choose how we show up to change. As we say, the way you respond to a situation has the power to change the situation. Our only security is our ability to change.
Taking ownership means actively engaging in decision-making and claiming our agency in a world that’s constantly evolving. Learning to manage competing priorities effectively is critical so we don’t get overwhelmed with life’s incessant demands.
My nephew, Jordan, who lives with anxiety and ADHD, once shared with me the many goals he had in his mind which were overwhelming him, to say the least. Using a piece of napkin at the cafe we were at, we then started to plot all of these on the important-urgent quadrants. He visibly looked more relaxed and began smiling when he realised he could respond to them in some rational and meaningful way.
Similarly, the manager of social enterprise Hush TeaBar has been leading well once he found his own model of prioritising tasks and goals — he uses a hybrid of the importance-urgency and impact-effort matrices.
In making daily decisions in our personal and professional lives, ownership means being the drivers of change rather than waiting for others to act. We take care of our wellbeing when we act on what we can control, and not what we can’t.
This mentality of ownership can also be applied to societal well-being. Instead of deferring responsibility to the government or institutions, we must claim our role in shaping the future. Whether it’s advocating for better mental health services or fostering inclusive communities, we all have a part to play in Singapore’s journey toward flourishing instead of staying put in fear and anxiety.
Redefining National Success: From ‘Kiasu’ and ‘Kiasi’ to ‘Kamsia’ and ‘Ka Ki Nang’
Singapore’s collective psyche has been shaped by the legacy of kiasu (fear of losing) and kiasi (fear of taking risks) from our historical trauma. These cultural traits have driven our success thus far but also led us into cycles of anxiety and burnout.
The National Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy is a step in the right direction but it doesn’t tell us what is the vision of our collective wellbeing as a society.
Moving forward, we must embody and act on the ideals of our National Pledge “as one united people” or ka ki nang (‘solidarity’ in Teochew), where we unite not through competition, but through collective purpose and mutual support. Research has shown that solidarity — rooted in shared values, mutual trust, and cooperation — not only strengthens social cohesion but also contributes to individual resilience. Communities that embrace solidarity are better equipped to adapt to change, face adversity, and recover from crises. It is this sense of collective strength that enables societies to flourish in the face of uncertainty.
Let us stop identifying ourselves with the limiting fears of kiasu and kiasi and embrace a future of confidence and creativity guided by kamsia (gratitude) and ka ki nang (solidarity).
Achieving this requires systemic change across government, business, and education. The government must integrate well-being into national policies, making it as foundational as economic growth. Businesses must redefine success, not just in profits, but in how they contribute to collective well-being and environmental sustainability. Educational institutions must go beyond academic excellence to prioritise empathy, emotional intelligence and collaboration — skills that foster resilience and social cohesion.
As the world moves toward measuring success through well-being rather than GDP alone, Singapore has a unique opportunity to lead the charge in demonstrating that a thriving society is not just financially prosperous but emotionally resilient. The world is watching, and it’s time for Singapore to redefine its global legacy.
Our collective purpose cannot just be our economic prowess but our global stewardship in the wellbeing of people and planet.
The ego thrives on comparison, scarcity and competition, trapping us in cycles of stress. But through the E.G.O model, we reclaim our power: managing our energy fuels creativity, gratitude builds resilience, and ownership breaks free from fear. This is how we unlock our true strengths — not by fear of failure but through the courage to grow together.
By taking ownership of our future, harnessing our energy and practising gratitude, we’ll redefine success and create a society that flourishes from within.
As Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in his first National Day Rally, let’s reset and refresh Singapore. Indeed, let’s reframe our story — from one of fear to one of flourishing.
Anthea Ong is a former Nominated Member of Parliament, social entrepreneur, mental health advocate, and author. She has published extensively on mental health, leadership, and social entrepreneurship and is the founder of several impact initiatives, including Hush TeaBar, WorkWell Leaders and SG Mental Health Matters. An experienced certified coach, she’s passionate about guiding leaders toward creating healthier, more connected workplaces and communities.