Waste No ​​​​​​​Time

Beneath the suave façade, there is more to Nazim Othman than you think.

- John Ng

Nazim Othman is sitting on a folding chair in front of the mirror, expressionless as the hair and makeup artists prepare him for the photo shoot. He’s wearing a plain white T-shirt underneath a grey cardigan, straight-cut jeans and sneakers. He arrives 15 minutes early and is ready to get started right away.

“Time. It is the only thing we can’t repeat,” Nazim says. “Our lifespan is limited and the future is never guaranteed. I get frustrated with myself when I feel that I have wasted my time; there’s always something new to be discovered and learned. I live in the now because it shapes my tomorrow.”

According to Nazim, you’re only truly living when you embrace both the positive and negative experiences. “I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. If you’re unhappy with your current state of life, you’ve got to do something about it. And if you fail, it probably means that whatever that is weighing you down is not meant to be and so you need to let it go. We need to be truthful to ourselves,” he says. It is completely okay to put ourselves first sometimes.

A living proof of the old adage, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, Nazim admits that he’s a work in progress. “My teenage years were rough; I was in and out of counselling. I often felt uncertain and lost, questioning myself on what life was all about. I was living under tremendous stress for many years. In retrospect, I’m glad I reached out for help. There’s an obvious lack of awareness about stress and depression in this country; we need to address them because they are issues that can potentially lead to serious health consequences.