Above all else

I am, by nature, an optimist.  I tend to trust people, because I believe that they have good intentions.  I tend to look forward to the future rather than dwell on the past, because I believe whatever happened, even if it wasn't pleasant, was for the best.  I tend to favour action rather than contemplation, because I believe we can fix things along the way and things will turn out fine in the end. For these reasons, I enjoy the New Year.  It's a chance to look forward, review and reset my goals, and start new habits.  Some goals are recurring - for example, I intend to keep up my "one half marathon every quarter" target and to write at least 25 of these blogs! But because I tend to look forward, I sometimes forget to look back - not in regret, but in thankfulness.  It was pointed out to me yesterday that Black Friday is the day immediately after Thanksgiving.  Kind of sad that the very day meant to give thanks for all we have received, is follo...

We just had our Christmas party for the many friends we've made in our monthly bread run, and it was great!  It's been said many times that in giving, the giver gains as much.  It's true.  I'm not sure who was happier, those of us who organised the party, or those of us for whom the party was organised.  Doesn't matter, we all enjoyed it :) Having said that, I don't deny that we were certainly busy in having to put together the party.  Giving does require effort.  We did worry about what food to get, what activities to organise, whether people would come (and later, whether too many people would come!), what we should give as presents, whether they would like the party...! But the party was a gladsome and joyful time, not only because of that night's effort, and not only because of the previous two weeks' effort in organising it, but in the many years we have spent in much less glamorous settings - bussing in after a long day's work, hauling ...

We're lucky enough to get to travel for holidays, and with some experience, we've learned that we prefer travelling on our own, rather than with a tour group.  But for some places, it's difficult to travel on your own, like this year's holiday in Israel.  This is the second time we've been there, but even then, it's not that easy to get to the places of interest.  We also happened to be travelling with our parents and with church friends, so it made sense to travel in a group.  And if you've been on tours before, you know that such holidays often revolve around life on the tour bus!  Lots and lots of time on the tour bus! This being a trip to Israel with church and family, one of the expectations was to have not just a fun time, but also a time of learning and reflection.  It's quite amazing to be in so many of the places that the Bible records, and see with our own eyes that the Bible is not a storybook - it really is a history book, of real p...

I love to learn - to read and hear about what other people are thinking about.  But even more than learning, I like to try out what I've learned.  Of course, I'm unlikely to do some things directly.  For example, while I find the story of Ernest Shackleton fascinating, I doubt if I'm going to try crossing the Antarctic anytime soon! But when I'm sitting in an audience listening to the speaker, or when I'm reading a book, one of my habits is to write down 1-2 things I will do about what I've learned.  And then actually go do those things.  Could be something as simple as a reminder of the importance of relationships, in which case I'll go fix a lunch appointment with someone I haven't caught up with for a while (incidentally, if I haven't caught up with you for a while, do drop me a line!) So last week I heard someone share about kindness, and suddenly the thought popped into my head.  A few friends have been doing a challenge to take 7 bla...

It's often said that we should all seek to fulfil our potential.  And this is, indeed, a very good thing to do.  Each of us are merely stewards of the time and energy and resources that are in our hands today, which we will one day relinquish.  The million dollar question is, fulfil our potential to do what? At the end of my recent sojourn in the US, I was sitting with my coursemates in a reflective mood.  A number of us offered this thought - that they would redouble their efforts to fulfil their full potential in the workplace.  So, say yes to the stretch assignment, go all out for the big promotion.  Don't settle.  No one wants to look back on their career and regretfully say, I wish I had tried that. Others offered a different spin - that they too would redouble their efforts, but to redeem unfulfilled potential in their home lives.  Successful career people who had spent years overseas away from their families, or had simply...

As I head into the conclusion of the AMP, I find myself contemplating what they call "re-entry": how to apply the learnings from the past 2 months to help the company succeed.  It would be a very bad idea to come back and start pompously spouting - "In Harvard, this is what we would have done..."!  But on the other hand, just going back to life-as-it-was would be a waste! One thing that has been swimming in my consciousness is the idea of winning . Are we playing to win ?  Or are we content to keep up with the pack? Clearly, it's not possible to win in every sphere.  Most people will agree that it's generally unlikely that a steel mill can simultaneously succeed as an advertising agency.  Putting it more narrowly, it remains true that a luxury handbag maker is unlikely to be able to simultaneously succeed as a budget brand.  So the idea is not to play everywhere and try to be all things to all men, but to win convincingly in ...

Will be back in about 3 weeks, so I guess I should give a sense of what a day over here looks like before it's too late!  M asked me to bring along his unicorn pencil case - so the pencil case has actually attended AMP twice now :D ===== Bzzz... bzzz... bzzz... bzzz... It's barely light out, and I reluctantly pry open my sleep-encrusted eyes.  Outside, I hear the muted sounds of activity, as one or two hardy souls head out to their morning spinning class.  I roll over and tap the snooze button. Bzzz... bzzz... bzzz... bzzz... Rats.  Really time to wake up now.  Brush teeth, gather files, take the lift down and walk to class.  Breakfast?  Who's got time?!  Though if I'm really peckish, I can grab a banana and a coffee... Here I am in class.  The blackboard is still pristine, but in a short while, 9 banks of dense text will populate the boards which the professors raise and lower at the push of a button.  T...