When I was 11, I was glued to computer games. My mother got so furious that she decided to lock the computer. I was disappointed that I could only play on weekends, but this got me to look at how I could maximise my play time.
When I reflect upon 2020, I see a similarity with my 11-year-old self. The difficulty of this year got us to appreciate limits and maximise what we have. As human beings, we are highly adaptable that we always reach a new equilibrium, and it is equally important that we also learn the lessons behind this new normal.
The one thought that continued to echo through my mind is this: Don’t take things for granted.
If 2020 has been trying to send us a message, it is probably telling us that nothing is a permanent entitlement. Behind our freedom and convenience, there are countless unseen factors, conditions, people and infrastructure that are working well together. Take for example, the current safety we enjoy in Singapore, comes from the collective efforts of our government, medical officers, people, media, infrastructure and technology, working well together to ensure our infection cases remain low.
For us at Mind Transformations, we completed over 900 hours of in-person training this year, and we know that we did not do this all by ourselves.
During the Circuit Breaker, many people encouraged us and enthusiastically called us to check on us, told us they wanted to introduce their friends and family to our programmes. We reached out to the Singapore government for safety guidelines and they always got back to us; some of the officers even called me on my personal phone to offer their guidance, and I know that they did not have an easier day than mine. SPGG, the venue we worked with, faced the problem of staff shortage, but they continued to go the extra mile to ensure we could run our classes smoothly.
I know for one that there was countless generosity, trust and support bestowed upon us that we could continue our classes and carry out what we wanted to accomplish.
2020 is a year where we have grown a lot. We’d like to share with you three lessons that we will be carrying forward into 2021:
1 - One can’t control the waves, but one can enhance one’s abilities and resourcefulness to ride the waves.
There are a number of things that are always within our control: the way we communicate, what we say yes and no to, and our breath. We can start small; develop our inner capabilities, expand our capacity and return the control back to ourselves.
2 - See the person behind the mask.
Distancing and masking can quickly reduce human touch. While we dine out, shop or take the transport, we can practise gratitude by noticing the people who are doing their jobs for us. They may be fighting a battle we know nothing about. There is something magical about seeing the strengths in people, it brings out the human within us, and it makes us a happier person. Try it!
3 - Honor space.
If you exhale and without pausing, you breathe back in straight away, how would you feel? Do this a few more times and you’d feel rushed, stressed or even out of breath, wouldn’t you? In our fast changing world today, we need to make and honor space, to recompose ourselves, to adjust to changes, so that we can keep going without burning out.
Before I pen off this article, on behalf of the Mind Transformations Team, I want to honor some key people who have eagerly and generously kept us going. You’ve given us strengths and inspiration to keep going even when the going gets tough.
To our Supeheroes:
Seok Hian Tang, Kennie Lee, Sue-Ann Chan, Cassandra Chan, Alex Lee, Joanna Teow, Xiaowei Ang, Ian Lye, Edwin Choo, Yee Sin Tan, Peggy Khoo, Bryan Marshall, Lynn Lim, Eugene Koh, Stephanie Tremeaud, Kanokwan Chokcharoenrat, Chantana, Manish Bundhun, Flavia Pal, Martine Tseung, Kim-Anh Le Thi and many others...
- thank YOU for giving us your time and efforts to uplift the NLP & coaches community.
To the graduate community who kept sending your friends and family to join us:
Anne Yeo, Joan Chan, Jason Thian, Subhas Nathan, Emmeline Ang, Jenny Tay, Li Jiuen, Leo Caballes, Janice Chia, Kristen Xu, Joan Tan, Irene Lim, Joshua Tan, Patricia Gwee, Madeline Chua, Shaun Hay, Annie Ong, Chris Zhou, Sook Han and many more...
- thank YOU for actively encouraging your friends and family to join us. To many of you, you think this is a small thing you’ve done for us, but to us, what you do really means a lot to us.
To SkillsFuture Singapore:
Thank you for supporting our course for funding. We shall put our gratitude into action, by continually fine-tuning and upgrading our classes to provide the workforce with future-fitting skills.
To our venue partner, SPGG:
Thank you SPGG, Jenny Lee and team for consistently giving your best and going the extra mile in supporting our classes and offering your utmost services. Thank you Jessica Wong for introducing us to SPGG, without your recommendation, our work in 2020 wouldn't have been possible.
To all the participants who entrusted your learning experience and safety to us
You chose to join our classes while the pandemic was still ongoing - we thank you for your trust and confidence in us.
As we continue to journey forward into 2021, here’s sharing with you some of the milestones we are working towards:
We believe in proactive gratitude - where one of the best ways to say thank you is paying it forward to benefit more people, continuing to improve our work, uplift the community, do good and do well.
2021 can be as good as we all want it to be. Let’s choose to pro-act, to play our parts for a better future for ourselves, our next generation and for the world!
Recommended resources to help you make the best out of 2021
Career Pit Stop - HOW TO STAY RELEVANT & RESOURCEFUL IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
Online Development Programme to help you Thrive in a VUCA World.
4 Steps to Mastering Profound Change to Thrive in a VUCA World
To support you in developing profound change in your life, we have put together a self-coaching workbook for you. Go ahead and download it for your use. No opt-in required.
Self-reflection tips
What you can do to make your self-reflection work for you.
