This week a colleague from a different discipline watched one of my group sessions and told me I was talented. “It’s mostly just practice,” I said, and moved on. Later I caught myself thinking about it. Well, it’s not the first time I’d heard something like it. Compliments like that usually don’t …
Why You’ve Stopped Seeing Your Own Competence (And How to Recalibrate) Read More »
This week I sat down to complete the comprehension section of a B1 Spanish test. Let’s just say it was humbling. The useful kind of humbling, where you put the pen down and think “right, so that’s where I actually am.” Not where the Duolingo streak says I should be. Not where the …
The Comfort Ceiling: Why Good Habits Can Keep You Stuck at Your Current Level Read More »
For five years in my past life as an accountant, I was good at my job. I was technically competent. Passing exams. Hitting targets. Doing everything the script said to do. But I felt nothing. Not burnt out, not miserable in a dramatic way. Just flat. Like I was running a programme that belonged …
Why You Can’t Find Your Passion – And What to Look For Instead Read More »
This week I had two very long days – long clinical sessions after a full day in the hospital. And on both of those evenings, I sat down with my husband and did my Spanish practice anyway. Not good Spanish. Exhausted Spanish. Grammar falling apart, couldn’t think straight, mixing up tenses, writing sentences …
Why Your Worst-Day Effort Reveals Your Actual Standard (And Why It Always Counts) Read More »
Last month, I got rid of a bad habit without even intended to. I deleted Facebook from my phone before a trip, as my phone was running low on storage. At the same time, I also started reading sci-fi fiction for the first time in years. I stopped scrolling in the evenings. Got genuinely …
The Over-Optimised Life: How to Stop Preparing and Start Actually Living Read More »
This week felt off before it even started. Agitated for no clear reason. Self-critical over small things I would normally shrug off. My inner critic got loud, and the tape it was playing sounded suspiciously like a highlight reel of everything I hadn’t done, hadn’t finished, hadn’t figured out yet. For a couple …
Why Your Inner Critic Gets Louder at Certain Times – And How to Check the Scorekeeper Read More »
find someone who’ll share the ups, the downs, and the upside downs with you. 🙂 Just came back from Bali. First trip as a married couple, which still sounds strange to say out loud. And if I’m being honest with you, the two months before this trip were A LOT. In eight weeks: …
The System That Held It Together: Wedding, Visa Application and Bali in Eight Weeks Read More »
“What’s the Spanish word for ‘contact’?” “Contacto.” “What about ‘product’?” “Producto.” “And ‘exit’?” “Exito!” As my husband (then-boyfriend) and I were laughing so hard on my silly Spanish mistake, I reflected on my language-learning journey: I was practically born with three languages. Born and raised in Hong Kong, I naturally speak Cantonese, English and Mandarin. …
Somewhere between the second and third cup of coffee last weekend, a friend said something that’s been rattling around in my head all week. “I did everything I was supposed to do. Good school. Stable job. Bought the apartment. And I feel… nothing. Actually, that’s not true. I feel tired.” She wasn’t asking …
Whose Script Are You Living? How to Unlearn the Life You Inherited Read More »
One day before my wedding, I was still going to work, doing Spanish practice, preparing visuals for a new client, and trying not to be late because I’d snoozed my alarm again. Very bridal of me. I used to think big life moments would feel like a cinematic before-and-after. Soft focus, swelling music, …
Why Big Milestones Feel Ordinary (And What That’s Actually Telling You) Read More »