# data[].attributes.body
1. Got engaged!

2. Treated my mum and grandma to an overseas trip to Australia. Spent quality time with grandma by treating her to meals at least once a month.

3. Started a new career chapter. Made some small wins in what I wanted to achieve out of this career chapter (e.g. transition into a new role / secure company sponsorship for learning opportunities that I have been eyeing / gain division-wide visibility.)

4. Grew my finances and set up some key personal finance areas (e.g. annual budgeting and allocation of finances; miles strategy).

5. Forged new friendships and enjoyed the process of doing so.

6. Turned 30! And starting to see my 30s in a new light and embrace this chapter of life.

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1. Off the top of my head - culture misfit with my current workplace and boss. / Not a product environment that inspires me. / Stressors because of the misalignment in how I actually want to grow personally and professionally, vs. what the work environment is trying to shape me into. / Deciding on trade-offs (leaving vs. staying, and how this impacts other priorities I have for the year).

Good that came out of it: Was able to embark on some of the learning opportunities I was eyeing that made me stronger professionally. / Ability to reallocate some time and focus to other important areas in my life. / Still a generally nice team and I’m grateful for the team events during the year that allowed us to become more acquainted.

2. Stretched myself a little too thin sometimes by planning / prioritizing more than my plate could handle.

Will be a work-in-progress to better manage my tendencies of wanting to achieve a lot in a limited amount of time, instead of finding myself sprinting through the year.

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1. Theme for 2023 was embracing a new season of change - quite an apt goal as I step into my 30s. And I feel like I have achieved it :) New career, friendships, relationship stage / stage of life. Grateful for all that has happened throughout the year.

2. Grateful that my grandma is still healthy and well.

3. Grateful to still have a job amidst a tough and uncertain job climate, especially in the tech space.

4. Grateful that my partner and I are taking steps to conquer challenges together and are very aligned in wanting to keep working on, and becoming more in sync in our relationship.

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1. Focusing on what you can control.

2. Prioritization and being more selective of what I spend my energy inventory on, to avoid stretching myself too thin.

3. Surrender to your life. Let go of the idea you have about how things should unfold. Remain open to what is happening – in this state, you will always see the next best step forward.

4. Avoidance perpetuates anxiety. Things are often bigger, more intimidating and more consequential in our minds than in reality. Just do it.

Avoidance robs you of the opportunity to do something your brain originally perceived as difficult, and show your brain “It’s not that bad after all.” “It’s all in your mind.” Repeatedly prove your fears and insecurities wrong.

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1. Buying a home and hopefully getting to the stage of completing renovations.

2. Become stronger in Product Management (both in terms of better understanding technical infrastructures and building more core skillsets e.g. with next year’s Reforge cohort).

Yet to think about what’s my 3rd key goal for 2024!

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Haven’t managed to properly sit down and close off 2023 / plan for 2024 yet, and wanted to be intentional about pacing myself and not rushing through that.

Filling in what I have off the top of my mind first, for tomorrow’s sharing!

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1. Deciding to quit my previous job to prioritise my mental wellbeing

2. Managing to land a new opportunity which seems to be a better fit (fingers crossed)

3. Keeping up with yoga at least once a week since Q2

4. Finally went on an overseas trip with Mom (+ sister / BIL / nephew)

Since Q4 my life seems to be more balanced between work, rest and fitness - hoping this will stay the same in 2024!!

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1. Grateful for the convergence of factors that led to me taking a much needed break from work - (a) The wife who gave the support / "permission" to quit | (b) having sufficient financial resources | (c) ND community and friends who helped me navigate the different thoughts and considerations

2. Grateful for good health (both myself and loved ones)

3. Grateful for family and friends and the opportunity to spend time with them

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Mainly to leave behind feelings of low self-confidence at work so I can achieve what I'm truly capable of, and feel good about my work!

Secondarily to leave behind bad habits / behaviours e.g., being impatient, lazy, procrastinating

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Work hard & Relax hard - my new role seems more open ended / potential for being slow paced, so I hope that I do not take it too easy at work, so I can 'earn' my down-time (I have no problem relaxing hard and fully intend to do so whenever possible)

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1) Work --> take ownership over the major projects I'll be tasked with. Success would be having my team and external members in the organisation have trust and reliance in my work / outputs / conclusions - and hopefully create some tangible impact in the organisation

2) Health / Fitness --> Continue yoga (target avg once per week), get silver again for IPPT

3) Maintain good relationships with wife, family and friends that matter

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Build :)

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1. Career: Navigated an unexpected change in work scope well and managed to improve my relationship with my manager after some initial bumps in H1. Built a strong network and credibility at work by taking on extra-credit projects at work.

2. Personal: Had quite a few fundamental shifts in mindset and thinking regarding relationships, food, body image thanks to coaching and therapy which placed me in a better headspace

3. Relationships: Actively working towards my next phase of life and building a life with my partner

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1. Learning to navigate hard conversations, managing my emotions and dealing with the outcomes. Built stronger relationships where these conversations went well, but also lost precious relationships.

2. Dealing with loss and a change in environment - grandfather passed after 7 years of him living with us and taking care of his needs. My family learnt to heal and recalibrate to seek a new normal.

3. Learning to work effectively/grow in an everchanging work environment and the stemming frustration from it

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Thankful for my chosen circle - my partner, friends, colleagues who provided wise counsel and support where needed. Grateful for opportunities to develop myself at work, and a stable job amidst the tech winter. Grateful for me - for not sulking and staying where I was, making the active effort to improve, solve and work towards the goals that I want and not let life drift away. This applied to all facets - work, personal, friends, exercise. At the end of the day I can only control what I think/do/act/feel and the rest is up to a greater god.

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Leave behind the 'what-ifs' - to stop spending unnecessary time ruminating on past after reflection and pulling myself into bad headspaces. The grass is greener where you water it.

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Highlights:

[Relationships] Married my partner of 10 years

[Career] Reached 3 years milestone at Google

[Self] Celebrated 30th birthday

[Community] Launched new and paid initiatives in Neverdrift, Invited to do team workshops within Google

[Fitness] Continued 7am workout sessions for an average of 4x/week and broke personal records wrt strength (esp pull ups, deadlifts)

[Creative] Performed in a 120 dancers alumni dance production with my university hip hop club

What worked well:

Put more focus on relationships and health vs work alone being a core part of my identity (more balanced allocation)

Started proactive therapy sessions to address issues earlier

Re-framing my mindset that asking for help is a sign of strength instead of weakness

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[Relationships] Conflict with a close friend that taught me the importance of communication and expectations management

[Self] Got claustro from anxieties manifesting physically; Learnt how to self-regulate better using mindset frames and breathing techniques

[Work] Navigating many changes and also stress mgmt from escalations, given client-facing; Learnt how to self-regulate using the framework of size of problem vs size of reaction

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[Relationships] A new set of close friendships that serendipitously came about from the gym

[Community] People who have chosen to journey with me, even through paid options

[Environment] Mum helping us to get a newer, bigger place

[Career] Stable and can afford luxuries for self and loved ones

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All or nothing thinking / Perfectionism

Self-worth hinged on external factors outside me

Associating ‘more’ with ‘better’ (Finding balance in an age of abundance)

Numbing out by mindless binging / scrolling / eating

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Enjoying the present more instead of fretting over the past/future or outcomes

Strategizing for lower effort / high ROI opps

Always keeping the more important things in mind

Balancing between ambition and contentment

Defining what’s enough

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1. Savour the moments of building a life together - not forgetting to enjoy the moment amidst the stress of house hunting/reno/wedding planning within a year

2. Build cross-complimentary skills at work that will allow me to move (need to figure out what this looks like)

3. Focus on a 3 things at most at any one point and not spread myself across multiple commitments and end up feeling burnt out