woman sitting on cliff overlooking mountain

Why It’s Better To Not Know Who You Are

A year ago, I made the decision to leave Hong Kong not knowing how it would all pan out. It threw me into an existential midlife crisis. The idea that I didn’t know who I was was at the heart of the issue. I still don’t know if I made the right decision. Ask me again in 10 years. We shall see! I realise it’s … Continue reading Why It’s Better To Not Know Who You Are

woman in red long sleeve shirt holding her clothes

The Best Option You Can Take

So, two things have happened to me recently.  Believe it or not, it’s been a year since I boldly decided to leave my former employer in Hong Kong and divert to Singapore. Since then, I haven’t tried to make much happen. Instead, I’ve taken the time to concentrate on reforming my inner world.  Still, I’ve kept my ear close to the ground on the off … Continue reading The Best Option You Can Take

diverse women looking at camera

Why We Must Tolerate Intolerance

The Paradox of Tolerance Back in the 1940s, a philosopher named Karl Popper came up with something called “The Paradox of Tolerance.” He said that if everyone tolerates every idea, then intolerant ideas will emerge. Tolerate people, being the soft pushovers they are, will tolerate this intolerance. However, the intolerant will not tolerate tolerant people. So, eventually, the tolerant will get rammed up the backside. … Continue reading Why We Must Tolerate Intolerance

man facing road

Why I Miss My Job but Don’t Regret Leaving It

My friends, family, and former colleagues often ask me whether or not I miss flying. It’s been a year since I handed in my resignation letter and decided to divorce from a 12-year career.  I’m incredibly fortunate to have had the time to decompress following all the political upheaval I was caught up in Hong Kong.  When people ask me if I miss it, my honest … Continue reading Why I Miss My Job but Don’t Regret Leaving It

Unlocking Personality: A FREE eBook I Wrote!

Everything I write about is aimed at helping people understand and love who they are. To not be ashamed or hide behind some false character armour but instead embrace the gifts that God has given them.  As part of that aim, I’ve compiled an epic ebook entitled Unlocking Personality. Based on the Big Five Personality model – one of the most widely recognised and respected frameworks in … Continue reading Unlocking Personality: A FREE eBook I Wrote!

green trees inside the glasshouse

Fun Facts and a Dystopian Fiction

The other day my wife and I took our kids to Gardens by the Bay – one of the major tourist attractions here in Singapore. If you’ve not heard of it, it’s a stunning nature park spanning 100 acres. It sits adjacent to the famous Marina Bay Sands hotel.  Inside the gardens are two massive temperature-controlled dome-shaped glass conservatories. One is known as the cloud … Continue reading Fun Facts and a Dystopian Fiction

person wearing red hoodie sitting in front of body of water

The Surprising Benefits of Depression

No one talks about the benefits of depression, do they? No one talks about how depression might happen for a good reason.  Most people assume it’s nothing but a bad thing. A product of low courage. A cancer of the mind. And perhaps it is? When you examine depression on paper, it’s difficult to argue otherwise. I mean, I hardly need to outline the costs … Continue reading The Surprising Benefits of Depression

high angle photo of robot

The Danger With ChatGPT Isn’t What You Think. It’s Worse.

There’s a scene in the recent Top Gun film where Tom Cruise is getting a rollicking for an audacious stunt he pulled. The General tells him that soon they won’t need pilots anymore. Pilots who eat, sleep.. who disobey orders. He says, “Your kind is headed for extinction.” At which point Tom Cruise turns to the General and says, “That maybe so sir, but not … Continue reading The Danger With ChatGPT Isn’t What You Think. It’s Worse.

unrecognizable friends gossiping together on street

The Three Areas of Self-Awareness: What On Earth Are You Thinking?

What On Earth Are You Thinking? What is External Self-Awareness? Most people think about self-awareness the same way they do sex. They believe they’re great at it when, in reality, no-one knows where on God’s green earth the G spot is (or that there even is one). One of the major components for building self-awareness is understanding what other people honestly think about us (including our ability … Continue reading The Three Areas of Self-Awareness: What On Earth Are You Thinking?

man in black jacket lying on bed

The Three Areas of Self-Awareness: What on Earth Am I Feeling?

What on Earth Am I Feeling? “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” – Blaise Pascal Disconnecting the autopilot is the practise of noticing when you’re distracted and then actively bringing your attention back to the present.  But there’s a problem. It’s called turbulence. (Namely, your emotions.) This is what happens when a pilot takes the autopilot … Continue reading The Three Areas of Self-Awareness: What on Earth Am I Feeling?

couple having sex and using smartphone

The Three Areas of Self-Awareness: What on Earth Am I Doing?

The Three Areas of Self-Awareness According to Tasah Eurich – author of Insight: The Surprising Truth about How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think – there are 3 major blindspots to self-awareness. Those are: Behaviour blindness is being oblivious to your own actions. Not noticing when you are getting distracted or why.  Emotional blindness is … Continue reading The Three Areas of Self-Awareness: What on Earth Am I Doing?

man and woman standing on brown field near green tree under white clouds

Nurturing Our Roots

There’s a type of tree that’s planted all over Singapore. It’s known as the rain tree because of its iconic umbrella shape. Not only is it incredibly striking to look at, the sprawling canopy provides the perfect respite from the oppressive heat we experience here year-round. It’s planted extensively throughout Singapore for this reason. It has fast become one of my favourite trees. Not just … Continue reading Nurturing Our Roots

art travel statue face

The Ladder of Enlightenment

I came across something called the Map of Consciousness in a book I’ve been reading recently – Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender by David R. Hawkins. In it he talks about the different emotional levels we operate on.  He presents them in a way I’ve never seen before – as a kind of ladder that we can climb. Starting with depression at the bottom … Continue reading The Ladder of Enlightenment

boy standing beside seashore waves

The Joy of Running Around Naked

So my kids have started doing this thing. Every evening before bath time – after we take their clothes off before they get into the tub – they run around the apartment like crazed feral wild cats. Screaming and laughing. Pure unadulterated joy. It got me thinking about the clothes we wear, metaphorically speaking. A kid doesn’t question why we walk around with clothes on … Continue reading The Joy of Running Around Naked

colorful toothed wheels

The Automation Paradox

If there’s one aviation disaster that darkens my knickers more than most, it’s AirFrance 447 – the scheduled passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, which crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June 1st, 2009.  In a very simplified nutshell, this is what happened. Approximately 2 hours after takeoff, AirFrance 447 entered a storm system that caused the instrumentation that measures the aircraft’s airspeed … Continue reading The Automation Paradox