It has been a great 2014!

It has been an absolutely fantastic year for me. Here’s why:

1) I have a great spouse and two adorable kids to be my cheering squad

I am the “alarm clock” in the family. Every morning, after I have one hour of “me-time”, I go around and wake the kids and hubby up. It is a sweet moment for me every morning when I see them go from peaceful sleep to waking up sleepily (sometimes grumpily, especially for my elder daughter). I am eternally grateful for the higher being out there who “dropped” such a great spouse and kids into my life. They make my life so much sweeter and more meaningful.

2) I have great family support – my mum, dad, sister, brother, sister-in-laws, father-in-law etc
The second group of people that I am really grateful to is my extended family. I am especially thankful for my mum, whom my sister and I lean on to take care of our kids. Without her, we would not be able to go out there and experience a whole new world. Life would be that much duller. I am also so, so thankful that I get to eat home-cooked, ultra-delicious meals 5 times a week! On my husband side, I also enjoy the company of my father-in-law, sisters-in-law and all my nephews and niece. Being from a more “serious” family, I enjoy seeing the world from a simpler and more fun perspective of the Si Family.

3) I am learning and growing on my job
Yes, it has been a grueling journey. But what I feel fantastic is that I can feel myself learning and becoming more confident. I am now more comfortable with the team that I am leading, and I am also learning how to speak up more during management meetings.

4) I am learning how to control my thoughts more
Speaking about my career, I feel that it is a great that I have this bug bear in my life, as it makes me learn how to control my mind. Whenever I feel that I have negative thoughts coming into my brain and literally dragging me down the deep abyss, I tell myself mentally to stop. It trains me to focus my thoughts and turn it into positives. This is still a learning area for me, but it is fascinating to feel myself controlling my own brain. I feel like a Jedi knight!

5) I am learning how to be appreciative of the small things in life
I have Steven Covey to thank for this. One of the 7 habits of effective people is “Begin with the end in mind”. When I think about ultimately what I want in life, consistently the one key thing in life that I want is to be happy, and to bring happiness unto others. Now being a very happy person actually requires a lot of work! It really is quite cliché, but I believe one of the keys to happiness is really to be grateful for the smallest things in life. Romance the ordinary! As Sarah Ban Breathnach would have put it, search for the small and the sweet in our daily round with appreciation and awe, we will find beauty in the everyday.

Now I'm looking forward to another great year ahead!