Reflection
Empathy
There are many different definition of what empathy is. To me, empathy is to understand and accept the other’s feelings/experience without judgment. I don’t have to experience the same situation, but I understand what you might feel when you describe to me. Even if we went through similar situations, your feelings and experiences might be different than mine and I accept that.
Ask ‘Why’
In my own life and career, in managing teams and working with my business partners, I always try to remember to ask, “Why?" - Why are we doing this? Why are we doing it this way? Why is this our metric? Why is this our goal? You can (perhaps want to) continue to ask the ‘why' until you strip layers back to the true foundation of anything. I found that knowing the ‘why' can help both; motivate myself and others, and help us understand the impact we have on the clients we serve. Knowing ‘why' gives me clarity to think differently and outside the (current) box.
First day of 2022
The first day of a New Year is always an exciting time to reflect on the past year and set (new) goals for the year to come. I spent some time today to reflect on my own 2021. I can’t be more proud of what I have accomplished and am looking forward to an even more exiting 2022.
Despite the pandemic, I have achieved tremendous growth in all areas of my life. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have occasions when I am feeling down. However, the number of times that I was down was negligible comparing the most fantastic days I enjoyed throughout the year. Giving credit where it is due, I am forever grateful for the energy leadership coaching I am blessed to be able to practice on a daily basis. I want to share my growth in a few areas of my life.
Family
Our love and relationships among each family member continue to grow stronger and more intimate.
Everyone is thriving in their own way.
We often have conversations on some big topics - racial justice, equality, climate change…and what we each can do to make an impact.
Personal
I have never been felt so powerful as I realize that I have nothing to prove…to anyone, for anything. It’s the authentic me being the best I can ever be on a daily basis.
I read more than a dozen books and listened to hundreds of hours of various podcasts.
I went through many trainings.
I have great health - physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, financially and psychologically.
I hired a voice coach.
I have several mentors and sponsors.
Work
Received ‘2021 Technology All-Star Award’ from Women Of Color STEM
Continue to grow the scope of the technology portfolio and what it influences
Reduced user ticket volume by 60% through strategic partnerships
Delivered multiple critical modules through SaaS (Software as a Service) serving 250,000 employees
Completed several application cloud migrations
Taking on a strategic role in Site Reliability Engineering, building API/ML capabilities
Friends
Continue to build and strengthen relationships with friends and their families
Pandemic doesn’t stop the love and caring among the families we choose ourselves
Business
Successfully launched our Career Breakthrough Energy Leadership Group coaching practice and graduated 2 groups of change agents.
Offered webinars to ~4,500 attendees.
Grew my base of private clients and made significant impacts to their lives.
2021 Top 20 Coaches in Columbus by Influence Digest
Started “Your Energetic Authentic Self Today” podcast on Easter day
Gained international clients
Community
Co-lead a 1,400 women technologists group
Founding member of Columbus Ignite Manager Community
Organized and facilitated the first-ever Columbus Tech Center DEI day event
Offered Energy Leadership Training to hundreds of colleagues
Mentored several colleagues
Participated in and helped organize a Stop Asian Hate rally
Dublin Chief’s Advisory Committee member - reviewed and revised police policies
Sponsored several non-profit communities that do good in the world
Volunteered on many occasions
Life is good! I am looking forward to more meaningful connections and bigger impact in 2022!
2021 Favorite Podcasts
I would like to share the podcasts I listened to in 2021. My favorite when I run, walk my dog, cook in the kitchen or drive somewhere, in no particular order:
The Rich Roll podcast By Rich Roll
The Chase Jarvis Live show By Chase Jarvis
Dare to Lead by By Brene Brown
Unlocking us by Brene Brown
Work Life TED by Adam Grant
Ten Percent Happier by Dan Harris
Women On the Move by Samatha Saperstein, JPMorgan Chase
Exponential Wisdom by Dan Sullivan and Peter Diamandis
Negotiate Anything By Kwame Christian
Innovative Leadership by Maureen Metcalf
Remarkable People by Guy Kawasaki
And our own production.
Y.E.A.S.T. (Your Energetic Authentic Self Today) - by Hope, Joy and Sheila
2021 reading list
I would like to share my 2021 reading list. These books provide me new perspectives and skills and made me reflect.
What’s on your bookshelf?
* Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
* Think Again By Adam Grant
* The Future is Faster Than You Think by Peter H. Diamandis , Steven Kotler
* Sparked By Jonathan Fields
* Coach the Person, not the Problem by Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, MCC
* Becoming a Dangerous Women by Pat Mitchell
* Drive by Kelly Earnhardt Miller
* Stillness Is the Key By Ryan Holiday
* The Power of Voice By Denise Woods
Giving Tuesday
In your capacity, please think of donating to a cause that’s aligned to your value. The world needs more love and support of each other. Many companies match employees’ donation. This is an opportunity to maximize your investment.
I am grateful that people around the world are helping each other.
Thankful
Thanksgiving is around the corner. We made this special Y.E.A.S.T. Episode to share our gratitude.
- Thank you for the sisterhood on this journey together!
- Thank you to our listeners/viewers for your encouragement!
- Thank you Nick for sharing your podcast tips!
- Thank you to our families who support us selflessly!
Wish you a great Thanksgiving!
Happiness
We each have a unique “happiness set-point.” Some 50% of our happiness is determined by our genes. Another 40% comes from behavior and choice, the final 10% from environment.
Jonathon Fields
It seems to me very eye-opening how much biology can contribute to our happiness. However, the good news is we can contribute to a large portion of happiness by our choices. For the remaining 10% environmental factor, we still have a choice on how to respond thus may influence how happy we can be. #EnergyLeadership.
Mental Health Stigma
There is still a stigma about mental health even though the younger generations are more open about it. People are afraid that they might be labeled as incompetent. People are normally not shy about taking time off for physical illness, but they still struggle to take time off when a mental break is needed. One good thing out of the pandemic is more and more people are open about their mental health as the number of people struggling with mental health during pandemic has been greatly increased. No one likes the virus, but at least some positive changes arise from the adversity.
Perfectionism
Happy Sunday! I want to share this Ted talk with you. Take a moment to see whether you are a perfectionist yourself, whether you are putting perfectionist criteria to others especially your children if you are a parent. We all need to find our own fine line of perfection and “good enough”.
Social psychologist Thomas Curran explores how the pressure to be perfect -- in our social media feeds, in school, at work -- is driving a rise in mental illness, especially among young people.