COACHafiz

                                                  Approximately 54% of people who resolved to change their ways failed to make the transformation last beyond six months, and the average person made the same life resolution ten times over without success. Journal of Clinical Psychology   Consider this: if you have had the habit of saving only $1 daily from the age of seven and increasing the amount by a mere 50 cents yearly, by the time you reached the working age of twenty-three, a total of $30,000 would have been saved! To have in hand an equivalent of six to twelve months of salary before your first job would have placed you on a financial headstart compared to most, if not all of your peers. Many may have started some kind of savings when they were young. However, because changing and sustaining habits are difficult for most people, having such headstart i...

Is my job safe in this Covid-19 pandemic crisis? Will I still have a job until my retirement?  Will I have enough savings when I retire? Are these the right questions to ask in these difficult times? The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused the most severe disruption of the global economy since World War II. With many jobs, businesses and livelihoods affected, it's not surprising that many are anxious about their future. As experts have warned that life will not revert to normal like before, the above questions naturally become more pertinent. However, the above questions only scratch the surface. We need to peel off the layers and dig deeper to get to the bottom of those questions. It is akin to the moment in  Alice in Wonderland when Alice was asked by the Caterpillar a seemingly simple but fundamental question:   “When the Caterpillar asks Alice, 'Who are you,'  and Alice can barely stammer out a reply, `I—hardly know,'  Alice seemed unsure when s...

Leaving a job I love in the social impact space to join the corporate world seemed just a pragmatic decision, but having to work my way back 15 years later was destined, yet not so straightforward. Having a career as a teacher in government schools seemed destined for me due to my educational background and parental expectations. Not to mention the promise of a well-paying and stable job. However, I resisted all that and hard-headedly pursued my passion -  empowering communities, especially the youths, through education and entrepreneurship.  For the first 8 years after graduation, I was involved in capacity building and social enterprise projects, including setting up schools and agriculture plantations in remote communities in Indonesia and running social enterprises  to support the works of a social service youth organization in Singapore.  However, the frequent overseas travels and the "long hours-low pay" conundrum of having a career in the non-profit space re...

While halfway through the journey of our life I  found myself lost in a darkened forest, for I had wandered off from the straight path. How hard it is to tell what it was like, this wood of wilderness, stubborn, so savage, that just the thought of it renews my fear ~Dante, Divine Comedy (1308-20) The Coaching Space Entering the coaching space is like being in a cosy tent, alone with the coachee who is lost in the middle of a thick dark forest. In that isolated yet safe space, lies an opportunity for the coach to  build rapport and intimacy  in discovering the coachee’s deep pains, fears and  hopes. The peaceful ambience shuts out the senses from distractions to be  fully present and  attentively listening  to the conversation in a state of  mindfulness .  Suspending judgment and being curious, a  coach seeks to gain a deep understanding of the coachee by establishing  trust and mutual respect . These are the foundations of co...