How to shift from Doing to Being. — Only recently am I emerging from the spell of to-do lists. I used to believe that “fulfilment” is the fruit of busywork and achieving our goals. After all, success and happiness depend on consistent action — right? Well, not quite. This is a half-truth which misses the bigger picture. Half…

The real reason it’s so hard to make big decisions… — Do you have a reliable framework for making big decisions? Most people don’t; they end up following whichever emotions feel most dominant. But one of the most useful things you can do when contemplating any life transition is to intentionally reflect on your past decisions. When I realised the life…

Why (and how) I work so hard on this type of self-discovery. — Our core values are those non-negotiable principles we aspire to live by. If I asked you to name yours, could you? I came face-to-face with my own core values during a recent career transition. After working as a doctor for a few years, I began to sense a deep stirring…

Thoughts on what freedom is, and how to navigate it. — I’m not the only one who puts the idea of “freedom” on a pedestal. And as something many of us crave, it crops up in everyday language. We identify as “free agents” exercising “freedom of speech” in a “free country”. Or maybe we become our own boss, quitting the 9–5…

Slowing down to see what’s in front of us is where the magic unfolds. — At the present moment, my wife and I are on mini-sabbatical. We decided to hit pause on work and try out the ‘digital nomad’ lifestyle, so I’m writing this from a quiet apartment on the outskirts of Krabi, Thailand. It’s not a particularly nice apartment. It’s a little run down…

Subtle shifts to help you take ownership of life (and feel more at peace). — I’m endlessly fascinated by words. Why are some words powerful enough to lift our spirits, while others can deflate us in a single breath? Words can fill us with confidence and life energy, while others tire us and cloud us with doubt. Even among synonyms, there’s often a significant difference…

Has the time come to live (and love) without holding anything back? — “If you are waiting for anything in order to live and love without holding back, then you suffer” ~David Deida The word ‘fulfilment’ is embedded into our everyday language. It crops up as we imagine what a better future could look like — we speak of wanting a fulfilling relationship…

…and the ‘organic approach’ that helped me transcend either of them. — When charting a direction for our career, it’s easy to feel caught between a rock and a hard place. After all, the current landscape of career advice seems to divide us into two opposing camps: The ‘follow your passion’ camp: this side reassures us that everything will fall into place…

Embracing the unconventional approach to personal growth — I struggle to resist the siren songs of comfort. To me, it’s that feeling of settling into a warm bath on a winter’s evening, or cosying up to a favourite TV show with a warm drink. Those things aren’t ‘bad’, but the problem is that comfort and growth are somewhat…