Positivity

I think I’ve focused a little too much on negative things lately. Here are a couple of really positive things that happened and that I’m grateful for:

• Yesterday, I got a text from an ex-colleague-turned friend asking if I’m free for dinner next week. She shared that it’s her last day of work with her current employer and she wants to celebrate it. Felt really happy for her. To put things in context, this friend (let’s call her A) is a retiree and is currently working as a contract staff with a company. Her boss had not been very kind to her and she has been really unhappy at work. Despite her unhappiness, she continued working cos as a retiree, it isn’t easy to seek new employment, and she’s not ready to stop working. I’ve coached A since last year and empathized with her. Coincidentally, I found out from another friend that there was an opening in a company and I shared it with A. She expressed interest in it and I had a few conversations with her on how she might prepare herself for the interviews. But I didn’t really probe on the status of her application as I didn’t want to come across as being too intrusive. And last week, she texted me and told me she got the job! I’m so glad I was able to help her.

• I’ve been coaching this other colleague-turned-friend for over a year. Lately, he (let’s call him D) shared that he had applied for a job in a company in an industry that he’s really passionate about. I asked if he needed any support and ended up coaching him through the process. We had several conversations to prepare him for the first and second interviews, and I was elated to know he was eventually offered the job. I coached him again on how he might negotiate the offer e.g. to look at the overall package such as promotion and development opportunities, benefits, etc and not focused purely on the pay. I’m glad things turned out well for him. D has accepted the job and should be starting with the new company after serving his notice.

• I’ve been conducting training since March and so far, have delivered six or seven courses. When I first started, I fumbled with the admin and couldn’t really connect with the content. The pace of my delivery was uneven, and as a result, my evaluation took a hit. I just completed two courses last week and am really glad that I received strong evaluations for both (achieving an overall score of 4.9 out of 5 for trainer effectiveness). Comments such as “great pacing”, “trainer was able to connect well with trainees and shared additional notes beyond the content”, and “trainer was superb in his delivery and very well-executed programme, including the admin” validated my days of preparation. Very happy to know my hard work contributed to the positive learning experience of my trainees.

So yeah, the above were some of the more positive things that happened to me. I'm grateful for the opportunities to support my friends in their job search and to help my trainees learn better! The past few weeks have been draining and exhausting, and I’m off to KL for a quick weekend break!

:-)