YES, 2020 was spectacular, regardless..
By: Ng Huiwen
Tags: Running, Learning, Wellness, Self, Reading

YES, 2020 was spectacular, regardless..

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

I ended 2019 returning from a two weeks visit to Santa’s Home in Rovaniemi, Finland. Together with my newly proclaimed fiancée, we endured a close to 16 hours flight back to Singapore. Little did we know that it would be our final trip for the many months ahead, and the world watches on as international borders were forced to close, aeroplane left grounded, and cities in lockdown.

Many would argue what a horrendous year it has been. Yet as the year comes to a close, perhaps let’s take a step back and look on the bright side of it all. Here are the top things that I have learnt or am thankful for in 2020:

BOSE Quiet Comfort 35ii Headphone

I love music, anywhere, everywhere. My first few pay-checks were spent on the audio gadgets – sound system in my room, portable speakers, earpieces, and finally my first ever noise-cancelling headphone. It was and still is… lifechanging. It is an escapade to your private world and allows full immersion of the music. You can wear it for hours and not feel irritated because the earphones sit comfortably on the ears. Wearing it while commuting is perfect as it shuts off the surrounding loud chatters (I really miss the silence during commute in Sweden).

2. Our Home

We are so glad to have gotten a flat that ticks almost all of our checklist. Large space, high floor, balcony with a view, accessibility etc. Nothing comes easy, and it’s true because our negotiation process was really intense with various curveballs thrown at us. Imagine that we had agreed on a price of $515K, then to know that the valuation of the flat was only $470K. Eventually, we came to an agreement on a lower price, and now we can’t wait for our flat to be ready in end February 2021.

3. A new role at work

After 3.5 years, I have moved to a role that enables me to connect with the wider aviation community. The pandemic has thrown the aviation industry off-course, so its an opportune time to relook at the fundamentals. Here I look forward to challenge the legacy handed over by the many years of predecessors, as well as building the team’s data capabilities.

4. Investing

I had been procrastinating many years on picking up investment. Looking back, there was simply no urgency and I were uncomfortable exploring the unknown. But when our compensation was drastically affected with the crisis, it was clear that I could no longer delay diversifying my revenue streams further. A catchup with a friend who has the investing expertise (Thomas) gave me my much needed crash course and motivation to jump right in. If you are new to investment and like to do some personal learning, I encourage you to take a read at Thomas’s investment articles at https://steadycompounding.com/. The writing is simple yet enlightening.

5. Wellness Habits

Morning routines, evening routines, reading, journaling, morning yoga, running, quiet time etc. Perhaps as we age, we begin to appreciate more of the peacefulness in life, mindful of one’s health, slowing down. While I have not been successful in diligently practicing my desired routines, I will continue to struggle and incorporate them in my life.

A larger part of my wellness habits is on running. Running is an endurance sports that will continue to be challenging no matter how fit you have been. I remembered my first 5km run during circuit breaker (lockdown) earlier this year where I struggled and had to take a break at the 3km mark. Fast forward now, 5km is a comfortable norm and have set my sight on my first ever half marathon (21km) by Q1 2021.

For those of you who struggle with running, my best advice is to start small start slow. Many believed that running must be fast and intense, but when that happens, you will struggle and give up prematurely. Download Nike App, take a audio guided run, and let the coach ease you slowly into the run. Most importantly, run at an enjoyable pace and end off ready to show up at the next starting line, everytime.

6. Deep Work by Cal Newport

“Deep work is an increasingly rare skill due to the constant bombardment of information in the modern era, but it is increasing valuable and will enable success to the ones who mastered it.”

“Practicing Deep work is not simply a practice to get into a flow state by narrowing your focus, but an inversion by preventing distractions or temptations and avoiding shallow works.”

Above were two of my key learnings from the book. Along with the pandemic, businesses and teams are pivoting quickly and this required quick learning and mastery of new skills. My personal experience was the need to quickly pick up Tableau data visualisation, and up next, a simulation and modelling tool. Only when one invest intense focus will they be able to quickly pick up a new and complex skill that puts them ahead of others. This is a book recommended for all who is invested in their personal development journey.

7. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

This book brought me on a journey to Mount Everest and more. I am not into mountaineering, but I was curious on what goes on behind the scene of a trip to the world’s tallest summit. Unfortunately, it was about the 1996 disaster where a blizzard had killed eight climbers, including the most experienced guide Rob Hall. It illustrated the fragility of life where nature was unforgiving and decisions had to be made on whether to risk one’s life and save a fellow climber, or to survive and leave him/her behind. Read this and you would have mentally climbed Everest (do google photos to supplement your reading too, such as how the hillary steps or Khumbu Icefall looks like).