I am thankful for 2021 and hopeful for 2022

I was asked some weeks ago about what I would see myself doing in 2022. I paused for a moment and answered, “Let me peer into my crystal ball to see what’s in store.” But really, jokes aside, I can’t honestly say what I would be doing in the next 12 months. These days, even tomorrow seems uncertain.

As I ponder about the future, I am whisked back into my past. Growing up in Pontian, helping my father on his rubber and pineapple plantation and at the sites where he ran his construction work, I never imagined that I would even leave my hometown, or be able to become an engineer, #entrepreneur, let alone an #educationist. If you have read my stories, you would know how “good” a student I was before my Form 3.

#Intuition

However, life always has a bigger plan. The passing of my mother for one, made me turn over a new leaf that #empowered me to do well in school after my Form 3, continue my studies in Kuala Lumpur, and thereafter begin a career as a mechanical engineer.

When I was 35, I passed by a row of shophouses. Call it a gut feeling but something told me that I should buy the lots to turn a profit. I didn’t have any money then but, as fate would have it, I managed to get a loan, bought the lots, and sold them later for quite a profit. This would be the beginning of my entrepreneurial forays.

Through the years, intuition has served me quite well. I am sure that intuition will continue to play a role in how my decisions are made, but alongside it, I am #thankful to the many people who have shared with me their insights and intuition.

#Gratitude

I believe that intuition and gratitude are two sides of the same coin. Gratitude gives me an insight into my past, inspires the present and aspires the future.

The following are some of the #practices and encounters that have given me much to be thankful for in this past year.

• 30 minutes of walking daily
• The moringa tree, a super magic food, in my backyard
• People who are more knowledgeable and much smarter than me
• The passion and commitment of the employees of the CNS Group of Companies to uphold the values of GRIT (Gratefulness, Respect, Integrity, Teachable)
• Friends who say it as it is
• Faith and family

As we turn a new page into the year 2022, I wish you and your family a #HappyNewYear. May you have many blessed days ahead and a better and hopeful 2022.

Do drop me a comment to share your takeaways for 2021. I look forward to being inspired by them.

Dr Sim Quan Seng

#WhatInspiresMe

#PassionForEducation

#EverybodyMatters

#PersonalDevelpment