A while back, I wrote a reflection note with my own words called FIRST , now it is just 16 days to go, I am ready to reflect the final wind-down. AI gave me some reflection questions to ponder on and I find it helpful and healthy to go through the motion. Below is the advise from AI of what I should do with the remaining days in office. As you reflect, return to your own FIRST : Finishing Well: What genuinely needs my attention before I leave? What can I confidently entrust to someone else? Innovating Myself: Which parts of my identity do I want to develop beyond my official role? Refirement: Which contributions would I choose freely, once they are no longer duties? Strengthening My Health: What would a good first month of retirement look like for my body, my rest and my family? Tributes: Who should hear my thanks directly, while I still have the opportunity to say it? Also set aside one quiet hour for yourself: walk through the office, take a few photographs with permission...
The Day a Survey Chain Taught Me Humility This is a story about swallowing my pride and eating my own words — rather reluctantly! It happened at the beginning of my career, when I was 22, young, stubborn and very sure of my reasoning. You might think that, after such an experience, I would have learnt my lesson well. Yet throughout my career, I have sometimes spoken too quickly, judged too soon and rejected an idea before listening properly. Whenever that happens, this little story returns to remind me to be humble. It was one of my first field survey assignments. I joined a survey party led by Ali, my good friend and fellow surveyor, to carry out a boundary survey of a small plot of land. We were using a measuring chain. It was heavy and needed two strong people to pull it taut. Even in my youthful strength, I struggled to handle it. My job was to read the measurements and record them in the field book. We were working beside a kampung road when a group of village women approached. Th...