November Reflections: Lessons in Momentum, Mistakes and Not Standing Still

Things change quicker than we can ever know. I had intended this blog post to read differently from what has now been written.

Tai Po fire

What happened at the end of November shocked Hong Kong and the whole world. Many of us were not personally affected, but the devastation of the Tai Po fire was a very sad day for Hong Kong.

We have all tried to do our little bit as a community to help those in need. As a family we’ve tried to do our bit – the kids donated pocket money through a school drive, we’ve given clothes and essentials, and my wife will be helping with story reading for children in shelters. It won’t be enough, it will never be enough, but we do what we can.

The Work: Projects and Pipeline

Against that backdrop, life and work still carried on in smaller, more ordinary ways. Some highlights. I completed my first consultancy project (more on that below), got my first paid consulting work (more on that once completed) and I have some potential interesting projects in the pipeline.

I recently provided a small business with some consulting and commercial advice. I was cognitively challenged. I had to go back into “work” mode: review and analyse things, present my views, deal with the back and forth, get clarity around ambiguity, put myself in my “client’s” shoes and above all remain commercial.

I also made sure clear boundaries were set on work delivery and response times. It felt good giving the advice and having happy customers. As this is a small bootstrapped company, there was no monetary compensation but I am expecting a nice meal to return the favour!

I’m working on some other things which may result in a promising 2026, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself yet. I have learnt from recent experience that there are lots of highs and lows. Sometimes the anticipation has been unbearable, because at times I was clutching at straws.

I am trying to learn the art of closing and converting conversations into paid consulting roles. I am also fully aware I am not marketing myself at the moment. Think of this as a “soft launch”.

People, Connections and Being “Stuck”

Along the way I continue to build connections and have helped introduce people to each other. I even arranged an introduction to a potential employer who I was unsuccessful in seeking employment with. No hard feelings—just paying it forward.

I’m getting messages from people who are following my journey through social media and my blog, which is extremely touching.

I’ve also met several people in senior positions who feel stuck at their jobs. Like everyone else they have obligations and bills to pay, but they don’t see prospects where they are. They’re busy, but they’re not moving.

It’s a reminder that being employed isn’t the same as having momentum.

Habits, Baby Steps and Avoiding All-or-Nothing

I continue to adjust. I still haven’t figured everything out but I am trying to keep consistent and doing something or nothing. Sure there are days when all I want to do is watch YouTube, but I am doing this less and less.

I am reminded of a quote from Atomic Habits:

“The all-or-nothing cycle of behaviour change is just one pitfall that can derail your habits.”

As I mentioned in my earlier post I am trying to take baby steps and the above quote just reinforces that.

A friend did give me a tip to help this process. Delete my YouTube history, and keep it off. This has actually helped. The irony, I have been using this same method on my kids’ tablets for some time.

Even though the elusive job hunt remains, well, elusive, I am energised by the prospect of some help I am giving people, along with the potential new projects I previously talked about.

Staying Visible: LinkedIn and Content

On LinkedIn, my aim was to write twice a week to keep momentum, with a mix of reflective and authority posts. The reality is as I get busier with some projects and family, this is harder. I am however staying consistent with aiming to post once a week (for the most part).

Sure I could post more regularly, but I would just be throwing up garbage rather than quality.

Learning, Swimming and Cal Newport

On a personal level I have started swimming classes. I can swim, and do swim regularly, but I wanted to improve my technique. These classes have been hard, challenging and rewarding. I’ve had to learn new techniques and get my muscle memory used to a new way of doing things. I’ve completely changed my breaststroke timing and moved to a different stroke count for freestyle.

But learning is supposed to be hard. It requires all your concentration. It reminded me of a podcast episode by Cal Newport about this:

I am also applying this learning mindset to some projects I am working on. The learning curve is steep for sure, but I am learning, I am adapting, I am applying my existing skills and building on them with new skills.

It’s the same with helping my kids with their Grade 3 maths homework. New strategies, new methods—things they didn’t teach when I was at school. We are all finding this learning hard, and it’s not supposed to be easy.

Small Mistakes, Big Lessons

Don’t get me wrong, this month I have made plenty of mistakes.

I have learnt that I cannot handle four coffees in a day. I now know that red wine after gin and tonic isn’t a great idea. And most importantly I have learnt not to challenge my daughter to a swimming race (she won fair and square).

Looking Ahead: December and 2026

December is going to be a short, busy month. This means I need to stay focused and not get distracted—there is a lot of ground to cover.

But I can go into it knowing 2026 will be looking much more promising. I can also go and enjoy my Christmas break (looking forward to some mulled wine) without the usual email chase and worry.

All of that feels very small compared to what so many families are facing after the Tai Po fire. November was a reminder, in the Stoic sense, that life has its own logos: there are events we cannot control, and there are the small, practical things we can do next. My job is to keep taking those small steps, and to show up where I can be useful.

I can just go enjoy, relax, rest, reflect and plan for 2026.