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I recently attended a parent-teacher conference at my son's school. His school had introduced something interesting. Students are now asked to self-assess their progress against set learning criteria, with no prior input or correction from the teacher. These self-assessments are then shared with parents during a one-on-one conference. My son scored himself quite well in some areas; confident, clear, and honest. But in other areas, I noticed something familiar. He marked himse

An international student in Australia recently reached out to me, feeling discouraged and overwhelmed. Before coming to Australia, they had built years of professional experience and a solid career. Yet after almost a year of applying for jobs, they had been unable to secure work, even in roles well below the level they had previously held. The repeated rejections were starting to erode their confidence and make them question their worth. We arranged a time to talk. During ou

This Mother’s Day feels especially meaningful for me because, for the first time, I truly feel like I am embracing motherhood without the negativity and constant voices telling me I am not enough. There was a time when I questioned my worth as a mother every single day. I carried the weight of hurtful words, criticism, and the belief that I was failing. But over the past year, with God’s help, I have grown in ways I never imagined. I’ve made difficult but necessary decisions,

Feeling stuck can be one of the most frustrating places to be because nothing feels like it’s moving. In this reflection, I talk about losing motivation, questioning your value, and how sometimes the real issue may be your environment, relationships, or the spaces you’ve outgrown. This is your reminder to reassess where you are, who you’re connected to, and what needs to change so you can move forward again. You don’t need one giant leap. Sometimes growth starts with one smal

A few months ago, my kids’ cousins had just started at a new school. During their first week, I asked if they had made any friends. One of them, just 10 years old, said something that stayed with me: I have people I talk to but I wouldn’t call them friends. I paused. Hearing that from a 10-year-old stopped me in my tracks. There was so much awareness in that simple statement. I remember thinking, wow… kudos to the parents for raising a child with that kind of discernment. At

People sometimes ask why I still carry joy despite everything life has thrown my way. The truth is, choosing bitterness, anger or giving up has never felt like a better option to me. It doesn’t solve the problem, it only deepens the weight. I’ve had to learn to focus on what I have and not only what I’m still waiting for. To count my blessings even in hard seasons. Life isn't perfect. I just choose not to stay in a place that keeps me stuck. Maybe that’s my gentle reminder fo

You don’t always notice when you’re shrinking. It’s subtle. Gradual. Easy to explain away. For a few years, I lived in a small town. At the time, it made complete sense. I was raising my kids as a single mum, working full-time, and completing my PhD. I needed a setup that allowed me to manage everything, and it worked. But after a while, something started to shift. From the outside, it looked like I was holding it all together, but quietly, something in me was changing. I los

I’ve been thinking about a moment from my first pregnancy. My due date had passed, and everyone told me to wait. But after experiencing a loss before, waiting didn’t feel right to me. So I chose a C-section. What stayed with me wasn’t just the decision, but the idea that there was a “right way” to do things; a stronger way, a better way. But in that moment, I wasn’t thinking about expectations. I was thinking about safety. Mine and my baby’s. And that choice gave me both. It

A few days ago, I listened to a podcast by Oprah Winfrey, “Oprah & Tech Leaders on What AI Means for Your Job, Health, Family & Future.” She was in conversation with leading voices in artificial intelligence, exploring what this moment means for our work, lives, and future. It caught my attention because this is an area that has quietly shaped much of my work and thinking. For the past six years, I have been researching how emerging technologies reshape jobs, organisations,

As single mums, many of us feel the pressure to be everything; both mum and dad, filling every gap, carrying every weight. In this honest reflection, I share my journey of overcompensating, the exhaustion that came with it, and the moment I realised something had to change. Here’s the truth: You don’t have to be both parents. You just have to be a loving, present mum; and that is enough. If you are navigating single motherhood and feeling the weight of “doing it all,” this

Years ago, during marriage counselling, we were told: “ Don’t go into marriage with expectations. That’s where disappointment begins .” It sounded wise. Lower the bar. Avoid the hurt. I believed it at the time. And recently, when a friendship I thought was deeply mutual didn’t hold, I heard that familiar explanation again: “ Maybe you expected too much. ” But that didn’t sit right. Expectations weren’t absent; they existed on both sides, just unspoken and misaligned. Expectat

Some days, motherhood feels like a quiet test we are not sure we are passing. My boys wanted me to play Fortnite with them today, and honestly, I just didn’t have the energy or interest. And then I felt that quiet comparison creep in, thinking about other mums who always seem to “show up” in ways I don’t. But I’m learning that we don’t all show up the same way. And maybe that’s okay. This is the first of my “Single Mum Musings”; short reflections on the quiet, imperfect momen

Resilience keeps us standing, but perseverance carries us forward. Inspired by Late Eric Dane’s Netflix interview, I explored the difference between surviving setbacks and intentionally moving toward your next chapter. Where in your life are you simply resilient and where are you choosing to persevere?

The older I get, the more I realise that most relationship breakdowns don’t start with bad intentions; they start with miscommunication. Not explosive arguments, betrayal, or dramatic endings, but small gaps. A message interpreted differently, a silence held for too long, an assumption made instead of a question asked. Over time, those small gaps create distance, and distance, if left unattended, quietly reshapes relationships. Here are 10 things life has taught me about comm

There’s a saying we all know. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade . But what no one tells you is that sometimes the lemons come by the truckload. My marriage ended, but that was never what I planned when I said, ‘I do.’ I then had to navigate the challenges of single motherhood, the emotional residue of a broken marriage, the guilt, the questions, and the loneliness that followed. At the same time, during my PhD, as an international student with no real support from my

Over the last two weeks, we’ve talked about what curiosity is and how it shows up in our lives. But the truth is, curiosity doesn’t always stay alive. Sometimes it gets shut down quietly; by fear, routine, or even the comfort of being “right.” This week, we are uncovering those barriers and choosing growth instead. What Quietly Shuts Down Curiosity? Several things can quietly shut down curiosity. Fear is often the biggest barrier; fear of looking uninformed, of being judged,

Curiosity exists on a spectrum. It can be as harmless as googling why it snows… or as unproductive as asking questions simply to snoop or gossip. That’s why the kind of curiosity we cultivate matters. Curiosity begins with openness; to the world, and to ourselves. The emphasis here is on positive curiosity , a state of intentional, respectful, open-minded exploration that seeks understanding rather than judgment or gossip, connection rather than intrusion. Recently, I started

Curiosity has been discouraged, misunderstood, and underestimated; yet it’s the skill we need most to keep learning, connecting, and evolving.

Every January, I’d promise myself big things: eat better, exercise more, be more patient, but by February, those promises start to fade. I realised it wasn’t lack of willpower, it was that I was confusing resolutions with goals. It was really about how I approached change. Most of what we call New Year’s resolutions are broad intentions or wishes. They capture what we want to be or do, like “ I want to get fit ” or “ I want to be more organised .” They are tied to the calenda

Have you ever stopped to wonder why you do the things you do; the small, almost invisible habits that shape your day-to-day life? I remember hearing a story a while back about a mother who always cut the two ends off a sausage before frying. She had done it all her life, never knowing why; it was just something her mum did. When her daughter got married, she did the same. It was only when her husband asked why, that she finally asked her mother. Her mum didn’t know either, so