The Slow Boil

Then I had an MTB accident, 3 surgeries, long recovery, and had to refocus on my health. There are times when life takes over work and you just need to put your oxygen mask on first, and breathe normally.

Then the announcement of retrenchments came. People were offered voluntary separation packages; once those were fixed, other not-so-lucky colleagues got the emails of involuntary exit. The office started to feel like a very cold, sad, deserted place, with more and more desks vacated — then the company closed the physical office.

I was asked to help with the set-up of a new entity in Singapore for my business group heading to IPO. I thought: OK, I can handle it. It's a new start. I began working with new distribution partners and developed several projects I really enjoyed. Things started to feel almost normal again, though I had terrible headaches for weeks. The osteopath said it was stress — I was clenching my jaw while sleeping, causing inflammation of the nerve. Who knew these things are so connected? I guess one learns to listen to what their body is signalling.

And then one day things changed when the company announced Q3 results and they were so bad that many people were let go within a day — me included. I got the separation offer, cried over ‘unemployment’ for one night, and then… through months of slowing down, self-reflection, exploring new things, giving back, looking inwards — I found my way out. And this is what I wish someone had given me earlier.

This process was so slow — like putting a frog into cold water and then slowly bringing it to a boil. I probably wouldn't have registered that I needed to do something to change. Though I did complete several courses — AI for All, Venture Industry, AI Cybersecurity — to add to my portfolio of knowledge.

I probably already sensed that something was off, but I didn't ask myself honestly — because asking felt melodramatic relative to how fine things seemed.