Simple. Smart. Sustainable.

As another year draws to a close, it’s a good time slow down and reflect on the past. The year of 2020 has been full of disappointment, sadness and pain. It's not easy to see a silver lining when your life has been turned upside down by problems no one can solve. But, as we look back at our lives, there are glimpses of light we can harness and carry with us to a New Year and a New Life.  We are all used to our annual professional reviews to make sure our professional goals are on track. Most of us also review our financial goals and insurance policies, but not so much our personal lives. I believe it’s important, if not more so, to step back and reflect on our lives to see how far we’ve come in the past year- what have we accomplished, what setbacks did we encounter and what have we learned along the way. Studies show that people who consistently evaluate and reflect on their lives are more successful, feel greater satisfaction in their personal and professional lives, and ...

Doing what we love is what we always dream about. Since childhood, we dream about things we want to do when we grow up and to show the world how great we are. I can see it in my own children as I watch them grow and 'plan' their future. They have big ideas for their lives! And I want their dreams to come true. I want them to do what they love, to be successful and to live meaningful lives. Unfortunately, we adults, unintentionally squash these dreams by bringing out our own fears and believes of what life should be like. As children watch us and learn from us and our everyday actions, they form an understanding of a world around them, including our fears. No child have ever had a dream that when they grow up, they want to do work they hate just to make money. However, this is what about 80% of people are doing today. They see us going to work everyday, disliking our jobs, our bosses, or customers. They see us rush through the day so we could get home and then do ...

I'm sure you know the feeling of having so much to do that you don't know where to start. We attack our daily to-do lists, react to everything that comes up at the moment's notice, and at the end of the day, still have important things unfinished. We juggle so many things in our lives and careers. Often, we live our lives without consciously setting priorities, other times, everything feels like priority and it's hard to determine what to concentrate on. That's when the “I don't have time” seems like the best excuse. The thing is, priorities are not what you say they are. Priorities are what you actually do! And while setting your priorities might not be that difficult, it's living by them that gives us trouble. A simple way to setting your priorities and living them every day is a game of juggling. This concept is from a Georgia Tech commencement speech given by Brian Dyson, former CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises, on Sept. 6, 1991*: “ Imagine l...

We all have our own version of this question: What should I do with my life? Where is my life going? What do you want to be when you grow up? Which career/college should I choose? Where to move? Most of us answer it with: "I don't know." "I don't know what to do with my life". "I don't know which direction should I go". " I don't know which job/career/college to choose" and so on... I remember  when I was still in college I was complaining to my grandmother that I didn't know what I wanted to do after college and what should I do with my life. My grandmother answered- " I don't know what to do with my life either". We want to know answers to these questions so we could make correct decisions as options come along. I didn't really grasp the truth in my grandmother's words until very recently. That truth is - Y ou don't need to know! Wait! What? What about all the vision, the values, ...

You may think that there isn’t much you can do about big issues like global warming and climate change. But even small changes matter. One person can make a difference. And if you spread the word among your family and friends, school and community- you make an even bigger progress. So what can you as a kid do to help our Earth? Your room.  Keep your room clean and clutter free. Dust loves landing on every surface, and the more things there are in the room, the more places for the pesky dust and dirt to accumulate on. Clean surfaces with a wet washcloth and the air in your room will be much fresher and cleaner for you to breath. Open a window.  We need sun to keep as energized and healthy. It also saves energy, as it provides natural light and we don’t need to use electricity to light up the room. You can also make good use of sun’s energy that can power many solar-powered toys, iPads, computers or flashlights. Recharge.   Batteries contain heavy metals and when...

It's been a stressful week, month, or maybe even a year... If you are an engineer, you've probably went through this many times during your career. The stress just seems to never stop, there is always a problem to solve, a deadline to meet, an unhappy client  to deal with. I remember growing up, watching my mom, who was a mechanical engineer, designing complex machine parts and drawing on a big drawing board (I even "helped" her a few times). That was her job as an engineer. She was always home on time, prepared dinner for the whole family, tended to our huge garden and animals in the barn. I'd never seen her stressed out or heard her complaining about her job. Fast forward to today. Today engineers not only design and engineer complex technological systems, they also manage emails, watch budgets, decipher contracts, file forms, reports and deal with unreasonable clients. Go ahead, add to the list whatever else you're dealing with everyday. Wha...

If you are finding it more challenging to juggle your work demands with the rest of your life, you are not alone. New technologies had brought high levels of production with high expectations, demands and pressure. We are expected to act on a moments notice and be available 24/7. Our modern lives, jobs and health depend on these technologies that provide us the lifesaving drugs, computer microchips and even food. We have limitless choices and possibilities that we couldn’t possibly imagine 100 years ago, and yet, we’re the most overworked, stressed out and burnt out society ever known. I've seen a lot of work-life imbalance among my engineering colleagues and friends. After all, as engineers, our jobs are to solve other peoples problems, and often at the expense of our own happiness and joy. But why is this happening? The reason is -  because we are humans ! And we’ve hit our natural limits and lost balance. Our brain and body developed to it’s current state many tho...

In my personal life and throughout my engineering career I have been surrounded by perfectionists. I have perfectionist tendencies myself- after all, engineers have to perform to high standards while striving to find best solutions to various problems. Most people will agree that having high standards is a good thing. There is nothing wrong with striving for excellence, as it can show that you have a good work ethic and strength of character. High standards can also push you to reach your peak level of performance. The problem starts when these standards become so high that they are practically unachievable, or can only be met with great difficulty, causing chronic unhappiness, dissatisfaction, loss of relationships and enjoyment of life. There is a fine line between healthy striving and destructive perfectionism- and if you have perfectionist tendencies, it’s hard to see when your perfectionism starts getting in the way of your success. Here are 6 signs that perfectionism may...

The other day my friend and I had a discussion about making tough decisions. We talked about the difficulties on making life altering choices, especially when it involves other stakeholders- like spouses and kids. It’s not easy to bring everyone on the same path you want to follow- not easy, but definitely possible. First, let’s talk about the decision making process itself. We make decisions- big and small- everyday. Most of the time it’s easy for us to decide between the choices we have and move on with our day. Once in a while, however, life puts us in a situation were we have to make some tough choices. Big decisions, such as buying a house, getting married, changing jobs or careers, moving to a new city, affect our lives tremendously and we want to find the best solution for today’s situation as well as for our future. When faced with a big life decision, I tend to over-think and over-analyze all aspects of choices involved. The longer I ponder between the choices, th...