Susan F

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽

The morning news hit hard today. Over 148,000 tech workers have lost their jobs globally in the first 5 months of 2026 alone. That is nearly 1,000 people a day from giants like Meta, Amazon, Cisco, and LinkedIn. The ripple effect is moving quickly, and market experts predict these numbers will only continue to grow.

But the layoff itself is just the beginning. The harder part is what comes after. The silence. The second-guessing. The “am I even still relevant?” spiral that can stretch on for months if you are navigating it alone.

I have sat with enough professionals in that exact place to know it does not have to go that way.

That is why the 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 is designed, as 7 one-on-one sessions over 3 months. This is not a quick fix. It is real work, moving at a pace that actually allows things to settle, shift, and rebuild.

This program is for professionals at a crossroads. It is for those who were laid off, those who saw it coming, and those who have been quietly feeling stuck. It is for driven people who just need an experienced partner to think alongside them without judgment.

You do not have to sit in the quiet isolation of "what's next" by yourself. If the anxiety of uncertainty is weighing on you and you are ready to regain control of your professional narrative, it is time to take the first step.

👇 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆: 𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝗳𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻.𝗰𝗼𝗺/𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝘀/𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿-𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺

This week is the annual International Coaching Week - I almost let it just slip by. To honour the opportunity to connect, learn and grow, I am offering 3 complimentary coaching sessions to 7 individuals who are standing at a genuine crossroads.

Not a taster. Not a sales call. Three real sessions, enough to actually move something.

If you are in the middle of a transition that feels larger than just a career change... if you are competent on the outside and still feeling unsure on the inside... if you are ready to be honest in a space that can hold it, this is for you.

Register here

Transition Coaching – 3 Sessions A limited complimentary coaching offer from Susan Fong, ICF-certified Professional Coach and Transition Specialist. Three sessions. Real work. For people standing at a genuine crossroads.

I’m travelling in Morocco since last week. Marrakech is my 5th city now. In Marrakech, every corner feels alive with history. As it’s Ramadan now, the rhythm of the city changes. Days are slow but nights shine with live, community shares iftar, the medina and souks become alive again after iftar. Many local cafes and cultural spots host collective iftars and events that bring travellers and residents into deeper connection with this sacred season. It’s a reminder that shared spirituality and ritual keep hearts together.

And then there is the wider world beyond this red city.

The United States and Israel’s coordinated strikes on Iran, and Iran’s missile response, have again escalating violence, fears and global conflict.

As a traveller moving through Morocco in this moment, I feel the world’s uncertainty in a very practical way. My flight out from Casablanca via Abu Dhabi is now a big question mark. Plans, like desert winds, are not always ours to control.

I would be lying if I said I am not worried - yes, just a tiny bit. But I feel strangely grounded. Travel has trained me for this. Plans shift. Routes change. We adjust and continue. The sense of serenity to accept things I cannot control.

So for now, I wait, I observe, I stay present.

In this season of reflection, beyond religion, I make my quiet prayers for ordinary people everywhere. Fewer casualties. Less suffering. Less fear.

Here, among people who welcome a stranger with warmth and share what they have at sunset, I am reminded again that humanity is still very much alive. And that feels worth holding onto.

I’m reading a fascinating book, 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘄𝗶𝗻. Lately I’ve been intrigued by how the brain works, especially neuroplasticity. The idea that our brain keeps rewiring itself throughout life. Not just when we are young, but even now.

One insight really stayed with me: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘁𝘆. 𝗥𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴.

I’ve never been fully comfortable with a predictable path. Corporate ladder. Safe routine. Same conversations. Same environment. I used to question myself quietly. Why can’t you just be content? Why do you always want something more?

Now I see it differently. Maybe nothing was wrong with me. Maybe my brain was under stimulated.

Some of the hardest seasons of my life, moving across countries, working across cultures, stepping into unfamiliar roles, were also the seasons I felt most alive. They stretched me. They unsettled me. But they grew me.

Today, as a transition coach and someone who has worked for years in humanitarian development, I often meet people who say they are tired. Burnt out. Flat.

Sometimes yes, it is overload. But sometimes it is stagnation. There is a difference between being exhausted because you are overworked and feeling drained because you are not growing. Understanding how the brain adapts and rewires gives me language for something I have sensed for years.

Maybe the real question is 𝗡𝗢𝗧, “Why am I like this?”. Maybe it is, “Where do I need to grow next?”

"The quiet urgency of January"

2025 was a rocky year for many of us. Me included.

It was a year of trying things bravely, watching some work, many not, and sitting with more emotional ups and downs than I expected. It reminded me, again, that growth is rarely neat. That transitions take time. And that kindness towards ourselves is not optional.

Now we are already 17 days into 2026. January has a way of moving fast, before we even realise what we are carrying forward from last year.

That is why I created “When the Year Speaks”, a practical year end reflection workbook I have been using myself since last year. Not to judge the past year, but to listen to it. To notice patterns, lessons, grief, strength, and quiet wins we often rush past.

If you want to start 2026 with more clarity, honesty, and self trust, this workbook will guide you gently through that reflection.

Not perfection. Just presence.

If this speaks to you, now is the moment to pause before the year pulls you along. Click here to get the workbook http://susanfong.gumroad.com/l/whentheyearspeaks

Before 2026 fills up with noise, expectations, and plans, I want to invite you to pause.

Last year stretched many of us in ways we did not expect. It certainly did for me. It asked for courage, resilience, and a lot of emotional honesty.

From that experience, I created “When the Year Speaks”, a practical reflection workbook shaped by real questions I asked myself at the end of 2025. Questions that helped me see what to release, what to keep, and what deserved more care.

This is for you if �You do not want to repeat the same patterns�You want to trust yourself more this year�You want a grounded start, not a rushed one.

The year has already begun. This is your chance to begin it consciously.

If this resonates, the workbook is ready for you now. Click here for more details. https://susanfong.gumroad.com/l/whentheyearspeaks

It’s Day 6 into the new year of 2026, and some of us already feel… behind.

Behind on plans we thought we would make. Behind on clarity. Behind on being “ready” for the year ahead.

But perhaps it was because we rushed too quickly into the new year, without taking pause to reflect, learn and consolidate from what has gone by in 2025?

Therefore, before rushing into new goals, I have learnt to slow down and ask myself one simple question�What did the last year actually leave me with? Not just what went wrong or right, but what it taught me. What it stretched in me. What I am still carrying, quietly.

That is how “When the Year Speaks” came to life. It is a practical reflection workbook I put together from my own year end practice, the same questions I used to make sense of a messy, emotional, very human year.

This is not about fixing yourself or catching up. It is about understanding yourself a little better before the year runs away with you.
January is still gentle, even if it does not feel like it. If you want to start 2026 feeling more grounded and less rushed, this workbook might be a good place to begin. Click here for more details. https://susanfong.gumroad.com/l/whentheyearspeaks

Take your time. Start where you are.

Last month, I was on a solo wander in Budapest - putting that proud tick in my 2025 goal list. This trip stayed with me longer than most.

I have been traveling alone for many years, but this one felt like a quiet punctuation mark to the year. A pause. A breath. A moment to take stock before everything turns into a new chapter.

I still love solo travel for the same reasons. The carefree moments. The unapologetic wrong turnings. The quiet moments no one else witnesses. The small victories that only you know you earned.

And yes, if I am honest, there were moments of loneliness too. Since a someone was not there, by faith and by choice, I became that someone.

My selfie game has definitely elevated over the years . The angles. The awkward arm stretches. The courage it takes to stand in a crowd and take the photo anyway. A small but meaningful reminder that I can show up for myself, even when it feels a little uncomfortable.

Budapest held me gently. And as the year winds down, it reminded me of something important. To hold myself with the same gentleness. To honour where I am. To appreciate how far I have come.

As this year closes and a new one waits at the door, I step forward with more trust, more softness, and a quiet excitement for what is still unfolding. One step, one city, one frame at a time.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡

I recently received an appreciation certificate from Refugee JumpStart Coaching (RJS), marking two years of volunteering as a coach with this remarkable organisation. It is a simple certificate, but it represents something much bigger.

Over these two years, I have volunteered as a coach with RJS and supported four refugee clients, each transitioning in a different country. This work has been deeply humbling. In a world that often speaks about refugees but rarely listens to them, RJS creates a rare, safe space where people are seen, heard, and respected.

I still remember one of my clients saying softly, “I have never shared this with anyone before…” and in that moment, something shifted. Not because I had answers, but because someone finally felt safe enough to speak.

Right now, RJS urgently needs financial support. Facing volatility and a fragile year ahead, without immediate help, this coaching may not be able to continue.

There is a matching opportunity at the moment:
• A generous donor will match the first USD 2,000 in donations through December 31
• A USD 200 donation becomes USD 400
If this resonates with you, I invite you to donate, share, or help amplify RJS’s work. Every gesture matters. Here’s the donation link https://lnkd.in/gXZ4sU2e

What gives me hope is that this work truly makes a difference. RJS’s evidence based research reflects what I see in sessions (full report https://lnkd.in/gPqEjQBa). Clients take real steps toward employment and education. They move from survival mode and self doubt toward confidence, agency, and possibility. They stay engaged, even while carrying heavy structural and emotional challenges. Coaching is often one of the few spaces where they can breathe, reflect, and remember who they are beyond their circumstances.

Making coaching accessible beyond privilege, borders, and circumstance sits at the heart of why I do this work.

Thank you, Refugee JumpStart Coaching RJS dedicated team for the trust, the learning, and the quiet, powerful reminder of what humanity looks like in action.

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𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗖𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱

So after that heavier December feeling I shared earlier, I finally sat myself down for my seasonal year end reflections. Self coaching with my 7-part process pulled me back to center. Two pages in, I felt lighter. Three pages in, I noticed patterns I had missed. By the end, I remembered my strengths and the quiet wins I had forgotten.

This is the same process I guide my clients through when they feel stuck or unsure about their next steps.

I am offering the workbook for free because reflection should be simple, accessible, and something you can actually enjoy doing.

Download it (link in my first comment below), or PM me (I'll send the file to you), and give yourself the space to slow down, reflect with honesty, and step into the new year with clarity and confidence.