A self-discovery journey, not a lone journey

The guts for change

Many of us started the Executive MBA journey seeking a change. At the beginning of the journey, a very small handful had a clearly laid-out planned paths and knew where the programme would fit exactly.

The more you know, the more unknowns you’ll be aware of, as explained by Albert Einstein, 'as our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.' This by no means a deterrent to dive in the unknowns to me. The newly gained knowledge (of ourselves, in particular), the ideas that we bounced off each other, the collective wisdom as a complementing unit, the Oxford ecosystem and network provide the confidence and courage to start a new chapter.

When we were a third into the programme (another 16 months yet!) and the Entrepreneurship Project (EP) - a compulsory component of the Executive MBA (and MBA) curricular started, I pitched my idea in EdTech, something I thought long and hard for. It has been a very humbling experience and emotionally overwhelming to have some of the brightest minds believing in your vision and agreeing to be on this journey with you, especially given what I have put on the line.

High resilience

In our NEO reports (every Executive MBA student has advisor to help us decode it), one characteristic of my cohort is very high resilience. This is by no way a surprise. All of us – that is every single one of us - have experienced highs and lows (some extreme lows) in our professional and personal lives. However, all of us managed to pull it through to be where we are, some very scratched and took quite a while longer, but we did come out from the other end. Knowing some of the real-life stories of my classmates and the lengths and depths they have gone through (or still experiencing) allow me to cut out the noise, leave the comfort zone and venture into the uncharted water, knowing that it’s OK to start afresh.

The feasible and non-negotiable ME time

It is not often that someone commutes to school in airplanes (plural!), followed by train, then a taxi or bus – 48 hours in total each way. A few people down under reached out to me on LinkedIn and asked me about the trips. I could not sugarcoat it – it is not for the faint-hearted, but it is definitely feasible with some (a lot actually!) planning and reprioritization at home with the significant other half and teams at work. As a seasoned business traveller before the pandemic, my body was used to jetlags and luckily I’m genetically blessed with excellent sleeps. My children have been used to not having mummy for a week or two and I have been able to stay connected with their schools/educators remotely. Even the time spent in airport lounges and up in the air wifi-free has now become one of my favourite 'ME' time.

The travelling is actually one of my criteria when choosing an Executive MBA – that is to have a decent chunk of time that I can dedicate to my studies, which I see as a well-deserved 'me' time. Travel for one-week study is a better ROI than a weekend, especially it allows more interaction with new network outside of the lecture theatres.

When in Oxford, do as the Oxonians do – challenge your own thinking and enjoy the time being with your own mind without the daily hustle and bustle. It is so liberating! While my weekly ballet classes demand physical stigma, musicality and artistry, the “Oxford bubble” provides mental stimulation, nourishment and clarity – both meditation and pilgrimage.

The pilgrimage will continue for another year for our J22 cohort. As the United Kingdom and the wider world mourn for the loss of our longest-serving monarch in British history, our beloved Queen this week, it came to my mind that this pilgrimage will end one day. Thinking about ending the journey is already very emotional, as it is no doubt one of the most precious times of our lives.