I was recently lucky enough to go on my first solo business trip across the pond to Singapore to conduct 4 days of Sprinklr training to 25+ executives in a boardroom. At first the thought of going on my own to a foreign country was daunting, however, I like to think of myself as a glass half full kind of guy, so I stopped the negative thoughts and created a mental checklist of 3 very important things I needed to bring with me to Singapore:

·       Passport

·       Toothpaste (can’t be training with bad breath!)

·       PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)

Of course, the first two points are very important for any overseas trip, but I think the third point is what really made my trip. There was no point in thinking the worst, it was only going to bog me down and drain me mentally before the training had even begun. The self-doubt was clouding what I knew all along…..my ability to train and train well. As a Solutions Consultant at KINSHIP digital, training is one of my core roles and something I LOVE to do. So, once I removed the negative thoughts, I started feeling 10x better and 10x more confident.

So, there I was sitting in the empty board room in Singapore, waiting for 25+ people to walk in and listen to me teach them about a social media management platform I’m passionate about and know inside and out. Before the negative thoughts had time to creep in again, I stopped, took a minute to breathe and got into my positive mindset. Once everyone was seated it was all eyes on me and I was in my element training. The training was successful, I didn’t stumble in front of 25+ executives, my computer didn’t stop working during the training and most importantly everyone including myself had fun. “What was I so worried about?”. 

Now that training was over, it was time to explore the beautiful surroundings of Singapore, taking with me of course my, PMA. It was put to good use quickly when I was out and about looking for a tasty meal to congratulate myself on a training well done. Walking down the humid streets, looking at all the street food stalls (chicken stir fry, beef skewers, duck egg…yes, duck egg!), I’m standing there darting my eyes between duck eggs and McDonalds across the road. I took a moment to watch the gaggles of tourists at McDonalds, too scared to challenge their tastebuds. I thought, what’s the worst that could happen? I get food poisoning? So, using my PMA I resisted the temptation of a double quarter pounder, and proved that food poisoning is only a 1 in 4 chance, not 50/50! I’m glad I took the leap because hands down it was one of the most memorable, delicious meals I’ve had to date.

(PSA: If you’re in Singapore and there is a napkin on an empty table, DO NOT SIT THERE! This is how they mark the table is taken…..I learnt that the hard way).

Thank you, KINSHIP for the opportunity and thank you Singapore, you didn’t disappoint. Until next time, PMA!