Atomic Habits

September 29, 2025

What an inspiring meeting! Last night, our members shared powerful stories of growth and courage. The theme of the meeting, “Atomic Habits,” was well-introduced by Stephanie Lau, who illustrated how improving by just 1% each day can lead to being 37.8 times better after a year. This concept of continuous growth was perfectly complemented by the Grammarian – Shoni Wang, who also introduced the word of the day: “Compound.”

Goldon Poh recounted criticism from her manager about the presentation quality from the team, which led to a mandatory company competition. Instead of shying away, she saw it as a catalyst for growth and immediately joined HKTMC. She embraced the mental challenge, trusting Toastmasters to provide the supportive community and practice needed to prove their capability to their managers and to herself.

Boris Pak shared two key ideas from Steven Bartlett: first, that our brain’s “do-hard-things” circuit strengthens when we choose effort over comfort, and second, that most limits are merely “paper walls.” True discipline involves pushing against them every day.

Stephanie Fung reflected on finding guidance beyond a traditional mentor, drawing wisdom from a meditation retreat. She reminded the audience that with the right mindset, inspiration and mentors can appear everywhere, perfectly aligning with the old adage: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

It was a night that perfectly captured the spirit of our club: choosing courage over comfort and growing together.