Shirley Chung Counsellor & Coach

Count your blessings every day. It’s like training your muscle!

Shifting your mind to focus on the good rather than the problems isn’t just a nice thought—it’s a practice. It’s exactly like training a muscle. The more you do it, the stronger it gets.

Lately, I’ve been flexing that muscle, and my heart is absolutely full.

Here are the beautiful blessings I am celebrating today:
🌍 Cultural Connection & Trust
I am incredibly grateful for the deep rapport and trust I’ve built with my clients. Working with people from local Australia, India, and Hong Kong has truly highlighted a quality I love and value in myself: cultural inclusivity and diversity. Seeing this growth in myself fills me with so much joy.
🤝 The Warmth of Community
There is nothing like a supportive neighborhood. From helping each other out with the school run to a sweet neighbor surprising me with fresh, free bread, I am reminded of how beautiful community is.
🌸 Growth & Abundance
My flowers and plants are blossoming beautifully at home, reflecting the life and energy around me. Professionally, I’ve developed the skills to create multiple streams of income, and my recent project in Hong Kong is successfully wrapping up, bringing in wonderful cash flow.
🏡 The Next Chapter
After the marathon of inspecting over twenty houses, I have finally found a beautiful place! I’m currently waiting on the rental approval, feeling hopeful and excited for the next step.
❤️ Healing & Harmony
Perhaps the closest to my heart is the profound growth in the relationship with my husband. Even though we are currently living separately, we have cultivated a much, much better, healthier connection. It is proof that love and understanding can evolve beautifully.
Every single day brings a choice of where to put our focus. I challenge you today: take a moment to appreciate your own unique qualities and count your blessings.
What is one thing you are flexing your gratitude muscle for today? 👇 share with us!

You’re a mother? Then you’re basically a superhero with lower back pain and unmatched emotional resilience. 😂

You grew a whole human with your body. Of course you got a tummy — that tummy built life.
You p*e a little when you sneeze? Congratulations, your pelvic floor has been through WAR.
You somehow work, cook, clean, answer 47 questions a minute, find missing socks, attend school events, and still remember everyone’s favourite snacks.

You bravely delivered tiny humans into this world… only for those same tiny humans to become teenagers one day and give you eye rolls like they’re getting paid for it. 😭

Motherhood also forces your emotional intelligence to reach Olympic level.
You learn how to:

explain homework without yelling (or at least yell less)
repeat “please put your plate in the sink” 937 times with patience
stay calm when someone cries because their toast was “cut wrong”
function perfectly fine on coffee, love, and survival instincts

It’s not easy. But every day, you become stronger, softer, wiser, and honestly… a little funnier too.

So here’s your reminder:
You are not “just a mum.”
You are a multitasking, emotionally intelligent, sleep-deprived legend. ❤️

Picture by Archana Sahoo

❤️

Connection is at the core of being human.
It is how we understand the world, how we grow, and how we find meaning.

We connect to others through understanding, interaction, giving, and receiving.
In those moments—when we are truly seen, heard, and valued—we don’t just feel better, we become more of who we are. Relationships are not just external experiences; they shape our inner world. They reflect us back to ourselves, sometimes gently, sometimes painfully, but always meaningfully.

But connection is not only outward.
There is also the connection within.

To connect with ourselves requires awareness—the courage to pause and ask:
Who am I, beneath the roles I play?
What do I truly desire?
How do I want to live?

When we are disconnected from ourselves, we often search endlessly outside—seeking validation, direction, or worth. But when we reconnect inwardly, something shifts. We begin to access an inner steadiness. We understand our needs, our boundaries, our values. We stop chasing and start choosing.

From that place, abundance is no longer something we wait for—it becomes something we generate.

And then, something even more important happens.

When we are connected to ourselves, our connection with others becomes deeper and more authentic. We no longer relate from emptiness, fear, or dependency, but from wholeness. We give without losing ourselves. We receive without feeling unworthy. We build relationships not out of need, but out of genuine connection.

True connection, then, is not one-directional.
It is a flow—between self and others.

We connect inward to understand who we are.
We connect outward to expand who we are.

For instance, when you support a client, a student, or even a friend through a difficult time, you start to see yourself differently:
“I am someone who can hold space.”
“I am capable of helping others navigate pain.”
→ Your identity grows through contribution.
You didn’t arrive with that full identity—you grew into it through connection.

And in that continuous exchange, life becomes richer, more grounded, and more meaningful

Picture by Mollyyyyy.

You are exactly who you believe you are.
你就是你所相信的那個自己。

Gold, diamond, iron, or stone—
是黃金、鑽石、鐵，還是石頭——

your worth is shaped by your own thoughts.
你的價值，由你的想法所塑造。

The moment you choose to see yourself differently,
當你選擇用不同的眼光看待自己，

your whole life begins to change.
你的人生也會開始改變。

You deserve a life that shines.
你值得擁有一個閃耀的人生。

Picture by:
becoming her at midlife (www.herdreambusiness.com)

Don’t give up… not yet.

Sometimes, life feels like you are doing everything right—putting in the effort, holding onto hope, visualising your dreams…
and yet, nothing seems to move.

It can feel heavy. Confusing. Even a little unfair.

But what if… something *is* happening?
Just not in the way you expected.

Growth is often quiet.
Progress is often invisible.
Miracles are often unfolding behind the scenes.

If your heart still whispers, *“this matters”…*
then gently, softly—keep going.

You don’t need to rush.
You don’t need to force.
Just take one more step… and then another.

Because sometimes, the moment you feel like giving up
is the very moment your life is about to shift.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

Trust the journey.
Trust yourself.
And believe… that something beautiful is still on its way.

Picture by: LuxeonBudget

今天，你有幾多％好？

幾天前，我開始與一位9歲小朋友進行輔導時，像平常一樣問他一個簡單的問題：「你今天感覺如何？」

他想了一想，很認真地回答：「我今天大概 63% 好。」

聽到這個答案，我忍不住微笑。這是一個多麼可愛又真誠的回答。

於是我再輕輕地問他：「那另外的 37% 發生了什麼事呢？」

接著，我們一起探索：有沒有什麼方法，可以讓今天從 63% 慢慢提升到 73%？不需要一下子變成100%，只要比現在好一點點就已經很好了。

孩子其實非常真誠。當你與他們建立了信任與連結，他們往往很願意打開心扉，分享自己的感受與想法。

這個小小的對話，也讓我反思自己作為母親的時光。

當孩子還小的時候，我很多時間都忙於日常的事情：做飯、收拾家務、整理房子……回想起來，有時我也會問自己：當孩子想與我說話時，我是否真的給了他們 100% 的專注與陪伴？

這件事提醒了我一個重要的體會：不只是輔導工作，其實在所有關係之中，最重要的是——真正地在場與聆聽。

在與孩子或任何來談者互動時，我常提醒自己運用一個很重要的關係態度—— PACE：

Playfulness（帶著輕鬆與玩味的心）

Acceptance（真誠地接納對方）

Curiosity（保持好奇與開放）

Empathy（以同理心去理解）

這些不只是輔導技巧，其實也是建立關係的重要智慧。

當一個人感到被看見、被聽見、被理解，很多事情便會慢慢改變。

或許我們不需要每天都做到100%完美。
只要今天比昨天 多好一點點，那已經是一種成長。

所以我也想問問你：

今天，你有幾多％好？
而有什麼事情，可以讓你今天 再多好一點點呢？ ✨

What does “63% okay” look like?

A few days ago, I started a session with a 9-year-old client by asking a simple question:

“How are you today?”

He replied, very thoughtfully,
“I’m fine… about 63%.”

I couldn’t help but smile. What a beautifully honest answer.

So I asked him gently,
“What’s happening to the other 37%?”

And from there, we explored together how his day could move from 63% to maybe 73%. Not perfect. Just a little bit better.

Children are amazing like that.
When you build rapport, safety, and trust, they are incredibly willing to open up and share their inner world.

That moment also made me reflect on my own life as a mother.

When my children were younger, many of my days were filled with cooking, cleaning, tidying up, and managing the endless tasks of family life. Looking back, I sometimes wonder if I truly gave them 100% of my attention in those small moments when they wanted to talk.

This experience reminded me of something very important — not only in counselling, but in all relationships.

The power of being truly present.

In my work with young clients, and with any client really, I try to practise the PACE approach:

• Playfulness
• Acceptance
• Curiosity
• Empathy

These simple but powerful attitudes help people feel seen, heard, and understood.

And perhaps they are not just counselling skills.

They are life skills.

Skills that can make our relationships with our children, partners, friends, and even ourselves a little deeper… maybe even 10% better today.

So today I ask you:
How many percent are you feeling today?

And what might help you move just a little higher? ✨

Picture by Juliet Young
#兒童心理
#治療師日常

Good day every one! It’s a beautiful day here in Melbourne today. May I share this wonderful picture showing that we can train our mind to have better life! May I bless you with happiness and a beautiful life 🌻🌻🌸🌸🌸

Picture from DrDonnaMVelliaris 🙏