2025 was not a loud year. It was a shaping year.
Not one that removed pressure, but one that taught me how to carry it with discipline and trust.
It was a year where structure mattered more than speed, patience more than reaction, and learning more than certainty.
I crossed continents, Germany, Portugal, the USA, Australia, Sweden, Switzerland and many regional flights. Airports became classrooms. Conversations became lessons. This year placed me in an unfamiliar AEC sector, a space that required me to listen before speaking, study before leading, and respect the depth of an industry built over decades.
Becoming a Student Again
Entering the AEC world reminded me that leadership begins with humility.
New standards, New lifecycles, New ways of thinking about design, construction, and long-term responsibility.
2025 was about understanding how this industry truly works from early design intent to long-term operation and resisting the temptation to move fast without context. I spent time learning the language, the challenges, and the responsibility that comes with shaping the built environment.
Progress came not from pretending expertise, but from curiosity, discipline, and consistency.
Family Was the Center
No matter how far I traveled, my center remained family.
My children grounded me. They reminded me that real leadership shows first at home in patience, presence, and calm.
My wife carried stability while I navigated transition. Her patience and quiet resilience created the space I needed to focus, learn, and grow into this new sector without fear. Many foundations laid in 2025 exist because of her support.
My mother remained my anchor. Her example reminded me that wisdom is built slowly, through values lived daily. Her strength and prayers followed me into every unfamiliar room.
Pressure Became the Teacher
2025 stripped away noise. It replaced certainty with intention, Speed with depth, Reaction with clarity.
There were moments of exhaustion and doubt, moments when learning an unfamiliar sector felt heavy. But pressure clarified priorities and reinforced discipline. It taught me that credibility in a new industry is earned through respect, patience, and effort.
The Year Closed With Perspective, I did not close 2025 with headlines or celebration.
I closed it by performing Umrah with my mother and family.
Standing there, the unfamiliar became meaningful. Every lesson, every challenge, every transition settled into perspective. The year didn’t end, it aligned.
2026 — Building Credibility With Intention
As I step into 2026, I feel no urgency. I feel alignment.
This is the year of:
Deepening understanding of the AEC sector Turning learning into thoughtful execution Building trust through consistency Leading with respect for craft, process, and people
2026 is not about claiming expertise.
It is about earning it.
I enter this year more focused, more grounded, and more disciplined, committed to learning continuously and contributing meaningfully to the industry I now serve.
I am not rushing mastery.
I am building it.
For my wife, my support through transition.
For my children, my reason to lead wisely.
For my mother, my foundation.
If 2025 was the year of learning and discipline,
2026 will be the year of earned impact.
Muayad Simbawa 