At the beginning of this year, I, along with many other people, had expectations and hopes that 2022 would be an improvement over the pandemic filled years of 2020 and 2021. Now that I contemplate the year’s end and reflect on what has transpired during this time, I’m surprised at how different my life is now from how I envisaged it in January. I share with you a glimpse into the growth I’ve achieved, and the decisions I had to make, some easy and some hard, in order to reach my goals.
One significant decision I made was to begin seeking out a new sector experience after words of wisdom from my executive coach and my sponsor (not like an AA sponsor, but a career sponsor that I mention here). This eventually led me to a major career move. It can be difficult and quite daunting whenever you leave the safety and comfort of the familiar, no matter what the circumstance. But the biggest growth comes from diving into these experiences and having the confidence to know that you will adapt and be ok.
Day one of my new role and I discovered that the previous occupant of my workstation had left old walnuts in the drawer. It still makes me smile, picturing someone stressed out and cracking walnuts all day with their bare hands. Fortunately, I landed on my feet in the new role and, whilst it was bittersweet to leave my previous role and team, the career change has brought so much extra enjoyment into my life. And no, I don’t find the need to crack walnuts.
Another major change I made this year was moving house, after starting from scratch (again). I had arranged that all the big furniture would be delivered straight from the stores, so, with my can-do attitude in full force, I thought I could easily move from one lift apartment building to another without any help. I started packing and moving a few nights out, but before I knew it, it was the Friday before needing to vacate on the Sunday and I realised I had not even made a dent! I felt defeated and panicky, and my body was battered and bruised after being used as a sack truck. Thankfully a timely call from my Dad meant help was on the way.
A highlight of this year was the fact that, even with full time work, I achieved HDs in all my university studies. When I received my first one I thought it was a fluke, but then I became very focussed (maybe a little obsessed), the momentum built and when the last HD landed, I was so pleased that all my hard work had paid off. I value personal growth and enjoy challenging myself so to work really hard on something and get recognised with those grades gave me a lot of satisfaction.
Not every aspect of my life ran as smoothly this year as my work and studies did. I experienced some quite difficult times and made a few hard decisions in my personal life, which created a new set of challenges for me. However, I find that if I use the same positive attitude as I do in my professional world it also helps me to overcome challenges in other aspects of my life. It was also a year that reminded me to not take my health for granted and always get the second (or in my case third) opinion if something isn't quite right.
Finding new friends and communities has been a wonderful by-product of so much change in 2022. New gym friends to broaden my powerlifting network, reconnecting with old friends where simply too much time had passed between catch ups and making new work buddies. It has even led me to connection circles and ice baths on the beach on a Saturday morning.
I feel so grounded looking back over the past year and going into the new year, still learning about myself and what I am capable of when I give my whole self to work, studies, my friends, love, and the ice.
Thanks for reading. Please feel free reach out to share your reflections of this year. If you are interested in more ways to Think Ascend, please subscribe to my mailing list. No spam, just regular inbox gifts to keep you ascending.