20 Dec Why was I given this year?

Why this particular year? With all its ends and its beginnings; its joys and its sorrows; its dashed hopes and dreams for new tomorrows?

It is a poem, a blessing by Irish poet John O’Donohue, ‘At the End of the Day: A Mirror of Questions’. And a variation on it ended with this one line:

From the evidence, why was I given this year?

If you have followed my work this year, you know it has been one of endings and beginnings. And a lot of understanding how to navigate the in-between – that precious time of transition while you linger between no longer there, but not yet here.

So, this one line grabbed my attention. It punched me in the gut and triggered my 2018 retrospective. Why had I been given all the experiences of this particularly eventful year? With all its up and downs?

• To morph, to reignite, to regenerate
• To learn that I could lose and still stay whole
• To understand the emotional struggle with transition first-hand

===================================================================

To morph, to reignite, to regenerate.

In a year when my default was to hang-on to the familiar for dear life, and search for status quo and stability, it took great courage and support to make significant changes.

Becoming a Mother of Dragons and letting go of my nest, was probably the most dramatic change. Even though it is a change I knew was coming – and one we proudly plan for as parents – it is still the most heart-wrenching moment when you leave your youngest child in their dorm room and step forward into your own journey of rediscovery and reinterpretation.

I had to redefine my role as child and a sibling with the death of a parent.

Amid this, it look courage and support from my coach to expand my brand from the strategic product of FUTUREcasting to my larger, bolder brand.

With it’s new tagline – TILT the Future in your favour – we can start discussions on how small actions can have larger impacts. We can share conversations around the Future of Work, on transitions, core skills, on GenZ, parenting, education and employment. We debate how we have agency and the ability to impact the future path of our lives through the simple decisions we are empowered to make, today.

I stretched myself – pulling out the old, learning new ideas, new technologies, new concepts. I started blogging regularly, am learning to video and podcast, redesigned my website. I realized that sometimes I am just too logical for my own good, and I had to re-train myself to come with humility and a beginner’s mind.

To lose – and yet stay whole

Downsizing your childhood home will do that to you! I learned which could become memories – digitally stored then physically discarded. And which needed to remain in the realm of a precious tactile treasure – to be held and passed around as generational stories are shared of the tenacity and resilience of those whose courage allow us the privilege to sit where we are.

The same was true in my business. Because it takes courage to lose the familiar parts of my business that no longer serve. To bless their role in my journey to today, and to step boldly into the evolution that they started.

I learned that connection is a state of mind, not miles

Distance does not divide us. With my own children and siblings who may be geographically dispersed, but stay close within my heart. With parents whose teachings continue to echo in my head as I type – whether they are in a different world or on a different continent.

Through my various learning adventures – in person and on line – I have established personal connections with so many wonderful motivated and interesting people across the globe. So too, with my wonderful international ‘net’work of friends, family and colleagues who have held me in their thoughts through this year.

To understand transition, first-hand

I feel my biggest learning this year was the chasm between technical knowledge and empathy – particularly when it comes to transitions. I have developed a keener understanding of the layers of emotions and relationships that colour our logical choices and affect our decision making.

I am walking away from 2018 having experienced change and transition through a different lens.

What now?

My question to you: The question, therefore, is not what were you given this year, but WHY?

Credit & Thanks; Definitions & Resources:

• Inspired by a post by Carmen Morcos on Impact Visionary: FORGET New Year’s Resolutions
• AT THE END OF THE DAY: A mirror of questions John O’Donohue blessing from ‘To Bless the Space Between Us‘
• GenZ, Gen Z, Generation Z – if you were born in 1995 or after. You are usually a digital native, having no memory of a world without the internet!
• A version of this article was also published on LinkedIn on December 21, 2018
• Photo credit: Free from Canva
• Canva credit: Karena de Souza