It’s been a funny ol’ year filled with hope, creativity, laughter, reinvention and screams – let’s not forget the months of screaming nightmares.  As a coach I often get my clients to reflect on their highs and the lows since we last met.  So, as part of my Christmas and New year well wishes, I thought I’d share with you my year of highs and lows of 2021.

My highs

  • I felt truly blessed that after the initial shock of lockdown and the tsunami of cancellations that past clients sought me out to support their teams and wider networks for coaching.  The lifeline they were offering their colleagues was a life raft for me.
  • New clients discovered me online, as being local suddenly became important, as well those who saw distance as now not being a barrier.  This opened up a world of opportunities for me that I’d never considered before.
  • Word of mouth referrals really do work – who knew!
  • I always knew I had a strong core of resilience, but it’s been many decades since I’ve had to put it to the test.  Last year reminded me of the power of a positive mindset, that when my back is against the wall how easy my creative juices flow as I truly believe I’ll come through this better than before.
  • Like many of us I’m sure, the simple pleasures in life such as going for a walk, having a garden, pasta in my cupboard, and actually liking and loving the family I’m living with 24/7 gave me heartfelt joy and gratitude.

I could go on, and I probably will take more time to reflect and be in AWE by asking ‘and what else?’ were the highlights of my year.  But just as we have the best bits, there’s invariably the not so good times which can feel longer, deeper, stronger and even more difficult than the best bits.

My lows

  • Having five months of screaming nightmares, sometimes three times a week, wasn’t the most relaxing and restorative way to end the day.  Not only did it disturb me, but my two children also had to endure my Hammer Horror-like screams in the darkened hours.  Although it also was tinged with humour as they were deeply curious as to what new psychedelic visions I had.
  • Again, like many of us, my biggest low was feeling that my world of work, as I knew it, had come to an end.  I saw my workspace shrink as I now had to share it with three other people, being demoted from the main PC and the office desk to a laptop on the kitchen table, having to take on the role of dinner lady, snack and tea lady as well as teacher, and not knowing initially would I ever work again.
  • Early on I felt I’d lost my identity and being given an interim role that I’d never asked for, and it took time to reclaim who I was and develop who I needed to be in today’s new world.

With my coach hat on, what I’m curious about is what was my ratio of highs to lows, what percentage split would I review my year with.  As our brain is hard wired to spot the negative instead of positive, we can often give an unreasonable weighting to the negative aspects of our life until we rationally and unemotionally step back and discern the truth.  What at the time felt hope-draining and life changing, was in reality just 3 or 4 months of discomfort in a relatively happy, healthy, grateful year.

Now it’s your turn. 

  1. What were your highs and lows of 2021?
  2. And what else can you learn from your experience?
  3. What new opportunities did you discover?
  4. What were the hidden gifts lurking in your life?
  5. And finally, if you were to sit back and give your highs and lows a ratio, what would that split look like.

All that remains for me to say is have a wonderful end of the year and wishing you all an amazingly prosperous, happy, healthy, creative and fun filled 2022.  Stay in touch!