2019 Retrospective
It’s that time of the year again. Everyone, no exceptions, starts looking back and hoping for the future. Yada, yada, yada, and the result is the same every single time. We make promises we will not keep.
So… let’s do something a little be different. I won’t be making any promises. Instead, I am looking back only. Where do I start?
Back in January, I began a new professional challenge as an Agile Coach. Throughout the year, I kept studying and took some new courses. I started my journey with OKRs. I grew as a trainer. I became recognized by the Portuguese government as a trainer. And I evolved from a sole people-oriented coach to an enterprise transformational coach. These were my career 2019 highlights.
I have several personal issues I have struggled with, as all of us do. Those are very important lessons. And we are always learning. Our life is precious. Our well being as well. Do what makes you healthy, mind and body. Do what makes you happy.
Finally, my many personal projects. Some I saw through. Some, not so much. Some I scrapped altogether. Others have run their course. I am still writing the book I set myself to write. And I started another (yep, I know, too muck WIP, right?). But I figured, should I set a time limit? Or perhaps I should allow those two books to be written in their own pace? I really don’t know. What I know is that I still haven’t found it within me to keep the needed discipline to achieve the proper productivity level I know I need to complete either book in a timely fashion. Let’s see how 2020 goes…
Also, I have to forgive myself in advance for all the mistakes I know I will make. After all, I am only human. Granted, there are mistakes and there are screwups. And the difference is that a screwup we should know better. They should be preventable. Those are totally on my and I beat myself for them. But I learn and try not to repeat them.
In conclusion, for me, the purpose of the arrival of a new year is not really the expectation for the next 12 months. That’s a given. If all goes well I know I that 12 months from now I will be looking back and evaluating 2020. What I need to do is to look back, inspect and learn from that last year (and the years before) in hope of better myself. This allows me to consider each year as a “release” with sprints within. Monthly sprints. And I plan them ahead and plan them daily. Every day at 8 a.m. I sit down and I plan my next 24 hours. As one should. And I clean my inbox. A fresh start every day, each day. All the way until 2021. And more…