Maybe we should not merely finish the year and get things over and done with, and go of on a holiday to relax and forget. Perhaps, that is how you feel? But let’s rather use a bit of mindfulness and awareness so that we may finish the year on a higher note. I believe many beautiful flavours the year has brought us may still be discovered, tasted and appreciated – and this appreciation will set you in the best frame of mind to enter 2022 with expectation and energy.

For that to happen, you need to pause to remember, redefine and appreciate the many unnoticed, good things that happened while you were on your traveling through 2021. While on the road we often don’t connect the dots, nor see the real or bigger picture. That’s why they say “hindsight is an exact science”, but it can also give new perspective.

Recently, when asked what was/is the best thing of the year that’s almost behind us, a coachee jokingly said: “that it’s almost over!” And, although joking, in a sense he actually really meant it. He calls it “the most difficult year of my entire life”. The year did not go as he wished and planned. It was the year in which his dad died and they experienced tough challenges in the extended family. He had to do very tiring negotiations on behalf of his employer and interactions were often tainted by political and selfish motives. His life was threatened more than once and at one stage he suffered burnout. On top of that he is going through dramatic life changes, e.g. moving house (because of the threats), a new job description, and a different office.

And yet the picture changed from bleak to bright when we relabelled 2021, and started to discover and name the positives, the support he got, the learning curve, the relationships built, the difference he made, the transitions he successfully navigated, his strenths that became so evident, and the fact that he is really alive and well at the end of this year. Then 2021 became a year of so much goodness that brought him to redefine and reinvent himself into a new role and focus from where he can plan for 2022 and the years to come. And then this man became excited and energised.

We can say he is now busy relabelling 2021 as a year of transitioning and looking forward to 2022 as a year of repositioning. Is this just a play of words? No, I don’t think so. Rather, redefining reality and life.

My friend, may you find the time to look back with appreciation in order to look forward with hope and positive expectation! Have a wonderful Christmas, remembering the real gift that came many years ago – a gift you are invited to unwrap to bring you real life, life worth living.