If I could describe 2017 in one word, it would be “transition.”
I changed jobs, moved churches, and found out my wife and I are having a second child.
It’s interesting as my one word for the year was “surrender.” I’ve had to do a lot of surrendering this year — my own plans, ambitions, ideas of how things would go. Everything’s changed and I’m okay with that.
Accomplishments
- Wrote, recorded, mixed, mastered, and released my first song - “Mirrors”
- Improved my ability to confront people in healthier ways
- Learned a lot about how to effectively manage people (thanks Manager Tools)
- Iterated, iterated, and iterated again on my own ability to intentionally accomplish goals
- Landed my first two side web development clients, and, subsequently, learned a lot about running a business
Things I Learned
I spent some time reviewing my journal this week. It’s not a practice I typically engage in, though I’ve heard it is helpful to do so. I noticed a few themes I learned over the year.
- Don’t engage the political battle in your workplace. Recognize it, but cut your own path by genuinely caring for people.
- Want to see change? Give and seek consistent, quality feedback with those around you.
- If you’re in a new position or environment, seek to understand it, then start building processes to improve and maintain your desired end result.
- Find out how you work best and do that, not just what other people say works for them.
- Investing in proper ergonomics is worth it, especially if you primarily work on a computer.
- Surround yourself with people “cut from the same cloth.” It’s essential to gaining forward momentum.
- Position your heart attitude for the day; it will determine the outcome of your day every time.
- Life is an iterative journey. Don’t think you have to have it all figured out on day one. Start and improve from there.
- As a parent and spouse, intentionality is critical. Intentional time, words, responses, often thought through ahead of time instead of just in the moment.