Another year ticked off. Was it a good year? Am I closer to achieving some goals? Did my hair grow back?
There’s a famous saying, ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ which I completely understand but, for years, mistook it to mean that all time flying by could only have happened because I was doing something fun. For the last few years, I recognise that’s definitely not the case and that, especially as you get older, weeks, months and years just pass by quicker and quicker (regardless of whether you’re having fun or otherwise) which is why new parents should heed the advice to make the most of all time you have with your children because you can’t get it back!
Those who follow my posts on LinkedIn will know one of my major bugbears is a cold-caller asking the stranger they’ve called, ‘how are you doing?’ or any other variation of that common going-through-the-motions-of-saying-something-that-most-people-say-when-they-see-each-other. It’s always an absolute space filler with no integrity because how can it be…you’re strangers! It’s far more acceptable to ask it of someone you actually know but, regardless, the majority of us still going through the standard intro dance:
“How’s it going?”
“Yeah, good thanks. How about you?”
“Yeah, good thanks”
We all do it but, for once, I stopped when recently asked it by a friend and took my time to think – how is it actually going for me? Am I happy overall? Do I feel fulfilled? I was obviously thinking a bit too long because he interjected with a “cor, must be bad mate if it’s taking you this long to think about it?!”. So I explained to him that, instead of just automatically answering, I was actually properly pondering and maybe it would be good for us to both do so…and that’s what we did.
My conclusion was that, professionally, I’ve enjoyed many other better years but this wasn’t by any stretch my worst. Dremur still exists which is a positive and we’ve spent another year doing the same activities with slightly improved results which is also obviously a positive. Progress hasn’t been what I was aiming for and I understand why so I’m working on making the necessary adjustments along with deciding on what we need to focus on and what hasn’t worked out at all so needs dropping.
I didn’t vote for Labour and don’t agree with most of what they’re doing and aiming to do however, all the time I decide to keep Dremur trading and registered in the UK, I just have to get on with life and adjust plans to fit with changes that this government introduce that effect (positively and negatively) my business and the businesses that we work with. What I still know is that businesses have always needed to be able to achieve the right sales results for them to succeed and that hasn’t changed BUT the need has definitely increased because businesses now need more sales to create more net profit just to compensate for rising costs enforced on them by the government. Lots of businesses will need the support that Dremur offers so that they can achieve better sales results – the need and opportunity for us still exists.
On the personal front, this year has been more positive in comparison to my working life. My Wife and I have been together for 20yrs (married for 13 but we 1st got together in 2004), our 3 sons are all wonderfully unique and developing in their own ways, there haven’t been any deaths in the immediate family and all of our animals remain healthy too. As I write this and think about it, there are lots of other positive things that have happened to my family & I which brings me back to how am I doing…
Like everyone, I live on the relentless rollercoaster of life. Highs and lows and it can often be a series of lows which is tough because as you deal with one problem, another appears. No point complaining though – just got to get on with it, solve that problem and move on. I am a positive person who doesn’t suffer with stress but that doesn’t mean I don’t have difficult moments of self-doubt. I have my own way of not allowing that self-doubt to dominate just as much as I don’t allow the constant barrage of life hurdles to wear me down.
Overall, I’m happy with life. I know there’s a lot more to achieve until I feel completely fulfilled but my vision of what that is has definitely changed in the last few years to be less focused on what I personally achieve and more focused on how we support our children to achieve success, happiness and fulfilment in their lives.
Thanks for reading and I hope your ride on the rollercoaster of life in 2024 has been more fun than scary.
