Lessons Learned and Year Review 2022

My Year Review and Lessons Learned in 2022

My husband and I were chatting the other day and he mentioned that 2022 has been the year without a Wow! How sad is that? We both agreed that there have been a few positive changes and experiences, but had to admit that the wows were sparse.

So with that in mind, I’ve tried to re-think the year in terms of lessons learned, but you will find the positive changes and experiences are also documented here, not only for completeness but also to remind ourselves that even when things seem tough, boring or unremarkable there are usually a few positives in the mix too.

So let’s get into the year’s lessons…

Some Changes Don’t Work Out

A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.
B. F. Skinner

Sometimes things just don’t work out. You’ve (maybe finally) made a decision to make a change in your life, but, when all’s said and done, it turns out that the outcome wasn’t the solution you were looking for.

In my case, a major change in 2022 was for me to move jobs. My previous job was overwhelming in terms of volume of work required and, after 3 years, I knew I’d finally reached a point where a change was needed.

So after a few months of searching, I found another job, but, I think I realised fairly early on that this one just wasn’t a good fit for me. The situation is different, but the outcome is the same: it hasn’t worked out and it’s up to me to do something about it.

There are a number of lessons learned:

• If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t (I had doubts even before I accepted the job).
• Don’t make big decisions in haste or feel under pressure to make a decision.
• Go with your own counsel – you know you better than anyone else.
• Don’t beat yourself up – the quote above sums this point up perfectly.

Your Heart’s Desire Never Really Goes Away

We betray our true selves when we do not follow the heart’s desire, for what the heart is attracted to, is your destiny.
Leon Brown

Whatever it is you want to do, just do it. Not because life is short or you’ll have regrets later in life (although both points are valid), but mainly because if you have a heart’s desire, not fulfilling it makes you miserable!

Your heart’s desire will never go away, it’ll never be satisfied, and you’ll never be 100% happy until you’ve at least given it a go. Period.

My heart’s desire is to work full time on all things related to Achieve Your Best Life. It doesn’t feel like work to me at all, because whenever I’m writing, creating, learning or supporting others on their journey it feels like fun and that makes me happy.

My lessons here are:

• Do what you can with what you have.
• Ignore the time it will take, there will never be enough time, so just do it anyway.
• It’s pointless trying to ignore your calling because it just keeps calling, usually getting louder with each year that passes.

Life Is What You Make Of It

May you live all the days of your life.
Jonathan Swift

We all arrived into 2022 battered and bruised from the Covid years.

Covid took a chunk of time, happiness, adventure and many other things out of our lives. But, more importantly, for many people, me included, it also took a slice of my confidence away.

Being cooped up at home for a couple of years, not interacting in person, being tied to the same place for months on end had a marked effect on my ability to get out there and just do things.

Unhappily those feelings lingered well into 2022 and it took a massive mind shift to finally get some goals written up…but even then, there was still the issue of getting into action!

My lessons are:

• It could be a global pandemic, an illness, a personal set back or chronic procrastination, but whatever it is, if you’re still breathing, it’s not the end. Pick up where you left off or make a fresh start – but just get back into action again.
• Stop ruminating and stop any self-pity.

The Weight of Expectations

This year I’ve felt the weight of other people’s expectations for me.

I’ve written in many blog posts about how living a life that’s driven by other people’s expectations for you is not a recipe for happiness. When other people have expectations for you, it’s generally a reflection of their own life experiences, their fears and their hopes.

But they don’t know what you truly want for yourself or how you feel, or even know what you’re truly capable of. Consequently when you’re living up to (or is that down to?) someone else’s expectations, you are just living in the shadow of your true potential.

It’s usually not easy to resolve this problem, but if you want to be happy, you will need to find a way to express your own expectations, wants and needs for yourself.

My lessons learned:

• Find a way to support your own wants and needs in some way.
• Don’t be held back by other people’s fears or perceived limitations.
• Move forward to honour your needs in some small way every day.

So as you can see there have been many lessons to learn in 2022, but what of the good stuff? Well, as I said at the beginning of the blog, there are always a few sprinklings of positivity, even in the hard times.

The Good Stuff

So what are the good things from 2022?

• I got my blog and newsletter back up and running after an unplanned break.
• My husband got a promotion!
• We had a few short breaks and a longer UK-based holiday (Chester – February, London & Back To The Future show – May, Kent, longer break – June, Cotswolds – August, Cotswolds – November).
• Keeping our head above water as we entered the recession.
• No serious illnesses.
• Feeling loved and appreciated by family and friends.
• I read lots of books and rekindled my love of fiction.
• I bought a cat tree and little outside cat house (goal progress).
• Christmas presents – they were a wow!

So I’m not sorry to be waving goodbye to 2022!  I’m relieved that I can see the lessons for what they are, grateful for the good stuff and have faith that 2023 will be a better, more intentional and fulfilled year.  Bring it on!

What to do next…

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