2019 is Nearly Over...Bring on 2020!

If you'd asked me this time last year what I thought I'd be doing now, I don't think I'd have been remotely close with my answer!

This year I have achieved so much more than I thought I would, both professionally and personally, and I can't wait to carry on my journey through 2020 and beyond.

As I am all about Scrum, I'm writing this blog in the form of a Sprint Retrospective (stick to what you know, right?)

Liked

I enjoyed so much of this year, but I shall try to condense it into just my top 3.

I liked being able to have more ownership over my role, and the impact I can create at work

I liked being able to try new things, learn new skills, and do things that scared me...well...I liked those after I did them anyway!

I liked growing closer to my colleagues as friends, and being able to be more vulnerable in how I'm feeling that day - after all, we all have bad days.

Learned

I learned so much this year, it's hard to put it all into words, but I think my key takeaway from this year is that maybe failing at something isn't so bad after all!

I learned that I can get up on stage, sing a song and the words will actually come out and people won't just get up and leave.

I learned that I can ask for help, and that it will be provided, but most importantly, I learned that asking for help is nothing to be ashamed of, if anything it should be encouraged

I learned that self-belief is the quickest way (for me) to build self-confidence. As a result of believing in what I'm saying and doing, I find myself being more confident in both expressing and then actioning those same things.

Lacked

I found this section the hardest to write about, it's been a full-on year!

I think I lacked a long holiday in which I just 'holidayed', most of my holidays this year were to complete something else (moving house was the biggest one).

I lacked the ability to view a couple of things objectively, instead reacting emotionally to things that really weren't that big a deal. Something I will try to remedy for next year.

Thank You

I'll sign off 2019 by saying thank you; thank you to everyone who has helped me, guided me, chastised me when I needed it and to all of the genuinely caring, compassionate people who surround me every day. I really couldn't have done half the things without all of my wonderful colleagues. So here's to you!