2022 - A year to further my understanding....

All views are my own.

As we move into 2022 I hope you all managed to have a wonderful well deserved Christmas break. In this article I wanted to have a more personal touch and discuss what I personally want to see and do in 2022 and towards the end of 2022 give a more structured review.?

I think going forward in 2022 what sits at the top of my list is one thing and one thing only; empathy. Over the past few years through my time working in the care system and then moving into professional services whilst also travelling, I have been privileged to have met so many amazing people and listened to their stories. Whilst I have always thought I had some level of empathy I am now starting to challenge myself and asking what does empathy really mean? Is it helpful or useful to understand / share feelings or is there one more step we can take to really help someone. This is open to debate but it will be very interesting and I look forward to my thoughts at the end of 2022.

The second on my list is more involvement in activities which help others and also that I am passionate about. If you know me then you know I am very passionate about rough sleeping because in my mind there really shouldn’t be any rough sleeping in particular the UK. This year I want to really get a hands on approach and try to make a difference directly even if it is only one person as long as I can help then I can sleep easier at night. I truly believe we can eradicate rough sleeping in the future but there needs to be a very deep thought not just a case of throwing money as that tends to be our solution to most things.

The third on my list revolves around reviewing what happiness actually means. I speak for myself but in a world of social media where everyone appears to be happy and have everything sorted there is something deep within myself that challenges this rhetoric.? Many years ago the term happiness in my eyes meant something else and I just find it very hard to quantify it in the modern day. It will be interesting to see how my thoughts develop in 2022 on this matter.

My final thought is more observing. I mentioned in my previous article that economically these are interesting times and I generally look forward to seeing how economic issues are addressed in terms of monetary and fiscal policy. When I say look forward I mean this in a more economist lens and appreciate any changes in both fiscal and monetary policy can have a negative effect on individuals on the ground.

Thank you for reading. I am always up for grabbing a coffee so please get in touch. I wish you a happy new year and hope 2022 is a prosperous year for us all.