A Meaningful Message...

Another job change brought countless messages this week and I am thrilled to have so many caring people in my network. Feeling so much love and support makes me hope that all those who commented on LinkedIn or contacted me directly know how committed I am to your success.

My colleague Maya Townsend messenged me, "Congratulations on your new role, Donna! I hope it brings you just the right amounts of challenge, learning, and satisfaction." This resonated with me and sparked my end-of-year reflection and holiday inspiration.

Challenge

Most of us want to have something to strive for. For me, nothing that came easy was really worth much in the end. When I think about challenges in my life, my Spartan race medal and 100 Peloton rides come to mind (neither was easy!) In my career, there were M&As, completing an IPO, and many other significant projects. The common denominator across my list of best accoumplishments was that there was a challenge involved.

Learning

The low points in my career include times that I was not actively learning to do something new or get better at using my core strengths. Across my personal and professional life, I want to be a lifelong learner - someone who does not rely on the "tried and true" ways of doing something, but searches continuously to create a new way.

Satisfaction

Satisfaction means more than just celebrating the good things that happen in our lives. It also means finding contentment in things as they are. In today's connected world, it's easy to feel inadequate when we see things we wish we had. Wouldn't we all be better off if we could find joy in our imperfect family, our co-workers, and the other people we share our life with? I want to be here now, fully present, engaged and satisfied with where I am in life.

So, Maya -- thanks for the uplifting words regarding my job change to ShipMonk. I am excited about the future and grateful that your words inspired me to write.

May you all celebrate the challenges, lessons learned, and satisfaction of 2019 while setting some exciting goals for yourself in the new year. Best Wishes, Donna