Nanditha's 2020 Wrap Up

As 2020 wraps up, I’m here once again to share my top 12 take-aways from this spectacular year! Check out last years wrap up here

1.    Make yourself IRREPLACEBLE - Make yourself so valuable that you can’t be fired or forgotten. Connect and invest in people that bring about mutual trust. Learn skills nobody else can do at work. Build relationships that are out of your circle. Or simply be a positive asset to the culture of your organization. You don’t have to be the smartest or best to make yourself an asset to your people.

2.    Abundance Mentality In a world of scarcity, there is a limited pie. If your neighbor gets a slice, that means you get a smaller slice. It’s a world of limited resources and fierce competition. With an Abundance Mindset, rather than slicing the pie into thinner and thinner pieces, we just bake more pies… millions of more pies. Sharing is caring (when you can) is truly a fulfilling mantra.

3.    To be authentic, embrace your flaws - Authenticity is showing up as we truly are. And we can only show up as we truly are when we are at peace with our imperfections. One of my favorite quotes from this year’s readings was by Epititus and it says “If anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you, do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer, "He was ignorant of my other faults, else he would not have mentioned these alone.” A humorous approach to being comfortable with your own self.

4.    Greatest test will be how you handle people that mishandled you: Successful people know how important it is to live to fight another day, especially when your foe is a toxic individual. In conflict, unchecked emotion makes you dig your heels in and fight the kind of battle that can leave you severely damaged. When you read, and respond to your emotions, you're able to choose your battles wisely and only stand your ground when the time is right.

5.    Resilience can be as simple as a smile- Life's been dark, life's been tough continuous beat down at times lately. But one thing I do know, life is still beautiful. There's only one way out into the light and that is to fight, heal, fight, heal, and lead with love as I always have. I will always keep putting a smile on my face no matter how dark of times it is. Because that smile is love and love is light. I smile so those around me can smile. I smile because I want you to smile.

6.    Pressure is misinterpreted. If you feel like you’re under pressure, it MAY not be a bad thing. Pressure weeds out competition. Pressure may mean something important is happening. Pressure puts you on high alert. Pressure can ignite preparation. Behind pressure is greatness. Behind pressure is reward. Pressure often comes with responsibility and is the result of greatness or potential greatness. 

7.    Have the courage to be disliked. Don’t quit just because someone else is uncomfortable. Giving up your goals or identity is something that will only fill you with remorse or regret. If you feel so strongly about something either your person will support you or leave you, either way you know their answer and you know your path.

8.    Our choices reveal our intentions – “Every day we make decisions, big and small. Those choices paint a picture of who we are. If we’re driven to advance, make more money, to take - our choices will reveal that. If we’re driven by service, to make a difference, to give - our choices will reveal that too. Words are simply not enough. We have to make decisions that prove the things we say.” – Simon Sinek

9.    Knowledge is not equal to understanding. Just because you can know something intellectually, you still have intuitive thoughts, feelings, and emotions that are not going to change overnight. To understand, you need to summon the willpower to literally re-wire your brain. You need to practice new habits, learn to enjoy things in new ways, and implement a new strategy in your everyday life. Getting out of your old ways will not only make you creative, but also more effective.

10. We suffer most in our imagination and not in reality. Most of the times have exaggerated notions of what might go wrong and of how we might react to a misfortunate situation or to something not going according to plan. Yet, the outcome is usually not as bad as we predict it to be. Don’t worry about it, whatever it was, it was a minuscule fraction of time.

11. Wear your mask and wear it above your nose – It wouldn’t be a 2020 post if there wasn’t a public health PSA. Wearing a mask has shown significant reduction of spread and helps strengthen our community from such a devastating force of 2020. As I am not an expert, here is a video to provide some audiovisual help ;) https://youtu.be/2xLjCfmx0iE?t=41

12.  Be unapologetically YOU -This skill never changes for me. I call it a skill because it needs to be applied effectively to different areas of our life. We should make sacrifices in business, in relationships and in our families but when those sacrifices start bordering on sacrificing ourselves we lose 2 things: our identity and our joy. No gain in the world is worth sacrificing these two things. The only way to make sure this does happen is to consistently check in with yourself about your fulfillment and meaning.

Can’t wait to see what 2021 holds for everyone and looking forward to creating a whole new set of memories which will be cherished for years to come!

Happy Holidays!

Nanditha P. Menon