On this New Year’s Eve, I will say goodbye and thank you to 2020...

I remember celebrating New Year’s Eve with an air of optimism and hope. 2019 had brought so much uncertainty with the UK elections and BREXIT that it felt that 2020 was not just a new year but also the start of a new decade, a light at the end of the tunnel.

But 2020 brought something different, a global pandemic, which would challenge not only what we do or how we do it, and more importantly, WHY we do it. I have no doubt many individuals will have questioned what success means to them and what will be important to them moving forward. I know I have. We will all move on to a different place, and we all play our part in shaping what that place will look like.

My guiding principle, which drives my thinking and the lens through which I view the future is that of the pragmatic optimist. A healthy tension between pragmatism; being grounded in reality, confronting the facts of the current environment, challenges and scenarios we face counterbalanced with ‘the glass is half full’ optimistic mentality – a mentality derived from an unwavering belief that life is purposeful.

If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s the importance of resilience. The one gift no one can take away from us as human beings is the power of our mindset and how we choose to think and react to situations, together with an uncanny ability to improvise and adapt.

So while there is still uncertainty and the fear of the unknown ahead, on this New Year’s Eve, I will say goodbye and thank you to 2020. Thank you for the lessons not yet fully learned but heartily begun. Thank you for the gifts of this unique year, especially the ones that we may only recognise with time. Thank you for reminding me how precious and fleeting time is, to value every minute and make every day count. Thank you for allowing me to re-evaluate and re-define what success means to me. Thank you for the relearn of what’s important in life; the perfect moments which show up every day...the sunrise and sunsets, the laughter of children, the family dinners which were missed due to frequent travel (I will definitely not be going back to this!).

Thank you for pausing my auto-pilot forcing me to stop the days, months and years all blending into one. Thank you for the unconditional love of family and friends.

We have no control over the length of our lives - destiny plays its card on this front – but we have 100% control over its breadth and depth. I urge you not to miss the opportunity.

2021 I am ready for you.