Running to stand still: three reflections from a whirlwind 2022

“Life moves pretty fast sometimes. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Ferris Bueller was wise beyond his years: he understood that it’s the journey, not the destination, that matters most.?

This year hasn’t allowed nearly enough time for reflection and introspection. It’s been a whirlwind of activity and change from January until December. So much so, that decades from now, I suspect that I'm going to look back on 2022 with awe, as a genuine turning point in my career and life, and ask: how did that all happen so quickly??

I began 2022 with feelings of great excitement and hope, but with no grandiose expectations for what lay ahead. I'd just completed my first full year as a freelancer. I'd learnt lots of lessons . I was starting to understand my own value. I had begun to grow in self-confidence.

Most importantly, I had recognised the need to put my family first, and work a (very) close second. I had a plan.?

Second Mountain Comms , the niche, purpose-driven consultancy that I'd breathed into life during the dark times of the COVID pandemic, had got off to a successful start. I was working much more selectively and purposefully than at any point before in my career, and was relishing specialising in just one area. A path for future success lay ahead of me.

Yet I wasn't content. Perhaps it was partly due to the origins of my business - founding a company in the immediate wake of unexpected redundancy was always destined to be a somewhat bittersweet affair; a silver lining emerging from behind a very dark cloud. Maybe it was my stage of life - nearing middle-age and questioning my legacy and impact. Perhaps it was a feeling of restlessness - after 2+ years of life being placed largely on hold by the pandemic, there was definitely a sense of wanting to grab 2022 hard and make it a year to remember.

2022 will undoubtedly be a year that I'll never forget. In the space of just twelve months, my professional life has changed and evolved more than I could have ever before thought possible. I've launched my own podcast series. My small business has won numerous awards. I’ve become a Chartered PR Practitioner. I've served as the CIPR South West chair. I've become part of a fantastically-supportive creative community.?I’ve been elected onto the CIPR's national council.

It's been an exciting year - but as I now reflect back, I realise that I'm exhausted.?

I've spent the last 12 months relentlessly pushing forward - and now I'm ready to stand still.

#1. Awards are great - but they're not the end goal

In 2021, I won the first ever award of my professional career. In 2022, I won three more.

I'm still gobsmacked to say this, but all of this happened this year: my humble business, Second Mountain Comms, was named a finalist in both the 2022 Bath Life Awards and the national Small Awards. I collected the 'Start Up of the Year' trophy at the 2022 Creative Bath Awards. I was named ‘Independent PR Practitioner of the Year' at the CIPR South of England and Channel Islands Awards for the second year running. And, most shockingly of all - to me, at least - I received the 'Mark of Excellence' honour at the national CIPR Excellence Awards in London.

I'm not saying this to gloat. Honestly. I'm saying this as someone who has always struggled with imposter syndrome, who has felt that I was never quite good enough and that I never truly belonged in the PR profession. This year has given me the confidence to realise that I do have value, that I am good enough, and that the work I deliver does matter.

These award wins have provided a huge confidence boost at a time when I needed it most - when I was seriously doubting myself and my ability to keep moving forward as a solo comms practitioner. Redundancy takes time to get over, especially in the midst of a surreal pandemic, and freelancing life can be a very lonely road to travel sometimes. So winning awards - ones that are judged by respected peers - is hugely validating.

But they're not the end goal in and of themselves; rather, awards are a platform on which to now build. These award wins have elevated my professionalism in the eyes of others and opened up some incredible doors for me as an independent comms consultant - doors that I've been only too happy to walk through.

#2. All journeys begin with small steps - start yours today

I've dreamt of hosting my own podcast for years. I fell in love with the medium in the mid-2010s; the opportunity to have in-depth, long-form meaningful and raw conversations really appealed to me as both a journalist and a PR professional. It’s so refreshing in the era of the media soundbite. Yet I found the prospect of getting started overwhelming.

I was hugely daunted by the technology involved in bringing my idea to life. I asked for a lot of advice and did tons of research before starting up my own podcast.?I also recognised that I'm a perfectionist by nature - unless I can guarantee that the content I put out is of the highest possible quality, I'm not interested.

I procrastinated and pontificated on the idea of launching my own podcast throughout most of 2021 - every time I started to consider it again, self-doubt pulled me away from it.

It was only in 2022 that I suddenly realised: there's no better time than now. I didn't dive into the world of podcasting with huge ambitions - rather, I was just driven by a deep yearning to build a platform for good people to share their stories with the world.

Good Journeys with Second Mountain - the #GoodJourneysPod - made its debut in August 2022. In the very first episode, I learnt some things about Josh Winning , author of The Shadow Glass and one of my oldest and dearest friends, that I never knew about until we recorded that podcast episode together. Immediately, I realised that this was a medium that was made for me and my ever-curious mind.?

Eight episodes (and counting) in, I've been humbled by the inspiring stories of the guests who have given up their time to come onto the show so far: George Ryon , Nick Aldis , Lyanna Tsakiris?? , Debi. John , Katy Cowan , Sarah Waddington CBE CDir ChartPR and Steven Bell . I've also been highly touched by the responses received from the show's listeners, and by the appetite to be involved with the podcast by so many individuals that I respect worldwide who will be joining me as my guests on the show next year.?

It may not be perfect, and I'm still very much learning how to be a natural and confident podcast presenter, but with the help of Adam Loretz - who has been invaluable in bringing my vision to life - each and every episode promises to build on what came before. And that's hugely exciting.

#3. Creativity fuels creativity - surround yourself with good folk

An unexpected opportunity presented itself to me in the summer of 2022: to move my business to the beautiful Glove Factory Studios in Holt .

The opening, rather serendipitously, came out of nowhere and like so many big moments in my life, I wasn't quite ready when it popped up. Yet I also knew that if I didn't take the plunge there and then and believe in myself and my future, I never would.

Working at the Glove Factory had been a long-held dream of mine; throughout all of the years I wasted commuting into cities and missing out on valuable time with my young family, I yearned for a better way of working and living . The pandemic presented me with a blueprint for what future work/life balance could look like - but, for me, working full-time from home was never the long-term plan.?

I knew that I always wanted to be part of a creative community.

I moved into the studio that I now share with eco-focused architect Mark Ellerby in June - and I haven't looked back since. Each and every day on my walk to my 'work home', I give thanks for the circumstances and forks in the road that have led me to where I am today, that I have a professional space that is truly of my own, and that I am able to work in a way that genuinely supports my family and my own wellbeing.

It's all too easy, in this post-pandemic world that we now find ourselves living in, to be tempted to leave behind the office for good and work remotely 24/7. Yet in my experience - and I say this as an introvert - it is the in-person meetings and surprising conversations that not only create opportunities, but also make our working lives so much more enjoyable and validating. Connection matters.

So: what will 2023 bring?

I'm heading into the new year with only one goal in mind: the deep desire for quiet contentment.?

2022 has been an incredible year in many ways. But it’s also been a very challenging year on a personal level, one that has stretched me to my emotional limit at times and made me truly appreciate the importance of being present and available for my family.

Reflecting back now, I am genuinely awestruck by all that has happened with Second Mountain Comms, and in such a short space of time. It's been amazing - yet I also realise that this sheer volume of change isn't sustainable for the long run: not for me or my business, anyway.

That's why, looking ahead to the new year, I'm determined to keep things simple.

In 2023, I wish to be content with where I am. I aim to keep supporting my purpose-driven clients to the best of my abilities. And most importantly of all, I'm determined that, after 2022’s long and tiring climb, I will stand still and enjoy the view for a while in 2023.

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Ben Veal Chart.PR MCIPR is the founder & director of?Second Mountain Comms , an independent, award-winning consultancy that helps purpose-driven and ethical businesses to reach new heights through meaningful communications: compelling content, proactive PR and sound strategy for a brave new world.?www.secondmountaincomms.co.uk