New year. Clean slate. With a year like 2020, it’s tempting to move forward, never to look back.
Yes, 2020 had a significant negative impact on us all. Many people lost their jobs, and hundreds of thousands lost their lives. Our society is faced with ugliness many people thought and hoped was long gone, and divisions seem to be deeper than ever. The marks left by the events of this past year will be etched into history books in ways we aren’t yet able to know.
Yet, if we don’t look back, we would miss out on the value of the successes we had, the lessons we learned, and the amazing things we can carry forward.
Leaving my rose-tinted glasses in their case, I choose to look back on many positives from last year:
The fortitude and stamina of health care providers saving so many lives.
My neighbors helping each other get groceries and staying connected through safely distanced walks down my street.
People mastering new technology to connect and work together across time and distance better than ever before.
A client finding a way to repurpose a paint-thickener to increase production of hand sanitizer across the United States.
Multiple vaccines fast-tracked in record-breaking time to help us eventually gather again safely.
People in my town intentionally buying local goods and services to support our treasured businesses.
A client moving its behavioral health care services online in just three days to help people get much needed mental health support.
As leaders, it’s part of our unwritten job description to find the diamonds in the dirt. To look for the positive opportunities in the negative challenges. To encourage people to tend to each other even as you work on how you’re showing up under stress.
When I haven’t appreciated or learned from the experiences of the past, I have diminished our entire team’s ability to step forward wisely and confidently into the future.
What do you want to carry forward when you look back?
What pivots and success did you uncover in 2020 that will serve you this year?
What truths were uncovered along with negative events? What can we do to leverage that discomfort and pain for future good?
As a kid, I resisted getting shots. Needles were scary. My arm always hurt for a long time afterwards. But at one inoculation, as I was tensing up preparing for the worst, the nurse looked me in the eye and asked “Is your arm usually sore after your shots?”
I scrunched up my face and she smiled, “Honey, the reason it hurts is because you’re squeezing so hard. If you relax, the shot will slip right in and while it will sting for a bit I promise it won’t be so sore.”
I was so surprised that I instantly relaxed and the shot was over before I realized she had started. And she was right.
May you look back and explore, with curiosity, how you can use the lessons from the pain of your 2020 experience. Perhaps your learnings can enable others to embrace new ways to use their talents in 2021 and beyond.
And remember, try to relax so you get the long-term benefits of your shots with only short-term discomfort.
PS - Join us on February 3rd for a gathering of leaders to explore how to Find 2021 Diamonds from 2020 Dirt. All proceeds will go to United Way of Larimer County’s Community & Emergency Response Fund.
