Having a December birthday makes the end of the year very interesting. Just as the calendar year is wrapping up, I'm finishing another year of being alive. So, as we round the corner into 2011, it's a great time to look back on the year that's ended, and consider what's to be made of the one ahead.
Another year over...
This was a year of many changes for me, some of which were physically and emotionally taxing. I made a major career change, involving a two thousand mile relocation (my third move in two years). That change led almost immediately to a promotion, requiring one more relocation (number four), this time back home to the Pacific Northwest.
Coming within striking distance of being forty years old is somewhat sobering. Most people who know me well will recognize that approaching landmark as the one third point of my facetiously self forecasted life expectancy of one hundred twenty years. In reality, I am painfully aware of the unpredictable nature of existence and the clock isn't getting any slower.
It is perhaps that awareness that drove me to make some measurable progress on several of my goals this year. I was thrilled to start working on professional SCUBA certifications, which I expect to complete in the first half of this year. While I neglected my writing to a noticeable degree, my career change was both healthy and necessary, and resulted in major advancement of my personal goals. Not to be overlooked is having achieved one of my fundamental objectives: I now work for an executive who actually understands organizations and trusts my judgment and abilities as a manager and strategic thinker.
Not a bad year at all. And to think, a new one has just begun...
