“There is a simple realisation from which all personal improvement and growth emerges. This is the realisation that we, individually, are responsible for everything in our lives, no matter the external circumstances… often the difference between a problem being painful or being powerful is a sense that we chose it, and that we are responsible for it.” - Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***

It was this statement, something so simple, something I’ve always know but easily forget in the middle of all the madness, that hit me today. The past twelve months summarised in a single sentence. We are responsible for everything in our lives, no matter the external circumstances. Had I taken responsibility? Not at all. There were moments of course where I took control, I stepped into the challenges, the unknown. That I owned what I had to do and I got on with it. But if the twelve months was to be summarised, I had spent most of it in a state of powerlessness. And it was me who had taken my power away.

For some time now I’ve been doing some reflecting on my life, the type of work that lights me up and the footprint I want to leave. Given how quickly a day can turn into a week, a week a month, a month a year, I think it’s important to carve out time every so often to stop, look up, and check in with yourself. Is what I’m doing what I want to be doing? Are there things I wish I could change? What can I do to make that happen? In an attempt to get some of these whirring questions out of my head and seek out some reason and rhyme, I thought I’d write a few reflections on this.