The year end blog is always special for me, it helps bring perspective to the year gone by and sets the theme for the next one. A lot has happened in 2023, the most defining of which was the passing away of my favourite author Milan Kundera.The world seems less literary in his absence. I am unable to enjoy the brilliance of some books simply because they reel under the large shadow he cast. For me, 2023’s theme could be encapsulated in Kundera's words, "HAPPINESS IS THE LONGING FOR REPETITION.”
This year, I found JOY IN REPETITION & CONSISTENCY. It required the “non-sexy” activities: scheduling, repeating, reviewing, readjusting, detailing- that one would rarely associate with me.I am often the hustler, the all-over-the-place person who thrives on change and choppy waters.
At QC we did a lot of assessments: each personalized /customized and also at a scale. Balancing these two ends involved our magic ingredient of perfect design AND tested our capacity to replicate it across assessors / project managers. Every report and data point was made to synthesize in perfect harmony.
Hours of attending to detail, choice of words, formats and method, taught me THAT MOST EXCITING OUTPUTS COME FROM MOST BORING INPUTS. I chased perfection and my QC team ran the marathon with me.I hope the grind offered them a valuable lesson: PERFECTION seems to lie in REPETITION.
I worked with 5 new clients this year. As with all relationships, there were speed bumps, red lights and chaos.We had to overdo the communication and underplay the conflict – giving more and asking for less. I plan to REPEAT with them in 2024, the same magic that we did in 2023.
Few know that the outward hustle of my personal life is supported by a meticulous day plan that even accounts for mealtimes. Meeting friends is a planned act that beats the overrated joy of spontaneity. Catching up for coffee - the same one, same time & place, often at the same table, being served by the same server – brings the same joy as finding new joints. REPETITION YIELDS JOYOUS FAMILIARITY.
REPETITION, OVER MY PERPETUAL DESIRE TO TEST MY LIMITS, benefited my tennis games too. A testing 2.5-month tennis elbow injury, confined me to repeating the limited moves I could do, leading to surprising advancement in my footwork and backhand. The story was the same at home, as I REPEATED messages to my pre-teen in a bid to set some rules in her persistent desire to question all boundaries.
I pressed pause on several personal relationships in 2023. It hasn’t been easy to REPEATEDLY WITHHOLD THE DESIRE TO GIVE, to people I have loved deeply, in the face of unequal reciprocation. The only area without repetition is the books I read!
REPETITION is the new sexy muscle I have discovered and it has the promise of sustained happiness. Which new muscles did you build ?
Wishing you a Happy 2024. May you REPEAT & BEAT!
