It’s an understatement to say that the last year has been challenging. What makes it stand out from all the rest is that it hasn’t just been challenging for me, or those close to me. It’s been challenging for everyone, everywhere.
But I can’t look back and remember a year that wasn’t challenging in some way, shape or form. Loss, starting anything new, burnout, moving, learning new things, failing, getting back up again. As painful as change can be, and as frightening as the unknown can be, I’ve learned not only to embrace it, but to actively invite it in.
The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, they’re dead.
― Bette Davis
Early in 2017, I threw myself into the unknown when I left my long-lived freelance career behind, changed my professional focus, and joined the incredible people at Human Made as a Senior Project Manager. Every year since has been a delightful challenge, full of joy, tears, triumphs, failures, and professional and personal growth that I never could have imagined.
On announcing this move, you may recall I answered a frequently asked question, “What do you do as a Senior Project Manager?” By saying, “I really have no idea…”
I’m pleased to tell you that four years later I have a very deep understanding of what Senior Project Managers do. Now I’m about to take on a new challenge, that of Human Made’s Director of Delivery. True to form, I have no idea what a Director of Delivery does, and I’m excited to find out!
Photo by Aleks Marinkovic on Unsplash (that could totally be my living room though)