Happy New Year!
There are a lot of great articles and community announcements included in the paper this month. I trust you will enjoy the read.
2019 is in the books and 2020 is about to begin. For me personally it was probably one of the fullest and joy-filled years of my life. We had young men getting married, graduation ceremonies, music lessons and children learning to drive… This doesn’t include business activities. At times life felt like a pinball machine, getting bounced around without much strategic thought to what was next.
I remember a leadership seminar I attended in which the presenter spoke about balance. As a ski coach he related life to the dynamics of the shifting terrain under a skier’s feet as they hurtle themselves down the hill. The skier can’t control the terrain, but must adjust quickly to a very dynamic environment. As a relatively good skier I related well to his analogy. Often our life will feel out of balance. Regular routines go out the window and the tyranny of the urgent rules the day. Our ability to adjust to an ever changing dynamic of life is what will enable us to finish well. We can’t control the terrain of life. We try, but it usually ends in significant frustration. What one can do is analyze, learn from our past, and apply to the ever-changing dynamics of life.
My father in law (former hockey coach) asked me a very direct question when discussing my last business season, “So what did you learn and what will you do differently”.
So as we start 2020, lets not forget to look back and remember, learn, and adjust ourselves from the past year in both the successes and failures we have experienced.
From our family to yours,
Lowell Harder
