2013 had its share of triumphs as well as unexpected and life-altering occurrences. Now that 2014 is upon us, I thought I’d take a moment to share with you some of my key take aways from last year as a preview of what lies ahead – personally and professionally. As always, feel free to let me know your thoughts!

1.    Not every good opportunity is one worth pursuing.

One of the biggest challenges in deciding to forge my own trajectory into international planning is that I did not necessarily have a rubric to follow. As a result, I pursued any and every opportunity that came my way with little regard to whether or not it would in fact bring me closer to my goals. Over time, I came to understand that having a clearer sense of what it is that I am really trying to achieve allows me to better evaluate opportunities as they come my way based on how well they fit into my overall objectives.

2.    Working hard and working smart is not the same thing.

Having others reference how ‘busy’ I am really irks me but for a large part of this year, I was just that – busy. Being busy, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that one is working efficiently. I realized midway through the year that with all the traveling, writing and speaking commitments and such that I wasn’t producing as much as I could have been because I was not working smart. I am still working on refocusing my energy so that I can be more effective in all that I do. So far so good so we’ll see!

3.    Know my limitations but don’t be defined by them.

Almost all of us have heard the phrase the sky is the limit – and it is – but having a realistic sense of what is hindering you from actually reaching the sky is important if you’re ever going to truly soar. Being honest with myself about the shortcomings I needed to work was crucial if I was ever going to be serious about overcoming them. This way, they are no longer able to serve as limitations and that in turn frees me up to continue to reach for the sky of course!

4.    Building community on a personal level is just as important as building community for everyone else.

As rewarding as these past few years have been, they have also been incredibly lonely. I ultimately realized that I had to create room for friends and loved ones to participate in my journey rather than unintentionally keeping them at a distance to watch it from afar. My surprising decision to relocate from Washington DC back to my native New York City this summer was in large part due to how much I needed to find comfort and community for myself at this point in my life as I continue to engage in important work professionally.

5.    There are people who want to help me. Let them.

Just because I ask for help does not mean that I am weak or that I have failed. It simply means that I am human and was not built to traverse through life alone. This was a major revelation for me! On top of that, it really was a blessing to really have people come through in such unexpected ways once I gave them an opportunity to support me on this grind.

6.    Things have a way of working themselves out when I give them enough time and space to.

I cannot stress what I cannot control and what is done is done. I can only work on being a better version of myself from this moment on and over time, new (and hopefully more positive) experiences will replace the previous ones that I am less fond of.

7.    In times of conflict or misunderstanding, don’t loose the lesson. 

A lot still gets lost in translation at times when working with our Haiti-based partners, even though many of my colleagues and I are of Haitian descent. A misunderstanding early in the year created a situation where it appeared to our local stakeholders that they were working towards one plan for their community and that in between Haiti trips, we were working on a separate plan back in the United States.

While it was easy to be infuriated by the situation, I learned that I cannot underestimate the importance of constantly affirming and upholding the community’s vision and objectives, first and foremost. Through workshops and frank discussions, we were able to resolve that we are all working towards ONE plan with several simultaneous elements. The experience definitely gave others and me a newfound appreciation for the various perspectives we bring to bear on the project.

8.    While I am influencing other people’s lives, those same lives are changing my life.

Most of us do not think twice about having breakfast or lunch meetings to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. During our August Haiti trip, we were running behind schedule by half a day because a rainstorm on the day we arrived made it impossible for us to hold a meeting that evening. Two days later, my colleague and I whipped out our notebooks during breakfast and were about to start a full-blown meeting until one of our local partners looked alarmed and grasped our arms to stop us. Bewildered we asked, “What? What’s wrong?” He replied, “Be present. Now is the time to eat and after we will have the meeting. The schedule will catch up – don’t worry – but our fellowship with each other over this meal is only available to us for this moment. Let’s enjoy that instead.”

And he was right. The schedule ended up working itself out and our meals for the duration of the trip were some of the most memorable times. Now I certainly won’t promise that I’ll never have another meeting over a meal (especially in the States!) but I will promise to do a better job of being as present as possible throughout my life while still keeping my focus on the end goal.

9.    Monthly goals don’t work for me but quarterly ones do.

It can get real discouraging having a to-do list stretch for months and sometimes, it seems like nothing is being accomplished even though I know for a fact that I am working hard (and hopefully smart) on a daily. This is exactly what happened when I tried instituting monthly goals this year. Instead, I found that dividing my responsibilities and commitments into quarterly objectives allows me to be a lot more productive. I am really excited to stick with this approach moving forward especially since I just completed my 2014 first quarter professional and personal goals!

 10. I can’t plan for everything but I still need a plan (I mean, what’s an urban planner without a plan??) 

Even though I do my best to account for the unexpected in my professional and personal lives, of course there will be elements that I simply cannot plan for (and that’s okay!) This does not render a plan useless; it just means that enough flexibility has to be built into a good plan in order for it to be adaptable to ever-evolving conditions.

11. Some of the best encounters are those that are unplanned (seems contradictory, I know).

I never know who I am going to meet, what email or call I’ll get or who will come across our work and reach out to me. More often than not, however, I am grateful for and humbled by these encounters. Being open to what life has for me (especially when I did not, and could not, have planned it for myself) is really forcing me to broaden my horizons.

 12. Not everything has to be done all at once.

Quite the eye opener for or a multi-tasker like myself!  My responsibilities will be dealt with in time and they will be done well. They just don’t have to all be accomplished today.

13. Let go and live!

The best is yet to come and being confident in the reality that I have been (and am still) taking the necessary steps to make this so is making it easier for me to breathe a little more and enjoy the process. I am not fully there just yet but I am on my way for sure!

In all, thank you 2013 for these lessons and cheers to their continued execution in 2014!

 

Tags: , , , ,