2021 Wrap Up
Confession, gratitude and hope
A few years ago, one of my friends had told me about her grandmother who was a little girl in France during WW-II. Apparently, to this day, her grandmother has a little granary in her basement where she hoards grocery in fear of a potential war. She’s carried this scarcity mindset for over 70 years, even though there was no need to now (well, this was pre-covid).
What will we carry with us into 2022?
I don’t know, but if there’s one thing I don’t want to carry with me, it is the fear of uncertainty. This year has been riddled with so much anxiety for each of us on so many different fronts, anxiety is now a part of who we are.
As we come to the end of 2021, I just want you to take a moment to look at where you are right now, in this very moment.
No, really. Do it. Look at yourself.
Are you alive? Of course you are.
Are you in imminent danger? Hopefully not.
If you’re not in the danger now, YOU ARE OKAY.
Will you be okay tomorrow? No one knows, but we’ve evolved to deal with that.
Every time I’ve felt anxious about something from the past or the distant future this year, I’ve been taking a moment to ask myself if I am okay in the present.
It’s really helped me a lot.
Confession
Recently, I was having breakfast with a friend. He asked me why I hadn’t considered expanding my relationship coaching services post marriage. In a world where work and life are getting more and more complex, he felt it was the need of the hour.
Funnily enough, I actually had married clients, but I never publicised it because it didn’t fit into my existing brand. Over the last one year, I’ve been working with married people who genuinely want to up their relationship game.
These are professionals who’ve been married for 1-10 years, usually in leadership positions or aspiring to get there while striving to honour family commitments too. I work with individuals and couples.
I did courses in psychology, CBT and NLP to complement my practical experience. This has helped me in being conscious of my boundaries as a relationship coach.
Gratitude
While this has been an intense year, there is still a lot to be grateful for - I am still alive. But it’s not these big things I am talking about, I am talking small joys.
For instance, subscription to this newsletter has gone up 2X this year. It’s insanely gratifying to have the support of this community through such a year. So, thank you, for reading Shapely Gal, and being with me.
If you’re curious, some of my favourite pieces from this year were:
At the end of last year, I really enjoyed having virtual coffees with some of you and listening to what you had to say about this newsletter. I’d love to do that again.
If you’d like to chat about relationships in general or share your thoughts/ ideas/ feedback on Shapely Gal, I am setting aside time this month to do a few calls. Please sign up if you’re interested!
Hope
As we approach 2022, my hope is that we can all be healthy and safe both mentally and physically. Despite the uncertainty that each new year brings with itself, I am hopeful that 2022 will be better than 2021 is some way.
As for me, I will likely be doing something new. What, when and where is unclear at the moment. No matter where I am, I will continue to deeply care about this space, and voice the need for people to be supported in navigating relationships. I hope that I can grow this community for relationships, and that something interesting comes out of this at some point.