A few customers have reminded me that Glasstap is now 21 years old! Which makes me think I should be feeling grown up, or something. I’m not, but it has encouraged me reflect on a key skill that I’ve perhaps not always recognised I possess; that of resilience.

We’ve probably all doubted our resilience at some point, particularly perhaps over the last year, which has been so difficult for so many on both a personal and professional level.

Sometimes learning requires no more than drawing people’s attention to the obvious. It’s like when we were watching Pitch Perfect the other day and learnt that Darth Vader literally means Dark Father in German. Except, apart from containing an embarrassing admission, this is a terrible example; it doesn’t.

Perhaps as a better example, I can use the experience of our most recent Discovery Day.

Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve felt conspicuous and out of place? Perhaps you’ve been alone in an empty train carriage when a group of rowdy youths have boarded? Perhaps, to use the old cliché, you’ve found yourself in the wrong pub, wearing the wrong football kit? Or perhaps, you’ve found yourself walking through the wrong part of town at night?

How did you feel in that moment?

Hold on to that thought.

One thing I’ve been reflecting on this week is the nature of goals. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how recognising and celebrating ‘little wins’ can help us feel more positive and in control. On the back of this, I realised that our personal goals have an important role to play in ensuring we have those little wins to celebrate, and ultimately in helping us develop positive mental health and resilience.

The other day, as I was trying to get to grips with a left-hand drive Nissan Micra on snowy hill roads in France (my car was in the garage), I suddenly thought; how on Earth did I get here?!

I am, after all, the boy that never wanted to leave the village I grew up in, yet alone Wiltshire, yet alone England. And yet…

After 10 years of procrastinating, my husband and I finally moved to France in November. It might seem a strange thing to have done during a pandemic, especially as our move coincided with France being in total lockdown. But the truth is, I don’t think we’d have plucked up the courage to actually do it if it hadn’t been 2020. 

This has certainly been a year of unparalleled challenges, professionally and personally. I’m writing this week’s Insight surrounded by boxes as we’re due to move to a new house (in France!) on the 13th November. You can imagine there’s a great deal of uncertainty and some anxiety at home at the moment!

Here are my two tips…