I wrote a post with a similar title at the end of 2017. It seems timely to reflect on these 5 lessons and consider how I might apply them to the year, and indeed the decade, ahead. Not a list of new year resolutions most certainly, I prefer to think of them as a set of guidelines.
Lesson #1. Time is a precious commodity, spend it wisely. Don’t waste it on anything you don’t like.
I can safely say that I have no regrets regarding my decision to retire from corporate life in 2017 to focus on teaching and learning.
Lesson #2. Love what you do. Life is too short to have regrets.
I love teaching and learning, am as busy as ever but in a much more balanced way, and feel I am developing my professional identity and values. I even have more time for my volunteering interests and freely admit that I spend more time at these than I have time for, but again I love what I do.
Lesson #3. On the topic of learning, there are so many opportunities to learn, many of them free through the online offering of MOOCs. It’s never too late and who knows what the future might hold.
2017 was the year of the MOOC for me and I learned such a lot from them. For the most part I did not actively engage in the discussions fully since I was not planning on building relationships with other learners beyond each MOOC.
Fast forward to 2019 when my recent participation in a couple of short courses from the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Ireland have formalised my approach and commitment to my continuing professional development. They also provided a platform empowering me to build relationships with Ireland based peers. I participated in the first PACT webinar facilitated by the wonderful Marie O’Neill and Ken McCarthy on the train from WCOL2019.
Lesson #4. For years I’ve enjoyed collecting notebooks but rarely had time to write in them.
I still love scribbling my notes and ramblings in my colourful notebooks, one for each PhD module, another for research ideas and a new one for CPD stuff. Interestingly, it looks like these latter two notebooks may become one in the year ahead, we’ll see what happens.
Lesson #5. Finally, all of these lessons depend on having good health, both mental and physical, so this should really be #1 rather than #5!
Those who know me will appreciate the personal challenges that 2019 unexpectedly presented. If nothing else, I plan to move forward through the decade ahead paying attention to the importance of good health.
Recently I came across a term I had never given much attention to but feel I should add it to this list to help guide my pathway forward. There are many definitions but the one I like for lesson #6 is fortitude: “mental and emotional strength… especially over a long period.” Thank you for helping me through 2019 and I wish you every success for 2020.
Until next time,
Sandra
Featured image courtesy of bitmoji.com
Sandra Flynn 