Do you remember when this year started? You were crawling into your new project, just like a baby before learning how to walk.

You did things you never thought you would. Gradually your goals changed. At first, you just wanted to crawl a little better, then a bit faster and eventually you wanted to stand upright for a second or two. After that, you learned to walk while supporting yourself on the couch or table. Then came one or two steps on your own and so on until one day, you started to run. And once you achieved that, you thought, easy job, not challenging at all.

But it wasn’t as easy as it sounds now, was it?

You couldn’t crawl, and now you’re running but that’s not even the most important part. The important part is that you didn’t achieve it on the first try. You probably fell on your face a hundred times.

That didn’t stop you. Against all odds, those failures motivated you. You moved on to the next attempt, and the next, and the next, until today, the day you’re standing firmly on your feet.

So I believe you’ve made wonderful progress. You might say that walking is easy now, that you don’t even have to think about it.

I don’t think so. It takes us up to 18 months to learn how to walk, and unfortunately, some of us never get the chance.

So if that baby is still taking shaky steps, remember that they’re still building themselves up, still strengthening their muscles, still training their self belief, still learning that they can do it.

So to conclude our yearly balance, you’ve done a great job. Massive progress. Huge achievements. You’ve built strength, experience, self confidence, and new skills.

I am very proud of you.

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