I woke up on 1/1/2020 – no, that is not a typo – with unrealistic expectations for the dawn of a new decade. As 2019 ended, I closed a very painful and turbulent chapter of my personal journey. And unfortunately, the personal trials negatively impacted the business. Being the eternal optimist that I am, I had sky high expectations for 2020 – rebuild the business, rebuild my life, start new relationships, get healthy, blah, blah, blah.  

When the reality of 2020 came crashing down like a ton of bricks, I had two choices. I could beat myself up for not being able to predict and plan for a toxic stew of pandemic, social unrest, and an election cycle like no other; or I could cut myself some slack and give myself a little grace.  

Fast forward to 1/1/2021 when the world woke up to a new year with the same problem of pandemic, social unrest, and fallout from a contentious election. The date changed but Father Time did not take our problems with him as he left the building!  

Don’t get me wrong, I was all in on getting rid of 2020. It was fun to share memes about the 2020 dumpster fire. It was exciting to talk to friends about what we would do when ‘the world gets back to normal in 2021’. I dreamed about getting on a plane to visit clients on the other side of the country like I did before 2020. And I crave a time when we can enjoy each other’s company without fear of infecting one another with a deadly virus.  

I know we will find ‘normal’ and will move forward to tackle the next big issue eventually. But we have a choice to make right now. Do we let the terrible experience of 2020 make us bitter and scarred or do we give our collective selves a bit of grace? I am choosing grace. It worked for me last year and I know it will work now. 

I learned so many lessons from the 2020 experience. My eyes were opened to blind spots that I never knew existed and long held assumptions were wiped away overnight. However, at my core, I know my values have not changed. They remain strong and true. And although I witnessed bad behavior from world leaders, organizations, personal friends and even myself, I still believe most people are good. We want good things for ourselves, our families, and our communities. 

I encourage clients to ‘assume positive intent’ at the beginning of all our projects. It becomes a rule of engagement for the way the team operates. When we hit a rough patch or have to make a difficult decision, we can trust that we are operating individually and as a team with positive intent. We cut each other some slack…we give each other grace.  

As we think about the BIG 2021 project of rebuilding and healing, I encourage us to adopt the assumption of positive intent as a rule of engagement. It will enable us to give each other grace when we make mistakes. And when I make my next mistake, I hope you will extend grace to me.