I wonder if like me your New Year’s Eve was a bit of a damp squib? No parties. No big London fireworks display ending the year with a bang. Perhaps you are wondering what the next few months or even the next year will bring?
I look back at 2020 and immediately remember the bad bits. However, what has really struck me most is how much I have learned. How I have been enriched by these things. So like it or not I am going to share a few of those things with you.
- I learned about Coaching. I remember back in February, before we were all locked down and Coronavirus seemed unimportant how I went on a weekend course to discover a bit more about coaching and what it was. Why? Because someone who was helping me with some work plans was a qualified coach and I was curious to know what that meant. And of course I wanted to know if it was worth investing time in. I didn’t realise then that my curiosity was a valuable part of being/becoming a coach and that the weekend would light a desire within me to train as a coach myself. Now I can see the value of coaching skills in every area of my life and how I have used these new skills both as a coach myself and as a singing teacher. I can also see how they have benefited those I have worked with. I look forward to building this part of my work and to helping others to achieve their dreams and goals.
- I learned about Zoom. In January I listened to the recently appointed Head of Music in a certain music service talk about the possibilities of online teaching. At the time I wasn’t convinced. Could this really work? However, the pandemic took both my choirs and my singing teaching, and subsequently my coaching online. Do I prefer having a student singing in front of me while I accompany them on the piano? Yes. However, online lessons have helped in focusing on more detail and unlike teaching in a school or hall or at home, there are no geographical barriers. I have been able to deliver webinars to people all over the world. I now feel confident and comfortable with the value of both online and face to face teaching and coaching. In addition I have met some wonderful new people who I probably wouldn’t have met if my clients were just local.
- I learned about Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro is the video software often used to produce virtual musical performances. I have loved exploring what it can do. I have loved exploring my own creativity. I have also loved the many videos of singers that have been sent to me to edit sometimes from across the world. I have enjoyed the shorter snippets of people’s pets, families and lives that they have shared. And I have loved seeing how adding one voice at a time creates a choir. There truly is strength in unity!
- I have learned a LOT about myself. I have learned about my own personal resilience. I have also learned when I just need to look after myself better if I am feeling depleted. Like many I struggle sometimes with self worth, but I have learned to feel more content with myself. More importantly, I have learned that by caring more for myself I am in a better frame of mind to help others. I love people. I love their differences and their talents and especially their natural creativity that flows when given the space to allow this to flourish.
So, as I face 2021, am I scared? Absolutely! Many things will change for all of us this year and some of them will be incredibly challenging. However, I am also EXCITED and feel confident that whatever 2021 brings, we will all grow from it. So, although it feels strange to say “Happy” New year at the moment. I do wish everyone a happy and amazing journey through 2021 and I hope that by the end of it we will all feel enriched for having travelled through it.