WOTY (2): Shift
Last month, we talked about word of the year (WOTY) in society, and this week we are going to focus on WOTY from a personal perspective.
Aaron
Trends in Society, 2023
My WOTY in 2023 —— Shift
Unlike word of the year chosen by websites and publishers, word of the year chosen by individuals should encapsulate their experiences and lessons learned over the past year. In other words, it should be a word with strong personal hues. At first, I thought my word of the year would be procrastination. I struggled with procrastination in starting my own business and writing my supposed-to-be-weekly blog post. But then I realize in the past twenty years or so, I've been a habitual procrastinator. I procrastinated on almost everything from assignments, travel plans, interview preparation and household chores. Not that I didn't want to budge (I did in many occasions though 😝), it's the fear of failure that stopped me from pushing hard.
What's procrastination?
Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily and voluntarily delaying or postponing something despite knowing that there will be negative consequences for doing so.
But it's New Year, isn't it? We all want something positive, so I change my mind and pick shift as my word of the year to summarize the year 2023. Not the kind of day/night shift, or the shift on keyboard, but the shift that I've experienced since becoming a father.
It was the night before 25th June – a frantic all-nighter I would remember all my life. Contractions started around midnight. My wife and I – like most first-time parents – started to panic, but felt excited at the same time. We grabbed everything we need for delivery and many things we don't for fun. It was a normal drive to the hospital. Apart from her periodical screaming when contractions came, nothing was different than it was yesterday. My wife was assessed upon arrival, and contractions continued. Over the next couple hours they got worse and I was assigned the role of "don't say or do anything" while contractions were happening until the epidural doctor came early in the morning. Long story short. We had our baby girl after a long and exhausting labor.
That was six months ago. I've had a lot of thoughts since becoming a father and running my own business. From reflection, these roles share a great deal of similarities. Here are a few of them.
First, both roles require a sense of responsibility. In fatherhood, you're responsible for a child's well-being – changing a diaper and bottle-feeding for example, while in business, you're responsible for your customers and your company's growth.
Second, both require investment. Milk powder, diapers, baby clothes for a newborn, while products, resources, marketing and more for a business. The only difference, though, is in the nature of the return on investment. With a newborn, the returns of one-sided tender loving care are nothing less than a literal mess or sometimes, a piece of shit 🤣🤣🤣, while in business, the returns are nothing more than a menial income to cover the basic needs – the majority of money you gain from your business need to be ploughed back for constant growth. Both sound great, right? 🥲🥲🥲
More importantly, both a father and an entrepreneur need to be lifelong learners and problem-solvers. Every day brings new challenges, whether it's deciphering the mystery cries of a newborn or navigating in the mist of the business world. In both roles, you're constantly adapting, whether it's learning some effective parenting techniques or keeping up with the newest industry trends. Just when you think you've got it all figured out, your child enters a new phase or your customers turn to your competitor, reminding you that the journey of learning and problem-solving never really ends (the journey of failure, too). It's a perpetual cycle of growth, adaptation, and occasionally, googling 'how to' and self-doubting at 2 am.
That's probably enough to explain why shift is my word of the year. It's the perfect term to sum up the transition from football nights with mates to sleepless ones with a crying baby, and from safe employment to the wild world of entrepreneurship. Shift isn't just about change. It's about the unexpected moments when you find baby cries during a business call, or when you discuss marketing strategies with your wife while changing a diaper. So, as I reflect on this past year, shift isn't just a word – it's proof of survival and a reminder that, in the midst of chaos, there's always room to learn, adapt, and dance in the rain.
