Dan Cullum

Think back to a time you tried something new, made a mistake, and felt ridiculous.

You never looked ridiculous.

You were simply learning.

The sugar fix is convenient, pleasurable, and fast.

On the other hand, a meal requires preparation and effort. It’s nutritious, but it can sometimes feel a bit boring.

These categories can be used to classify most activities in life—they aren’t just for food.

I recently strained my right elbow during a workout.

Not wanting to aggravate it further, I decided to rest for one week until the pain subsided. But when I returned with a light workout, the discomfort followed.

Frustrated, I spoke to a physiotherapist, and was surprised when they told me to continue training but only up to a specified pain threshold (3 out of 10 on my pain scale).

I was told it’s better to keep moving—even if there is low-grade pain—than abstain from exercise all together. The mild stress will ultimately speed up recovery, rather than hinder it.

It’s unlikely to be an elbow strain, but what pain in your life is worth embracing right now?

Aiming for perfection is tiring.

There is no such thing as a perfect life, a perfect career, a perfect family, or a perfect cup of coffee.

The best we can do—and all we can ask of ourselves—is to try and be a bit better every day.

Some of the best books can be read in half a day or a lifetime.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

To name a few.

I’d love to hear if you have any short, but lifelong, reads.

Maru and I recently finished watching the excellent series ‘Little Fires Everywhere’. It’s the story of a single mother who moves to the Ohio suburbs with her teenage daughter, and how their lives unravel as they become involved with a picture-perfect family.

Coincidentally, my sister, Mandy, was reading the ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ novel at the same time.

Although we experienced the story in completely different ways—Mandy using her imagination, and me watching the visual adaptation—we were able to have a seamless conversation about the characters, their arcs, their moments of failure, and their opportunities for redemption.

Pain, heartache, joy, triumph, love, and shame are universal emotions that can transcend their medium. So whether we end up sharing our stories via talking, writing, singing, or filming, it’s the essence that matters most.

Failure is often followed by embarrassment, and sometimes even shame.

But when we fail, it doesn’t mean we’re a failure.

To fail is to be human—to lapse, to err, to miss. But our mistakes are singular moments. They are not us.

Most of us will have heard this message before—there is nothing ground breaking here. But reminding ourselves of the message, repeating it in our minds, and approaching each new day with self-compassion and dignity is a life-long practice.

No one invented electricity.

It’s always been there.

Sure, we discovered it, and harnessed it, and most of our daily activities depend on it, but it has existed since the beginning of time—long before we figured out how to use it.

What else is out there waiting to be discovered? What else do we think is impossible today that will be plain and obvious to future generations?

And what mindset do we need to bring each day to even have the opportunity to see something others haven’t been able to see before, even if it’s always been there?

The new COVID variant—recently discovered here in the UK—is deeply troubling. Although its mortality rate is no worse than the original strain, its rate of transmissibility is 70% higher.

A new study from Imperial College London has confirmed the R0—a virus’s reproduction number, or the number of cases directly generated by an infected person—of the new variant is between 0.4-0.7 higher than the original strain.

But what do these numbers mean in practise?

During the November 2020 UK lockdown, the R0 was 0.9, meaning on average each infected person passed the virus on to 0.9 people. This resulted in a 30% decline in new cases over a 3-week period.

However, there is a fine line between case rate decline and growth—an R0 > 1 will lead to exponential increases in transmission.

Due to the transmissibility of the new COVID variant, the UK’s R0 is now estimated at 1.1-1.3, and newly imposed lockdowns are not bringing case rates down.

This means an accelerated vaccination programme is of the utmost importance, and is why the UK has extended the gap between the first and second dose of the vaccine—from 4 weeks to 12 weeks—in an effort to provide at least some immunity to a broader segment of the population before the spring.

My reflections on the topic are rudimentary and simplistic—I’m not a scientist or close to the subject matter. But there are underlying principles here that I’ve been reflecting on.

At work and at home these “fine lines” exist. There are thresholds where small changes can compound into significant opportunities or problems over a period of time. When we realise that the world works in a non-linear way, and we anticipate it, we can better prepare ourselves to respond.

The hardest part is starting.

Day two is also often difficult.

But momentum begets momentum.

We decide if, when, and how we turn up. And we can use the inches we gain today to help us do it again tomorrow.

And the day after.

And the next.

Here we are, the final post of 2020—and what a year it has been.

Thank you for reading, for your thoughtful replies, for telling me when I got things wrong, for the recommendations, for the positivity, and for the vulnerability. My year has been richer due to the daily dialogue we’ve shared.

As we bid farewell to 2020, and look with hope and expectation towards 2021, I wish you and your families health, lots of laughter, and courage for the year to come.

See you next year 😉

I recently came across this insane video of Golden State Warriors basketball player, Stephen Curry, not missing a single 3-point shot for 5 straight minutes.

That’s over 100 shots without missing, and a level of consistency that’s astounding.

Of course, the 5-minutes itself are impressive, but it really got me thinking about the thousands of hours Curry put in to get to that level.

It’s a great example of how consistent and persistent practise can, over time, lead to world class results.

Where are you turning up consistently? And where do you want to develop consistency?

Last year I wrote a post titled ‘Predicting the 2020s’, where I collated predictions from other writers for what the 2020s would bring.

It should come as no surprise that none of them anticipated 2020.

Back then I didn’t have the courage to make my own predictions. However, given the craziness of 2020, I’ve realised predictions are just best guesses, and we shouldn’t place too much weight on any of them. Feeling more lighthearted about the matter, I’ve decided to pen down 3 predictions for 2021 and share them here.

1. The COVID-19 vaccine rollout will be swift and effective, but it will highlight and exacerbate global inequality.

I think a large percentage of the global population (40-50%) will be vaccinated by the end of 2021, but this will be heavily weighted (60-70%) in developed markets. This estimate is loosely based on Goldman Sachs’ latest forecast.

The latest Duke University data on vaccine pre-orders has wealthy nations like Canada, the US, and the UK, and the EU hedging their bets and ordering between 2-6x the required doses from the various front-running manufacturers, in the hopes that a combination of those vaccines will be enough to inoculate their entire populations. This is in stark contrast to countries like Bangladesh and El Salvador who have only ordered enough doses to cover 10-15% of their populations.

As developed nations quickly return to normal, and as poorer nations lag, I fear the health, education, corruption, and economic indicators between countries in these categories will continue to widen.

2. Travel will surge back, but testing and health passports will become the new norm.

After a year of being homebound, many families that had consistent income throughout the pandemic—and thus higher levels of savings—will return to travelling enmasse.

However, I think the above will happen in lockstep with drastic increases in testing as well as health passports. In order to travel, you’ll require a test beforehand, or you’ll be required to show proof of a valid vaccination. I think measures like this will be in place across much of the globe by mid-2021.

3. Work From… will be a grey area

The choice to Work-from-Home or Work-from-Office will never again be binary.

2020 has proven many industries and companies are capable of thriving even when their employees are working from home.

We also know that going back to the office won’t happen in one fell swoop, and that it will likely start with “a few days a week”.

A mixture of a few days in the office and a few days at home each week will likely become the new normal. Employees will come to expect it, employers will comply, and there will be a Work-from-Home grey area that persists over the coming year and decade.

Let me know if you disagree with any of the above, and if you have your own predictions.

And then, let’s see what happens!

As we approach the New Year, many of us are in a period of rest, self-reflection, and planning for the year ahead.

I recently had the privilege of talking with reader and fellow blogger, Barry Demp, from The Quotable Coach, who has been blogging for over 10 years.

One of the books Barry mentioned was ‘Your Best Year Yet’ by Jinny Ditzler. The essence of the book is 10 questions to help you think about the upcoming year, and to use them to make it your best year yet.

The 10 Questions:

1. What did I accomplish?
2. What were my biggest disappointments?
3. What did I learn?
4. How do I limit myself, and how can I stop?
5. What are my personal values?
6. What roles do I play in my life?
7. Which role is my major focus for the next year?
8. What are my goals for each role?
9. What are my top ten goals for the next year?
10. How can I make sure I achieve them?

Questions 1 and 2 are based on fact—what went well last year, and what went poorly?

Questions 3 and 4 are reflections on 1 and 2, forcing us to learn from our successes and failures.

Questions 5-6 are ‘Who am I?’ type questions. These are great to review on an annual basis, and perhaps even more important to think about following a tumultuous 2020.

Questions 7-9 are aspirational questions, helping us paint a picture of where we want to be in 1 year’s time.

And finally, question 10 is about tactics. What will you do to achieve your 2021 goals?

Here’s hoping a few of those questions can help you in your own reflections on 2020, and goal setting for 2021!

We’ll never be completely prepared, have gained enough experience, have enough money, or have total confidence in how the game will play out.

So when an opportunity arises, start before you know everything.

There is magic in adding a splash of naïveté and unbridled earnestness to your life’s cocktail.