2022: The year of Yin and Yang!

2022 almost feels like one of the years when I saw many shifts in my life - both professional and personal. 

Wikipedia defines Yin and Yang as “a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces”.

Similarly, our personal and professional lives are almost always interconnected – one never fails to impact the other. 2022 was a year when I experienced ‘shifts’ in me and my business and realized how the two intertwine. 

I share my top professional and personal learnings.

Profession learning

1. Context

Every business advice you get has a context. There is a context of the person giving the advice and a context to the advice itself. Listen, internalize, and see how this applies to your own business. There are no ready-made templates to follow.

2. Design with love

Design your product like you are the customer. As we designed and defined products at my startup, I was brutally honest with feedback as a founder for solutions designed for founders. While it technically seems right to think with your head, design the product with your heart. Design what would generate customer love. Love never fails to return love.

3. Question business models

In any industry, the best innovation happens when we can ask the question: Is this the right value at the right price? Some of the best companies have innovated around customer experience and not just around new products. Just because the industry follows something does not mean it is right for today. As an entrepreneur, you owe it to do what is right for the customer.

4. No one is indispensable

No one is indispensable, absolutely no one. Institutions outlast people and individual brands.

5. Work hard

Work hard. Consistency and showing up every day are underrated and it is priceless. All the talk of owning your time is banter if you can’t use your time in the zone when you work.

6. Set your own bar

What looks tough for someone might not be tough for you. Do not allow others’  definitions of grades of difficulty to be yours. Set your own bar. Everyone has their own context and own limitations. Do not make their definition yours.

Personal Learning

1. This too shall pass.

I started 2022 in isolation, thanks to Covid. Looking at the positive side, it gave me time to reflect, nurture myself, to slow down, and know that this too shall pass. Nothing stays forever (the good or the bad times).

2. Listen deeply

Listen when people talk. If you listen deeply you can even hear what is not being said. Every person has barriers and deep listening can break any barrier. Over time our ability to listen leads to sharper intuition about things to come.

3. People never change

The core of a person never changes. Do not try to change anyone, instead change your judgments and learn to be in allowance of choices. Change is a very big word when used in a human context; you can probably change perceptions, change expectations, or change responses.

4. Love deep

Love deep always, no matter what the outcome. You might suffer more when people don’t respond the way you wish they had. Accept that the world sees very little unconditional love but trust that love never fails.

5. Always give first

Give, give, and give, unconditionally every time in small things and in big decisions. You can never lose. Don’t extract first (whether it is things or experiences) as it can never leave you fulfilled. There is no other way to create true magic than to give first.

6. The world is still not equal

There are many inequalities in the world. Gender inequality still exists and as a woman, you will be judged harsher and held to higher standards. Don’t let that deter or define you in any way. Learn to listen to viewpoints but don’t make that the reason why you succeed or don’t succeed.

Most importantly, have fun. Through the ups and downs. Through the valleys and the mountains. Through night and day. Through laughter and tears. Tomorrow will always be a new day!

As the year draws to a close, I have started my writing journey and you can find all my musings here on Shantimohan.substack.com.

Here’s to a better tomorrow for all of us.

Wishing you a Happy New Year.

Love and gratitude,

Shanti Mohan

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