The 11 most important life lessons we take from 2021 to 2022

The past year has brought many changes to workplaces around the world. Employee mental health has become an increasingly important topic for forward-looking organizations, as it should be. Creativity and adaptability have emerged as must-haves in a world that needs to find many new solutions to the challenges that have emerged since the start of the pandemic. And, probably the most important part — in hard times, we need to stick together and show a bit more empathy to each other.

They say it’s good to learn from your mistakes. At this time of year, everyone is either drowning in pre-Christmas deadlines, figuring out holiday celebrations or coming up with resolutions.

But it’s also a great time to reflect on what we did in the past 12 months — to see what we can do better next year and to celebrate our successes. At BICA, we had a turbulent and eventful year that saw us start work with some of the most innovative companies in the US and Europe; open an office in Ukraine and help 100+ people find an IT job that’s a fit for their personal goals and dreams.

We asked our team what main lessons they would take from 2021 and bring to 2022. Here’s what we got:

Mentoring culture is key

“During the past year, I’ve learned to mentor and guide a team of diverse people,” shares Billie.

Through mentorship we’ve grown as an organization and expanded our worldview. We developed our leadership skills and gave each other encouragement even in the most challenging times.

Continuous learning is the new standard

“ I learned to focus on developing and using my strengths,” Magi tells us.

The world is changing super fast so we need to evolve with it. What’s more, developing our strong suits goes with an increase in our energy, self-awareness, and confidence. Being open to learning new things makes us not only better professionals but better as human beings.

“My number one lesson is that there’s always lesson number 2,” adds Joro.

On a related note: Leaving our comfort zone is a good thing

“I learned to enjoy the process of getting out of my comfort zone,” asserts Moni.

Well, the more you enjoy the process of doing something, the more likely you’re to do it. And, pushing our boundaries beyond what we knew has made us more adaptable, productive, and creative.

“In 2021, I learned to be adaptive no matter the circumstances and get inspiration from the people in the team,” declares Emi.

This mindset helps many of us to be prepared for anything that comes our way.

As Vankata says while tapping his head profusely:

“Flexibility is far greater than consistency.”

But first: If you want to achieve great things, you have to believe in yourself

“I learned that I am capable of absolutely anything if I’m determined.” states Slavi.

Having faith in our abilities has helped us achieve many great outcomes in 2021. Knowing what we want to accomplish and persevering towards it puts us in a position to aim for even bigger goals next year.

“Compete only with yourself and keep pushing, no matter how difficult it may seem at times,”

Eva tells us, backed by Yoana’s statement that

“All things are difficult before they are easy”.

And be prepared for the unexpected

“Always be prepared, good and bad news go hand in hand,” says Vasi.

Even though we can’t predict everything, a proactive mindset has helped us to stay resilient in the face of sudden changes. And deal with the consequences of having our pets with us while we work.

“That said, don’t let your cat walk on the keyboard…it might send some emails” smiles Stela.