Alacrity, reviewed

I had a one-word aspiration for 2022:

Alacrity.

/əˈlæk·rɪ·t̬i/ brisk and cheerful readiness
“I accepted the invitation to 2022 with alacrity.”

I remember clawing towards the finish line in 2021, at the end of two long pandemic years. I recalled I desperately wanted—NEEDED— some sense of hope for the future, in 2022. I thirsted to feel it.

Now, looking back at 2022, I think I accomplished it.

Sure, I didn’t have that attitude of cheerful readiness every single day. Nobody does. But overall, there’s been a net positive of cheerful readiness.

2022 didn’t start off promising. But things really took a turn for the better in April when the social distancing restrictions got lifted. Suddenly, there was hope that life as it used to be was a possibility. We could all go out and have a normal family dinner together. We could see friends and family without fear. We could go to work. We could mingle. And now, I would say we’re 80-90% back to pre-pandemic days. The crowds are back. The tourists are back. People are out.

Best of all, business is picking back up again. Revenue isn’t back to pre-pandemic days, but there’s signs all round that opportunities in quantity and quality are emerging. There’s lots of reasons to be cheerful about.

2022 had been a year where the world reopened and I realised I can again start to be alacritous for the future.

It’s most certainly not peaked yet. 2023 will be the year to truly look forward to with true, unbounded alacrity.

Okay, I’m now ready for a new word for 2023. What might it be…? 🤔