Just Thinking...


Sometimes I struggle to find the balance between keeping this blog focused on my professional interests and writing about more personal reflections. Today, the latter has won.

I have a bit of a mental block.

Rather than forcing myself to write about the usual, I want to talk about where I am right now. Over the past year, I have been craving change and looking back, I can honestly say that things have changed. Perhaps not always in the ways I expected, but they have changed.

Professionally, I have had a glimpse of strategic thinking and I think that is where I want my career to head. My approach now is to absorb as much as I can from every conversation, meeting and person I work with. One of the biggest influences has been my current team, who have created a culture of reflection. It has changed the way I think about my work and, more importantly, how I learn from it.

May not be profound but here are a few things I have learnt over the past few months.

Connections matter.
In some roles, your relationships are one of your greatest assets. They are not simply about knowing people. They are about building trust, understanding who to bring together and creating opportunities that would not otherwise exist. These are essential to carrying out your role.

Reflection matters.
Having the space to stop, think and ask what went well, what could have been done differently and what I have learnt has been genuinely transformative. Reflection has become part of how I work, a really big change.

My interests are becoming clearer.
I am still figuring out what my career will look like. I have considered several different paths, but I now have much more clarity about what I do not want. My current role has given me exposure to both administrative work and strategic thinking, and it has helped me realise which parts energise me and which do not.

What I enjoy writing about.
This was not the piece I planned to write. I had intended to write about the voluntary sector in the UK and how it connects with the Neighbourhood Health model. Instead, I found myself staring at a blank page. Perhaps this post is exactly what I needed to write today.

I hope that in a year's time I can come back to this post and smile, knowing that many of the questions in my mind have found their answers.


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