2024 Wrapped
I’ve always loved the symbolic fresh start that comes with the end of the year. Turning the page and beginning a new chapter with intention is such a powerful way to shape momentum in our lives. I know it’s still a bit premature, but before we all disappear behind mugs of mulled wine and Christmas trees, I’ll share my reflections with you. For 2024, my mantra was «long distance»—in both the literal and figurative sense. 2375 km and Counting… Running has always been my sacred space—a moving meditation where the rhythm of my feet and the stillness of nature help me make sense of the world. This year, with the kids in kindergarten and school, I carved out more time for running than ever before. And this provided me with plenty of podcast time 😊. Some of my favorites this year included: – Huberman Lab (scientific deep dives into nutrition, sports, mental well-being etc) – Bookworm (in-depth reviews of books) – The Great Creator with Guy Raz The School of Greatness – Der Marathon Podcast – Muttern, especially the episodes about raising neurodivergent kids (three parts, in German) – Sucht & Süchtig (honest and raw conversations about all kinds of addictions) – different episodes from the ARD Audiothek (particularly an interesting podcast on perimenopause—let’s break that taboo!) – Lenny’s Podcast (of course!) – …and many quality checks of my own podcast episodes for Living the Unseen with Arjanna van der Plas and Product Academy: Tough Stuff with Francesca Cortesi (man, editing is tough…) This year, I set ambitious running goals, including the Aletsch Half-Marathon and the Grand Prix in Berne for preparation. Then, in a burst of spontaneity, I signed up for the Lucerne Marathon. All the races exceeded my expectations (huge thanks to my running buddies Dominique, Nina, Isa, and Tobias!). Yet, as fulfilling as running has been, it also took its toll on me this year (see my learnings below).  In for the Long Run My mantra, «long distance», extended beyond running to how I approached my energy, my business, and my relationships. I would be lying if I pretended I managed to fin a sustainable pace in all areas. As a highly sensitive person, I do get my frequent energy lows, it’s still hard to find someone to take care of the kids during date nights and as a solopreneur most of the mental load of my company still lies with me. A little goes a long way, though, and so I give myself credit for many important small steps: from salsa lessons for us as a couple to a solo vacation in the mountains, from bi-weekly Tanja Days to wonderful support from volunteers at the Academy that helped us launch the new podcast, our first Product Academy Summit, the PM Burnout Report and fun projects like the Advent Calendar (where you can still win a free coaching session with one of our product experts every day until Christmas) – thank you Nina, Lina, Maxime, Francesca, Arjanna and Anastasia for making this possible. If I liken 2024 to a marathon, I’m at km 32—proud, exhausted, and hopeful I’ll cross the finish line in all areas of my life. 😉 My Three Big Life Lessons of 2024 1. Grief Has Its Own Way Last year, I prepared to visit my sister after her diagnosis of aggressive breast cancer. This May, we celebrated her being officially cancer-free—a moment of relief and joy. Yet, the journey didn’t end there. Everything happened so fast that all the anger, grief and despair did not get a chance to be metabolized properly while Simona was getting her treatment. She is still on an intense healing journey, both physically and emotionally. For me, it was only in hindsight that I realized how my running practice had become a way of dealing with all the uncertainty around her illness. What started as a fun ambition had turned into a solid obsession at some point and it took some very honest conversations and pivots on my end to not drift deeper into this coping mechanism. Grief has its own ways, and what is over on paper might still need a lot of time to be processed and integrated in your system. Learning how to sit with your feelings and provide yourself and others the time and space to not be ok for a while is super hard – and the only healthy way to come out the other side whole-heartedly. 2. Find Your Tribe Writing has always been an important outlet for me, but sharing it has been another story (I only managed to read a couple of poems on stage at the Women’s Hub once thanks to special handholding of my dear friend Arjanna in 2022). This year, I did discover a new fun way to come out of the closet, though: I created a new anonymous insta account, started following other poets and sharing my work. Instagram used to trigger me a lot (with other people’s looks, achievements and endless posts of Montessori mums who had done two hours of yoga, baked sugar-free muffins and hand-crafted a personalized homeschooling package for their kids before I even got out of bed…). Now I have a new feed filled exclusively with poetry and found a community of fellow writers who are super supportive of each other, vulnerable in public and giving me a safe space to share my writing. And the beauty of poetry is: you don’t have to create it yourself to enjoy it 😊 In fact, I truly believe what Audre Lorde once said: «Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action. Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. The farthest horizons of our hopes and fears are cobbled by our poems, carved from the rock experiences of our daily lives.» If you’d like to give it a try, here are some of my favorite poetry accounts on Insta: Alex Daw, Andrea Gisbon, Rumi Poetry, . Mine will still stay a secret for now, unless you play Sherlock Holmes and manage to track me down 😊 I’ll leave you with one of my micro poems from 2024 as a taster.  All this to say: Find your tribe. Not every side of you has to be nurtured by your inner circle of people (or on Linkedin 😉). Whether it’s a self-help group for highly-sensitive parents, fellow introverts at a conference hiding in the bathroom or a stranger on the bus – there are people out there whom you don’t need to explain yourself to. They will immediately get why you act the way you do. And when you find them, it makes you feel safe and seen – so keep looking. 3. Create Pockets of Freedom A sunrise hike, a four day solo trip on the Jura trail with a gigantic backpack and a wedding anniversary in a tent on a mountain top – If I had to name my favorite moments in 2024, those would definitely make the top 10. Why? Because every one of them gave me something I am craving a lot in life: a sense of freedom and awe. I would love to travel the world for months, to take a year of to write a book, to get rid of most of the stuff that we have accumulated. None of this is going to happen anytime soon. But I did discover something very powerful this year. The ability to create what I call pockets of freedom, little moments that take you out of your bubble and into a state of inner calm. They slow down time and strip away all distractions, so you can reconnect with yourself in a deep and meaningful way. Where are your pockets of freedom? A morning walk? A drive with no destination and your favorite music in the car? Taking yourself out to dinner? I am sure they are just a few bold moves away. Looking Ahead to 2025: Clarity and Creativity As I near my 40s, I’ve spent quite some time reflecting on the next decade. For 2025, I’m embracing Clarity and Creativity—two forces that nourish and enhance each other. Here’s how I plan to bring them into my life: – Gain clarity on where I invest my energy and what I want to double-down on in the next decade. – Communicate more clearly with my kids and everyone around me. – Show my true colors, unapologetically. – Protect “Creator Time” by prioritizing creation over consumption. – See life through a creator’s lens, finding creative potential in every area, from the kitchen to my desk. I strongly believe we are all creative beings and tapping into our creativity is one of the most powerful ways to honor life. – Create from a place of joy, first and foremost for myself, letting go of others’ opinions and the syrens of growing an audience. Wishing you clarity and creative energy for the year ahead. Let’s let go of the scarcity mindset and embrace abundance—there’s plenty of clarity and creativity for everyone. 😊 Hugs, Tanja  As always, I am sharing an overview of some the books that made it onto my shelf (or kindle) this year: – Short Stories by Ray Bradbury (yep, still not finished…. I started reading them in 2023 and there are still plenty left. If you feel like you don’t have time to read, I can only recommend diving into the genre of short stories.) – Essstörungen – Heilung ist möglich (highly recommend this book if you or anyone in your circle is suffering from eating disorders) – Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat (how to engineer happiness through logic and mindfulness – haven’t finished reading yet) – City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (a book about love, freedom, scandal, and self-discovery in 1940s) – Eine neue Welt by Eckart Tolle (a spiritual guide to transcending ego and awakening to a higher state of consciousness) – A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers (a novella about a tea monk and a robot. Thanks for the recommendation, Nashua!) – The Big Leap by Gay Hendrick (a self-help book on how to tap into your zone of genius) – Pity the Reader by Kurt Vonnegut (about writing with style, a bit heavy to read…) – Drift into Failure by Sidney Dekker (a view on how broken component lead to failure of complex systems over time – thanks, John Cutler, for the tip!) …and tons of poetry 🙂 What were your favorite books in 2024? I am always looking for inspiration 🙂 This text was first published in my monthly though-letter Tanja’s Butterflies (December Edition 2024 ). If you are interested in receiving the next editions in your inbox including additional resources such as inspiring quotes, books and more, you can subscribe here. |
