Hello 2021!
And hello to you all!
A new year has started and it has been almost 2 years since I launched Lost & Found Memories, but I realised I have never introduced myself here properly. So an introduction (and a re-introduction to LFM) is in order.
I am Gizem and I created Lost & Found Memories to honour the serendipity of life. I am a London based blogger. I specialise in growth strategies of start-ups at work. And for the rest of my life I focus on my passion for travelling, finding peace and happiness, conscious living, eating well, reading, dancing, and growing in every experience!
In 2019, I had a moment of realisation in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I realised how I built chains for myself and how far I was from the person I wanted to be. I knew I had to let go of the things that drained me and slowed me down, including my job and even some friendships.
Fast forward to today, I am now living in congruence with the person I desire to be. I am feeling happy and confident. Every moment of my life is dedicated to things that help me grow and feel alive. I focus on my life with the support of great coaches, who push me to be my higher self in every possible way. I am no longer afraid to build my own business (even during these difficult times). I also feel that my heart is finally open again to possibilities.
2020 was definitely the year of Lost & Found Memories. Our plans, ambitions, desires were put on hold by an invisible threat. Businesses struggled, people lost their jobs, relationships were tested. We all had to let go of many valuable things and make the most of our days with what we already had.
Will 2021 be significantly different? Only time will tell. But I strongly believe that we all can create a great year if we keep the biggest learning of 2020 in our minds: “Do the hard work, but surrender to the outcome.”
In 2021, LFM will be the voice of hope and the constant reminder to create joy through the ashes of our old lives that no longer serve us. It is all about letting go and keeping an open heart.
Now that you know a bit about me and Lost & Found Memories, I’d love to know more about you. Share your story and how you built resilience in 2020 below!
The Value of Human Connection
Can you put a value on human connection?
If human connection was in the stock market from the beginning of the Coronavirus developments, probably we would have seen a massive drop in value early March, and then a sudden jump -around now- due to scarcity - at least in Europe.
It has been 75 days since my lockdown has started. 75 days... is a long time:
2 months and 14 days
10 weeks and 5 days
1800 hours
108,000 minutes
6,480,000 seconds
It is 20.5% of 2020. 😱
When lockdown was first introduced, it was a welcomed change in my day to day routine.
There was no stress of catching a virus from strangers.
No frustration of every-day rush hour.
No fight to squeeze yourself into whatever public transport you take and feel like you are just another sardine in the can.
Instead all of these were replaced with:
breakfasts in bed
more time for morning meditation
reading more pages in my book in the morning
longer morning stretches
and, if I didn't feel like any of the above, then longer sleep.
That additional 30 - 60 minutes revolutionised my mornings.
But after a while, all that positivity of slow living was shadowed by the plague of uncertainty:
Hearing about colleagues and friends being made redundant
Declining values in all critical business metrics
Lack of clarity as to when the lockdown might end
Intense longing for every basic experience
This is the point when the human connection became more important then ever.
I, personally, am finding it very difficult to get motivated at the moment, unless I made a meaningful communication at some point in my day.
"Meaningful" is the operative word here. No more initial hunger of jumping on calls with everyone or just sending millions of memes every day. No more chit chat or gossip.
Instead, it created space for more intentional catchups, thinking about how each call can be more fun and meaningful for one another, a fine balance of light, fun and thought-provoking conversation. It also highlighted the quality of friendships/relationships, who had circumstantial presence in my life and whose company I truly enjoyed. It also made me reflect on how I could be inspiring, fun, motivating, more present for those who truly mattered to me.
Yesterday it was an old friend's birthday and we had a mini remote birthday celebration. Checking in with one another, drinking, chatting, future planning... After the call, life felt better and easier. Things I needed to do didn't seem so big. And even relaxing became more natural afterwards.
If there is one thing I learned about myself during this lockdown is that I definitely get energised by human connection. And that is priceless.
As long as it is meaningful to me.
Honouring A Brand-New Day
Welcome to my blog: A Brand-New Day. 🎉
The name has a very special meaning to me. If you are anything like me and building every piece of your life brick by brick, then the strength that got you where you are today may also come with some form of resistance to change.
While changes that the life throws at us are usually unexpected, I am also realising that even after the most earth-shattering change, in the end I always find myself under the bright sky and in the midst of a calm blue ocean, where everything makes sense after all and all my worries seem so small in the vastness of possibilities.
What it took to get to this point of peace and acceptance was losing who I was along the way and rediscovering who I wanted to be: Leaning into the brand-new day and welcoming all the changes it brings.
And now I cannot imagine another moment without change and I feel ready to embark on a completely new path. Every. Single. Day.
So this blog is about this new journey I will be on, what I am building and how I am leading my life. For every day is full of new opportunities and every challenge opens up new paths.
Careless Summer Days, Ayvalik, Turkey