It’s 2021 and is this really happening? How much personal reflection, questioning of values, assessing your relationships with religion, god, love, your spouse and your children can one human do? As we sat in lockdown, emerged from lockdown and then confronted the Delta Variant, 2020 morphed into 2021. And now we’re looking at 2022 – there seems to be no end in sight.

Fortunately, as an experienced 10Q-er I have some facility with the line of questioning that is 10Q, the annual examination of our lives, hopes, dreams and wishes that was launched by Reboot with Nicola Behrman, Ben Greenman and Amelia Klein many years ago. In the words of James Murphy, founder and lead spirit guide of LCD Soundsystem in his song I’m Losing My Edge, “I was there!”

I was there at the birth of 10Q as an idea but also, “I was there!” as a person making use of 10Q as a repository for hopes, dreams, reflections, genuflections, aspirations, assassinations (of character) as a single person. “I was there,” having had children and now looking at these questions about, did I do something that made me proud, did I have a profound spiritual experience, did an event affect me? Yes! Yes! Yes!

And now. Now we are here. Eighteen months from when the world slowed to a crawl. Eighteen months into a new normal that shows very little signs of finding what is the baseline of that New Normal. Yet. We still look to the past and say to ourselves, “How did that go?” Did I do what I wanted to do? Did I do what was right? Can I do better?

In some sense, 10Q in its brilliant simplicity; 10 Questions over 10 Days is part of the answer to “How do I live a happy, fulfilling life?” You live. You examine your actions honestly and forthrightly and you alone are the judge (jury and executioner if you wish) of “How did I do?” But more importantly, the gift of 10Q, the gift of living to fight another day, and the gift of being alive is, “What do you want to do with tomorrow?” “What is your plan?” “How will you do better?” “How will you be more thoughtful.”

What will you do with your reassessment of your past to inform your future?

We are all works in progress. 10Q reminds me of this annually. It is a gift. And a gift I am grateful for. That is why I 10Q. Thank you Reboot. Thank you Nicola. Thank you Ben. Thank you Amelia.

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