The final days of December always create the perfect opportunity for reflection. This year stretched us beyond belief—pushing many of us outside our comfort zones to accept roles and responsibilities far different from how we began the first few months. The NFL gave us a prime example of the adjustments needed to promote and encourage team growth. As we close the books on the 2020 regular season, I was reminded this past weekend that it features a 16-year journeyman backup quarterback named Ryan Fitzpatrick still rocking the burly beard and electrifying a franchise that has suffered through a 20-year postseason victory outage.

Every holiday season brings about a personal practice in which I do an evaluation of my inner circle—acknowledging the partnerships that push me to be better and identifying the relationships that hinder my success. Focusing on the people we surround ourselves with most gives us an indicator of how or why things turned out either positive or negative in the prior year and portends what lies ahead.

When most Americans see a game of rugby for the first time, they think of the sport as a brutal and baffling event, akin to football without the protection of helmets and pads. Not Brian Moynihan. An avid rugby player from the time he was an 18-year-old freshman at Brown to the time he was a 32-year-old rising superstar in business, Moynihan sees beauty in an eight-man scrum.

Job security. Everyone craves it, especially when the world feels upside down.

And nothing gives that stamp of approval like being widely considered the most talented in your industry, a proven winner, and the face of the company—or so I thought. Everything about surefire first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ career with the Green Bay Packers has turned that notion on its head. Can you imagine being a Super Bowl Champion for one of the most iconic NFL franchises, a past recipient of the League’s MVP award, and an 8-time Pro Bowler, but still having critics doubt whether you can get the job done? Worse, imagine your own team being your biggest skeptic. That’s the life of a man who’s had to endure the cold winters on the frozen tundra of Green Bay’s Lambeau Field as well as the frigid support from Packers management.