2020 – Oh, what a year it has been! Whether you consider 2020 to be the best or worst or somewhere in between, it was one for the books that’s for sure. It’s that week between Christmas and New Year’s that I find myself reflecting on the past year. I reflect on the amazing things that took place in the past year. It can be anything you find meaningful – a great trip (none for me this year), a life event, a gesture someone has done, even something as small as someone bringing a smile to your face. I also look back on the challenges of the year – difficulty seeing family/friends, finding a way to help someone I care about, personal challenges.
I wanted to share a few things I have learned this year:
- Be kind. Perhaps you’ve heard this a lot, but this year it was more important than ever to be kind to one another. It’s so easy to judge someone’s situation but it’s even harder not to judge and offer a kind word or two. We never know the other person’s true situation so be kind. Your kindness could be the one great gesture that the person needed today.
- Take care of yourself. Is it me or has 2020 been the year to put yourself first? This is the same analogy as the oxygen mask on the plane – if you’re not ok how can you take care of others around you? From time to time carve out some time for yourself and pamper yourself. It’s so important to give yourself that time so you are refreshed and energized to love and enjoy the ones around you.
- Don’t take anyone or anything for granted. It’s so easy to put a task on the back burner till you realize that person or task isn’t there anymore. Time goes by, eventually life goes by and you’re left wondering whatever happened to something you wanted to do or someone you wanted to meet up with. Don’t waste time putting of things you truly want to do, the time is here and now.
- Cut off the bad energy. By this I mean anyone who isn’t bringing joy into your life. Why do you need someone in your life you have to constantly please or someone who doesn’t make time for you? You don’t need that in your life – life is too short to be surrounding yourself with people who will bring you down.
- Make time for the people you love. Sometimes it’s so easy to get into this rhythm of the everyday grind that we fail to spend time with the people we care about the most. Make it a conscious decision to spend time with those that matter the most to you, after all isn’t that the point of life?
- Enjoy the little things. We’ve all had to get a little creative this year for our own livelihood. All the small joys we’ve discovered this year, carry it on to the next year and see if you can make it a part of your regular routine.
- Be grateful. I have been practicing being mindful and grateful a lot this year. As much as we want this and that, it’s so important to cherish what we have. After all, the things/people you have now are some of the things you had wanted once upon a time.
- Health is your most important asset. This includes both your physical and mental health. Take time to destress from the day. Take time to give yourself time for healing/recovery/recharging. Take time to walk around the neighborhood. Take time to take care what’s inside and out. Don’t neglect either one since they’re both vital for enjoying a fulfilling and long life.
- Time is your most important commodity. Time has a way of showing us what matters. We’re only given a finite amount of it, so why not make the best of it!
- Money matters. Finances can be the elephant in the room sometimes, but money is a necessity. Life can be so unpredictable, but it can make things a bit better by having a savings fund. Money can’t buy happiness but sometimes it can buy you peace of mind.
- Plan for the worst but hope for the best. As we now know, anything can happen – literally a pandemic started when you least expected it. Try to have a rough plan, whether it be professionally or personally. Sometimes it can work out and sometimes not. At least this way you can keep track of what it is you want from your life.
- Social media vacation. We are all on our devices pretty much during all times of the day so why not take some time off? You can make it as little as an hour a day or be courageous and take an entire day off. It’s healthy to take a break from time to time and enjoy the present.
- Laugh a lot. Life can be filled with deadlines, bills, and endless to-dos so don’t forget to laugh and be silly. We have so many things on our minds at all times, but don’t forget to share a laugh or two with those around you – laughter is the best medicine!
- Stay informed and check the facts. There is no shortage of information in 2020, but what’s fact and what’s fiction? It’s more important now than ever that we check if what we’re reading/seeing is in fact true before we form opinions, pass judgment or make a decision.
- Failure is the most important life experience. If you haven’t failed at something, have you even tried to attain anything? No failure is ever wasted, they are lessons in disguise. Sometimes it’s hard to see right away, but you’ll only build on it.
Now that I’ve had time to examine the year and these two views I take a moment to really take in all that has happened. Now it’s time to make a list of goals for myself for 2021. Usually this is the routine I have developed for myself over the past few years. I have never been one for resolutions, so I like to make goals. These goals can be personal, professional or something on your bucket list. Take some to think about what it is that you really want to achieve. Thinking back at this year, what would you like to build on and what are some things you would like to change? What are some new things you would like to experience.
I call these goals but of course life happens and sometimes we can’t control it. For example, I wanted to travel more in 2020 but that didn’t happen. It doesn’t mean I can’t have that as my goal. I enjoy having something to work towards, it’s what drives me and that’s the kind of person I am. Once you have a list of goals, start jotting down how you can make them happen. Simply having a list of goals is never enough, you need to have some actionable items to make those happen. Now that you have a list of goals and actionable items I suggest you keep this on you and look at it every few weeks. This way you can see how you’re doing with your goals or perhaps your goals changed and now you have a new goal. This always helps me put things into perspective when I randomly want to add a new goal but I look at this and question what would I rather have? After all we can want a lot of things but we are limited by our time and abilities. I wish you all a wonderful, peaceful and vivacious 2021!