What Have I Learned From 2020?

While it’s obvious to say that this past year has been pretty much anything but typical, I found myself in the closing days of 2020 doing what I do most years, reflecting on the lessons I’ve learned over the past twelve months. And what I realized came as something of a surprise to me….

I’ve been more engaged with life: it’s true how we can become creatures of habit, going from one day to the next following essentially the same script. That changed for most of us back in March when the country and the world went into some version of lockdown. Suddenly, taken-for-granted activities like buying groceries or going to see friends and family took more thought & planning and often looked very different (if they happened at all). And while it certainly added stress to my life, looking back I also realized that I’d not felt so involved in daily living for a long time. I was actively thinking about mundane things and I realized I was engaged to a degree that I could not readily recall and, as a result, days didn’t just fly by. It was a surprising upside to this past year and it’s something I hope I can nurture and continue well into 2021 and beyond.

I need to do more critical thinking: whether it was the elections, racial equality, vaccines, “fake news” or anything else that occupied our collective attention, I found myself torn on pretty much every issue. A big part of me wanted answers (or at least a clear-cut direction) on these weighty topics but, like a most things in life, reality is more complex than a headline or press release might lead you to believe. It’s been an on-going challenge for me but I’ve tried to avoid the allure of the simple answer and have spent more time in the “messy middle” to better understand these issues and work to form my own opinions. I don’t particularly enjoy the unease that sometimes results from this and I need to keep recommitting myself to the cause, but 2020 is forcing me to think more like a rational adult on a lot of things (it’s also making me increasingly wary of the amplifying effect that social media can have on public opinion).

There’s opportunity in adversity: the year certainly did not play out anywhere near to what I’d been expecting, both personally and professionally. For example, not long after the lockdowns began, my business went into a holding pattern with everyone taking a wait-and-see attitude. This forced me to get creative in how I was marketing my business as well as where I looked for clients. As a result, I landed one of my favorite projects of the last few years which I’d never have even been aware of had 2020 not forced me to think and act differently. That’s a powerful lesson that I’ll need to keep reminding myself of on a regular basis.

I don’t need more time, I need more discipline: it’s embarrassing to admit this but 2020 gifted me with more time to do the things I keep saying I wanted to do… but very little of it happened. With nonexistent commutes, skipped vacations and a greatly reduced social calendar, there should have been time aplenty to work on “the list.” Being brutally honest, however, I spent this found time on pouring over news sites or playing games or watching old TV shows (I’m looking at you Pluto TV and your new Carol Burnett channel). This is another obvious lesson but it reinforced that I choose how I will spend my time and on what my priorities are. If I don’t like the progress I make, this year’s shown me it’s probably due to my own priorities. Put another way, it’s not a lack of time that has been the problem; it’s my own lack of focus and discipline.

I suspect there’s more things that I’ll realize about what I’m taking from 2020 but the above is what I kept coming back to in my reflections. Some of it’s good, some is not very flattering but all of it, I hope, is honest. If nothing else, 2020 was one of those rare years that we will look back on with a clear before-and-after perspective and it’s given me some stark contrasts to reflect upon. Whether you see your own year as being good, bad or neutral, the challenge we all face is what we will do with the lessons we’ve learned these past twelve months.

Know that I’m pulling for you!