3 important things I have learned from 2020

The year 2020 has been strange and difficult for many of us. I honestly believed that COVID-19 was going to be a repeat of the other virus like SARS, swine flu and ebola. It was a threat, but it was not going to do much in the United States. Obviously, that was not the case. Since I am located just outside of New York City, we were the first area to experience wrath of the pandemic. The city that never sleeps came to a screeching halt and was forced to go to bed.

At first, I enjoyed this impromptu break since I had to temporarily work from home and finally had time to take a breath and catch up on housework and TV. I enjoyed being home and seeing my fiancé when he came home from work in the morning since I am normally at work. Although everything was closed, the initial part of the shutdown was kinda fun.

However, the increasing death toll and restrictions made me realize that this was not a drill and was not going ending anytime soon. I was afraid to visit my parents. My fiancé is an essential worker and was concerned that he would get sick and bring the virus into our home. I did not get a chance to say goodbye to my outgoing high school seniors. Grocery shopping became a frustrating necessity due to the capacity limits.

Despite all of the negatives, there were some positive things that came out of this year. Aside from being alive and healthy, here are some things I have learned this year.

1. Nothing is guaranteed.

We have all experienced some form of loss this year, whether it was a loved one or a life experience. At the beginning of the year, I had a set list of goals:

• finish graduate school
• my top orchestra receives a Gold rating at the annual festival
• get my International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) pro card in women’s figure

Unfortunately, I did not reach any of those goals. The pandemic either cancelled those events or made them more difficult to reach. Although I was disappointed, I am grateful that I have my health, my family and my job. I will work toward those goals in the upcoming year.

2. You can make things happen despite the circumstances.

2020 is the epitome of the saying, “if there is a will, there is a way.” Schools switched to online instruction in THREE DAYS. Restaurants put tables in the street when customers could not eat inside. People had weddings in their backyards. Anything can be exercise equipment if you try hard enough. I started a blog from a Facebook ad. If you can get through a pandemic, you can do almost anything!

3. Self-care needs to be consistent otherwise it is almost futile.

I have found out the hard way that self-care is not an occasional activity, it needs to be done consistently. If you have been following me for awhile, you already know that I have been burned out multiple times this year (read here and here). Some of it was due to my job situation, however, most of it was me putting too much pressure on myself since I am up for tenure and allowing my job to take over my life. Creating boundaries and setting aside more time each day for myself has made me happier and productive.

Final thoughts

2020 was a wild ride but we have survived! Hopefully 2021 will be a more positive year and things will begin to resemble the pre-pandemic world. I wish you all the best and cheers to a new year!

What have you learned from this year?