As we all know, 2020 was a crazy year that will go down in the history books. Let’s be real, it could’ve been better. But I hope we all come out of it more hopeful for the future.
I’m sure there was A LOT to learn from 2020, and I’d like to take this opportunity to share my Top 5 most important lessons I’ve learned that I hope you can take for 2021.
I’ll be going in reverse order, so let’s start with number 5!
5. Prioritization
With a lot more time in our hands, I’ve been reflective about what I wanted to prioritize in my life. Right when shelter-in-place started, I quit my job and declined to continue my pursuit for a potentially exciting freelance opportunity to put more of my time, effort, and mental capacity into Kurative Co. (if you never heard of Kurative Co, you can check out this video here).
The decision to put my all into my own work was one of the best decisions I’ve made this year. It allowed me to contribute to something that is meaningful and fulfilling to me. I’m in a fortunate position financially to do this without getting paid for a while, and I am grateful for that. (There were also a ton of people who supported me in the background. Shout out to my family, friends, housemates, and especially my girlfriend!)
In my experience, prioritizing what’s most important in your life will help get you through the tough times. I’m happy to be focusing on creating honest and vulnerable content for my audience about my struggles and lessons learned on how to live with more intention.
4. Reaching out to people
Honestly, it was a different experience not being able to catch up with people over coffee, celebrate birthdays in person, or even seeing people at work. I took all of those things for granted until the pandemic started.
Although online interactions are still not as good as in-person ones, they definitely helped. That little extra effort to send a text or have a call with someone has a huge return in helping people not feel alone!
Even just a quick, “Hey, how are you doing lately?” goes a long way. Over the past 9 months, since shelter-in-place started, I’ve enjoyed the text messages and calls with my friends and family. It felt great catching up with people and just making sure everyone is doing well.
If it’s been a while since you’ve reached out to a loved one, send them a quick text and see how they’re doing. Let them know they’re not alone!
3. Making the most out of a crappy situation
There are things you can’t control like the coronavirus and shelter-in-place, but you can make the most out of it during these crappy times. Throughout the pandemic, people still got married and celebrated birthdays on Zoom, I found many people picking up creative hobbies that excited them, and others spent extra time with their loved ones at home. Not letting a crappy situation ruin everything for us is the best way to handle it.
I personally decided to spend most of the pandemic working on Kurative Co. like writing, filming videos, and doing things that fulfilled me, while trying to take care of my physical and mental health by cooking, working out, and doing some self-care.
I wasn’t expecting to be stuck at home for most of the year, but I’m glad I got to spend it the way I wanted to. I’m the proudest of my work this year, and I’ve become better at what I do. It was great to take this time to grow.
2. Being gentle & patient with yourself
On the flip side, it’s also essential to take days off for self-care when needed. There was so much going on throughout the year and we should strive for longevity.
On most days, I was productive. I was waking up at a great time, kept to my routine of cooking, working out, meditating, journaling, and pretty much stuck with my WFH routine that I initially created for myself at the beginning of shelter-in-place. (There’s a video here if you wanted to see how most are of my days are still going).
But there were definitely days when things weren’t going well. Whether it was because of COVID-19 fatigue, or a special event on November 3rd that was getting me and everyone else all worked up, or it was a random day when I just wasn’t feeling it, I realized it’s OK to take time off.
I’ve taken a full day off where I didn’t do any work, cook, or even interact with my housemates because I needed to recharge. After taking those days off, I felt A LOT better.
Moral of this lesson? We aren’t expected to be productive every day or every hour, and we don’t have to take every single opportunity that is presented for ourselves. We can take what is enough for us and be OK with it. Your self-worth isn’t measured by how productive you are.
1. Mental health & well-being
Saving the best for last! I believe focusing on my mental health & well-being has honestly been the most important aspect of getting through 2020.
With my mental breakdown back at the end of 2019, quitting my job, the scare of COVID-19, the craziness from politics, and all the other shit that happened, I couldn’t have kept my mental health in check without keeping up with my self-care practices throughout the year.
Therapy was the most helpful resource. No matter what, I’m always going to recommend it! Being able to talk about what has been bothering me, getting deeper into my feelings & emotions, and setting goals that would help me get through the pandemic has honestly helped me become a more patient and less anxious person.
I know therapy currently is a luxury that not everyone can get access to, and I wish those resources are more widely available. That’s why I believe everyone should have #MentalHealthAccess4All!
Before the pandemic started, I never journaled, I didn’t believe in meditation, I habitually checked my social media, and I never appreciated the benefits of getting some sunlight exposure.
But complimenting therapy with all of those activities into my daily routine has helped me A TON! I now journal every weekday. I meditate at least 4 times a week. I quit social media and avoid the news when I get stressed out. And when the weather permits, I take walks outside to get some sunlight and to clear my mind.
They all seemed to work for me, and maybe some of these won’t work for you. My recommendation, along with therapy, is to try them out. It really doesn’t hurt to try. 2020 has potentially created a lot of damage to our physical, financial, and mental well-being. The best way to recover from them is to start with your mental health.
Be more intentional in 2021
I hope you’re able to take at least one of these lessons and apply them to your 2021! If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that our lives can change so drastically outside of our control. Who knows what’s going to happen next year. But when we are intentional with what we CAN control, we can come out of 2021 better than we were entered it.
(P.S. I hosted a workshop series on how to apply these lessons to your 2021 year. Enter your email at https://workshop.kurative.co to receive the summary write-up for each workshop straight to your inbox.)