What 2020 Made Me Realise ?

Every new year comes with new opportunities. Like every sane person, I too made plans for the year ahead. We were hit by the pandemic and the world was brought to a standstill. Countries were forced to go into recessions, so many lives and livelihood was lost. Though we were tested with such tough times we still have too much to thank for? Don’t we?

With everyone stuck up in their homes, we manifested different versions of ourselves. these are the top 5 things that struck me in 2020:

1.Gratitude

Look around you and focus on the tiniest details. What do you see? A roof over your head? Food on your table? Variety of snacks to choose from? Well, guess what? You are luckier than so many people around the world. According to the world economic forum 114 million jobs have been lost due to COVID 19. all these things that we have taken for granted like our family and health, many people around the world have lost it already. Being grateful not only makes you cherish the things that you have but also increases your blessings even more.

2. Patience

Let us face it we all had plans for the year and ahead be it for our education, job, or even traveling. 2020 puts a large pause button in our lives and it’s fine. In this fast-paced world where everyone wants that click of “instant gratification,” we learned how to do things with patience. This might sound cliche but we almost forgot the fact that good things require patience. All that adrenaline-pumping fast-paced life needed a break and it worked. We humans took a rest and let nature breathe for a while too. As a result of which the clarity that we got was extraordinary.

3. Clarity

All the time that we got was a blessing. What I did was I removed all those habits that were not helping me move forward in life. Before the lockdown I was just going with the flow and never really questioned the course of my life. What I needed was clarity, so I got some. I sat down and brainstormed what I really wanted in life. Which career to choose? What are the skills that I need to learn? What am I really good at?

I also narrowed down my character like what kind of a person I was and what can I do to interact with people better. Time gave us clarity about who to talk with, which people we should remain in touch with, what were the things that mattered in life, what do we want to achieve people in life and so on.

4.making yourself a priority

You matter and so does your peace of mind. You can cut off from people who are energy vampires and pull you down. keep away from people who are nothing but a plant that you have been giving water to. Stop watering and you will realize that it had died a long time ago. It was you who was giving efforts, they were just paying back in kind.

Cutaway from negative people, respectfully. Have a small but worthy group of friends who push you to be your best self. Eating right and sleeping enough also are very important parts of self-care. These two can change a lot of things if you do it right. Working out, I can’t stress enough on this one. We all know someone who got in shape during the lockdown. Working out helps to not only tone your physique but also your mind.

5. Keep learning

No matter where you are, keep your mind occupied. Give it something to process and keep it in motion. Learn how to learn. focus on skills and habits that you want to grow. Whether you are at school or university, don’t limit yourself to only bookish knowledge. Use the internet to your advantage and keep learning and keep growing. It’s as simple as that. you know yourself better than anyone. Any resource invested in yourself never goes wasted.

I agree the last year had been tough for us, but tough chapters taught us tough lessons. Lifelong lessons. It’s a matter of perspective actually if you look at it the wrong way it’s obvious you will see nothing but damage at all fronts. Look at it as a lesson that taught people simple yet neglected values.