Lots of lessons were learned in 2020. Some lessons were easy, some hard and some are still a work in progress. Still others were things I’d always known but were reinforced by the events in the last 12 months
My faith has been renewed. I was raised Catholic but haven’t been to Church in years. Rob and I both had some serious “Come to Jesus” moments through this year. When everything this year seemed to be working against us, we had to turn to the one person that’s always there, no matter what. “Let go and let God” got us through so many obstacles.
My diet is just as important as working out. What I put in my mouth affects my mental and physical health so much. When I eat well I’m more focused, have more energy and don’t feel as “foggy” or “sluggish.”
My mental and physical health are equally important. I can be in great physical shape but if I’m mentally struggling or stressed, I’m out of sync. The opposite is true as well. Even when I’m mentally healthy, if I’m not eating well (see Lesson 2), getting my workouts in or taking the right supplements I feel lethargic and lazy. My mental and physical health need to stay in alignment.
I’ll do anything to maintain a sense of normalcy for my children. They don’t physically go to school and they aren’t currently allowed to play sports. So I have their friends here as often as possible. We travel to our house in Florida where they can still go to trampoline parks, Drive Shack, soak up some Vitamin D, eat in restaurants and not be locked in the house because it’s too cold outside and nothing is open for them.
I’m hopeful. I have to be. I have to think that the world will be a better place in the near future. So much negativity has been jammed down our throats and it’s easy to be drawn into the doom and gloom. I can’t and I won’t. I KNOW better days are just around the corner. Not every day will be a good day. Some days I feel on top of the world and other days I want to pull the covers over my head and forget about the world. The key to staying “positive” is remembering the bad days will pass and the good days will come again. They always do. Hope gives me the ability to know that.
I don’t trust 99.9% of *all* politicians. Their only concern is their self preservation, wielding power and getting re-elected. They do not care about the people they’re supposed to serve. They probably never have but I ignored politics before 2020. I no longer have the luxury of my “ignorance is bliss” attitude towards the government.
I truly can do whatever I put my mind to. 75 Hard was the most mentally and physically difficult thing I’ve ever done. I did it and I often remind myself of that when I start to become whiny. I force myself to stop making excuses and start taking action in all aspects of my life that I’m unhappy about or need to take action in. You can check out this post to see what 75 Hard is, the results and the lessons I learned during
I still believe there are many, many good people in the world. Just recently when restaurants were shut down (again) a customer from one of our favorite places offered to pay all the employee’s salaries. I’ve seen small business owners gain a new sense of community amongst each other. Multiple families have come together and figured out how everyone can work and educate their children while they’re homeschooling for the foreseeable future. Many local restaurants have been delivering food to the local hospital’s staff that are working long, grueling hours.
I’ve become a more confident parent and have learned to really trust my gut when it comes to parenting. How other people raise their children is none of my business and how I raise my children is no one else’s business. These are my kids and I’ll raise them and guide them the way Rob and I see fit.
I firmly believe that every person and business has a right to operate on their terms taking reasonable precautions. This goes hand in hand with my vehement support of capitalism and small businesses. If Target and Walmart can have thousands of people in and out all day, small businesses and restaurants can run safely with 1/100th of the amount of people through their doors. I absolutely do not want the government telling me where I can and can’t go and what I can and can’t do. I don’tt want to be part of a society where I can only buy things from Walmart, Target or Amazon because the government allowed some places to be open and not others.
I’ve learned that some things just aren’t worth wasting energy on. Arguing and debating endlessly on social media only left me feeling exhausted and usually regretful. I now preserve my energy for the kids, my family and work. That’s not to say I never comment or engage in a healthy debate, but I refuse to get caught up for hours in conversations that are going nowhere fast.
I have more gratitude than I did in 2019. I’m more grateful than I have ever been before. Being grateful doesn’t mean I just ignore the problems in the world or within myself either. It means acknowledging my problems and working on solutions while being grateful for what I do have. I focus more on what’s going well instead of what isn’t. Gratitude is an ongoing lesson.
I’ve learned that every individual views the world differently. It’s shaped by their upbringing, their experiences and their current life. I can’t possibly see the last 9 months through the lens of a single person who’s worked from home and lives in a big city. The impact of 2020 on their life must’ve been vastly different than its impact on mine. In the same way, they can’t possibly see my family’s reality of trying to survive as small business owners with kids that haven’t gone to school for 9 months.
We’re all vastly different. Our families are all different. We all need to try not to see things just through our own lens. I acknowledge that it’s not an easy thing to do. We all want to be “right” but what’s right for one person isn’t for another. Keep this in mind as we move into the New Year in a few weeks. We have to come to terms with accepting each other’s views, values and the way we see the world for a better 2021.
