Top 8 lessons of 2020

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a shit-show. And yet, we also know that 'character is formed in the crucible of life'.

It is with that in mind that I share with you the Top 8 Lessons of 2020. It is my hope you can use these tips to mine your own experience of 2020 for a silver lining. 

And if you really knew me, you'd know that 2020 has dealt me a shit hand unlike anything I've ever experienced. I apologize in advance for being vague and not specifically listing the avalanche of challenges that have been heaped on me but, two things: 

1. The specifics of my challenges are likely irrelevant to you and would only serve to meet my own selfish need to complain. 
2. I share these challenges with loved ones who prefer details to remain private.

(Note: in 2021 I intend to explore more fully the line between personal info and private info amidst the modern (over)sharing social media influencers. I hope you'll join me.)

In a normal year  I usually look forward to the reflection and projection time at year end that allows me to learn from the year going out and face with wisdom and renewed purpose the year that is arriving. 

But as I see it, the problem is that 2020 is insanely difficult to process... 

The quantity and intensity of the challenges that many of us have faced have exceeded our bandwidth. 

Most of us never imagined that we would be hit so hard by so many things all at the same time. But life being the adventure that it is, remains unexpected and unprecedented every year, not just 2020. 

Simply put, most of us are trying to do too much, too fast.

And that is why 2020 leveled so many of us. Is it possible that 2020 is giving us the opportunity to identify the weaknesses in our personal foundations and firm them up going forward?

The solution lies in simplifying your life dramatically. 

I propose that if we do significantly less and a better job planning the sequence, timing, and pace of our lives and business, we will be able to make an even greater impact while better surviving the inevitable storms of life. 

It is with that simple yet profound statement in mind that I share what I'm taking away from 2020 as I believe it supports the essence of simplifying and finding a more sustainable pace. 

Top 8 Lessons of 2020

​1. Best friends make the good times better and the hard times easier.

2. You are not alive to please any of these motherfuckers.

3. But comfort isn't your purpose. 

4. Sometimes I wake up and have to remind myself: There is nothing wrong with me. I have patterns to unlearn, new behaviors to embody and wounds to heal. But there is nothing wrong with the core of me and who I am. I am unlearning generations of harm and remembering love. It takes time. 

5. It's hard to beat a person who never gives up. 

6. Why do you like thunderstorms? Because it shows that even nature needs to scream sometimes. 

7. What's coming will come, and we'll meet it when it does. 

8. My identity in Christ.

In closing, I challenge you to reflect on the lessons that you're taking away from 2020? I invite you to use the following questions for reflection and projection: 
​

• Top 5 happiest moments of the past year?
• What small things have I enjoyed most during my day-to-day life? 
• What did I do for the very first time in my life last year?
• Main lesson of the previous year?
• Highlight of the year?

As always, I want to hear from you! Comment below or email me with your reflections on 2020 and projections for 2021. How can I support you?