I think we all know that 2020 has been a challenging year to say the least with the impact that Covid -19 has had on us, our families, our communities and the World.
Some of the toughest and most difficult things we face in life turn often turn out to be our biggest learnings for us. I have had many friends and associates comment that it has been the biggest learning year of their lives. The past serves as our “Raw Materials” for the future. As we enter a new year in 2021, I ask you to reflect back on 2020 and as yourself some important questions;
Looking back at the last year, I ask that you reflect on the following:
What were you most proud of?
What were your learnings?
What were your accomplishments?
What were your ‘Silver Linings’ of 2020?
2020 – What It has taught me
Today I wanted to share some of the learnings that 2020 has taught me in as we embark on a new exciting year of life.
1.The Importance of Family
Although family has always been most important for Barb and I, 2020 taught us just how important and how much we love spending time with our families. There is truth in the saying “distance makes the heart grow fonder”! Our adult children are located in NYC (Lauren), Vancouver (Tim) and Calgary (Matt). The times we did spend together were truly cherished as due to Covid we were unable to spend the usual amount of time with them. We didn’t see them as often as usual this year however when we did we all realized the importance of family and how much we love spending time together. I know in talking to many of our friends, they feel exactly the same way that we do.
2.The Importance of Self Care
I think we all realized the importance of Self Care during 2021. Since we were isolated, many of us had to find new and different ways to look after ourselves. I define Self Care as doing anything you can do to be a happier and healthier person. This was even more important this past year as there has been a quadruple increase in mental health issues facing Canadians since the beginning of Covid.
Last March I made the personal decision to “double down” on Self Care. I made sure I had my daily workouts, tried to have as many of them as possible outside, followed my plant-based diet, practiced my breathing techniques, and paid attention to my sleep. To learn more on what I did to practice 8 Steps to Self Care during Covid 19, you can access it here: https://kevinbradyhealth.ca/my-8-steps-to-self-care-during-covid-19/
3.Getting Outside
Like many of you, most of my days were spent indoors in 2020 doing work, having meetings virtually, and spending many hours on the computer. As most of you know, I make working out daily part of my daily routine as I feel it is so important to my overall well being. In 2020, the difference from prior years is that I made every effort to get outside as much as possible. I felt this was even more important during 2020 since I was spending so much working time indoors and on screens. I was cycling outdoors and even swimming in the freezing lake right into December. Since then I have switched my workouts to Fat Tire biking, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, and hiking outdoors. I feel that 2020 taught me the importance of getting outside as much as possible to get close to nature, appreciate the outdoors, and overall put me in a positive state of mind. If you missed my blog on the 8 Benefits of Getting Outside you can access it here: https://kevinbradyhealth.ca/the-8-benefits-of-getting-outside-during-covid/
4. People Truly Cared About Others
I noticed that Covid forced many of us to “slow down” from our regular crazy hectic lives. I also noticed that people genuinely cared about others. I witnessed so much kindness all around us in so many ways. There were many random acts of kindness, people reaching out to those in need or our elders in order to ensure they were ok. I also loved the fact that we finally celebrated our healthcare workers that were and continue to be on the front line to truly help people on a daily basis. I would love to hear any “acts of kindness” that you have witnessed through Covid.
5. Business Could Still Continue – Virtually
2020 taught me that contrary to my initial beliefs, business could not only continue but could flourish in a Virtual Environment. I think many of us initially felt that our business’s would be put on hold until life got back to normal post Covid. Once we were a few months into Covid I know many of us felt we had to find a new way to conduct business – Virtually. Virtual meetings through platforms such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams and FaceTime has allowed us to continue to do business in a new way. To my amazement I can personally say that the business’s I am involved in both had their best years ever. I also believe that once things get “back to normal”, we will continue on this path of Virtual meetings as the world has realized how easy and effective it is.
6. People and Business’s Pivoted
2020 taught me that many of us could “Pivot” in our businesses and personal lives in order to thrive and survive. Many people I know used this period to reflect and figure out what they really wanted to do moving forward. Many changed their trajectory as a result of Covid and are now doing and living exactly where they want to. We all know people that after reflection on their lives have changed careers, moved to new locations, taken up new hobbies or started new businesses. Personally we have had our children not only relocate to new cities but also change career paths.
We also know many businesses that have pivoted into other businesses, and other lines of business in order to survive and in many cases thrive. Many businesses also pivoted in order to help people during 2020 by changing their manufacturing facilities into making new supplies or products such as masks or hand sanitizer in order to help fight Covid. I would like to personally thank anyone that pivoted in order to help people, help the world and fight this brutal pandemic.
7. People demonstrated Resilience
Resilience is the ability for people to bounce back positively from difficult or tough situations. I think we would all agree that 2020 was a very difficult year for so many in so many ways. I read a survey today that indicated that 72% of Canadians have had an increase in their stress levels during 2020(almost 3 quarters of Canadians!).
What I did notice in so many people was their ability to stay strong and stay positive all year and therefore demonstrated resilience. I personally believe that these “tests” that are put in front of us result in us becoming stronger and better people in the long run. I saw from a business perspective how many used 2020 as a time to “reboot” instead of surrendering and had their best years ever. I also noticed on a personal level how many people I interacted with remained positive and optimistic about the future even with all the negativity around us. To learn more about Bad Things = Good Things, you can access it here: https://kevinbradyhealth.ca/bad-things-good-things/
Summary
Although I must say I found 2020 to be one of the toughest years ever, there were many amazing learnings and “Silver Linings” that often will not be apparent to us until later in life. I hope that you personally found some learnings from 2020 and use it as a way to a better and stronger future. In summary, some of my learnings from 2020 were as follows:
1.Importance of Family
2.Importance of Self Care
3.Importance of Getting Outside
4.People Cared
5. Business Continued
6.People and Business’s Pivoted
7.People showed Resilience
As we now flip the page and move into 2021, I wish you and your family all the best in health and happiness in 2021!
Kev
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1 comment
Hi Kev. Thanks very much for all of your time and effort in preparing this presentation.
You certainly covered everything. Great! I know your story will inspire your readers to try harder.
Thanks so much for sharing your ideas.
Marge