2020 Review and Reflections

As we head toward the end of 2020, I’m talking about the takeaways I’ve had from this crazy year of pandemic, panic and adaptation into a new normal, and also discussing all the things we can hope for in 2021.

It’s no understatement that 2020 has been one hell of a year. No one could have foreseen the turbulent, topsy turvy year that was – kicking off with the Australian bushfires to the spread of coronavirus worldwide, from the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd to the Black Lives Matter protests, from the cancellation of most major sporting events to the creation of a COVID-19 vaccine (and a US election we'll never forget!) - 2020 has been a year of crazy headlines and (mostly) bad news.

In saying that, it was also a year of adaptation, of resilience, of creativity. A year of people buying local, supporting each other through tough times, of singing on balconies to keep spirits high. .And now in the depths of winter, a new kick from the Coronavirus as more virulent strains begin to appear, curtailing travel plans all over the world for Christmas celebrations.

What other surprises could this crazy year have in store? Let’s hope not too many – unless they’re good ones!

There have been so many tragedies this year, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, businesses closed for good, people made homeless and a huge adaptation for people in general as they juggled a new normal of working from home while looking after their families.

Reflecting on this year has been an eye opener, as we head into Christmas week, the silly season celebrations take over. There’s a lot to be grateful for this year, a lot of learning done, a lot of soul searching too. If ever there was a year to recalibrate your life, this was IT!

For what it’s worth, here are my 9 takeaways from 2020, the things I realised about myself, my environment, my business and my world as it stands today in the midst of yet another looming lockdown after Christmas.

FIRST things first

1. HUGS ARE EVERYTHING! Not being able to hug my family and friends this year has been a biggie! I’m a really huggy person, so not getting my quota of hugs has been hard. I can’t wait until I can hug people again, I might never stop!

2. Pleasure projects are important! To keep my sanity this year in the midst of COVID craziness, I made sure I had lots of hobbies. I kept up my choir practice, got back into my guitar practice and exercised a bit more for my mental health as well as my physical health. I also sent cards to my family and friends to keep in touch with them during the pandemic so they knew I was thinking about them.

3. Continuing Creativity. This one is huge for us entrepreneurs - I created a lot this year to keep me focused on something useful for my clients. I created online courses to pivot my business more online, bought five million books to read on a variety of topics when I have time (it never happened!) and thought of new ways to create community and heart in my business.

4. Let go of the outcome. This one took a while to learn, but it was a valuable lesson learned. Taking time to focus on the things you can control was crucial this year, but more importantly was about letting go of the outcome of those things we couldn’t control. We can't always get it right, but we try, we learn and we review, and then we make it better! Letting go of the outcome means we're in it for the process, the journey, if it works, great, if it doesn't, tweak and try again!

5. Decluttering. While this is still an ongoing thing in my house, it's been a useful strategy of mine this year to start looking at ways to declutter my workspace and my wardrobes! Finding new ways or places to work without clutter like paperwork, books or general ‘stuff’ makes things a lot easier and takes an element of stress off the table (quite literally!). I feel a lot lighter when I get rid of things I haven't used (or will never use again!) or send good stuff to charity.

6. Being grateful. I know at this stage that sounds like a cliché that’s been used a lot this year, but I'm so grateful for my life. I'm grateful for the path I've chosen in my business, the life I've built with my partner, my dog and 2 cats, and my family's health. These are the things that really matter. How many people this year will have an empty chair at the table this Christmas? The people in our lives are the priority, and every second counts.

7. Appreciating simple things. All too often we make our lives more complicated than they have to be, but with the decluttering step mentioned earlier it helps us appreciate a simpler life, and simpler things. Some of the biggest joys I had this year was walking my dog around my locality and learning new things about the area I live in.

8. Try new things! We all would have tried new things or new ways of doing old things! If you didn’t buy a Peleton bike, you might have attended your local Pilates classes via Zoom. I know at this stage we’re all Zoomed out, but it was good to get the hang of more technology this year! I also learned all about HYGGE (pronounced hoo-ga) as we came into the winter time, described as a Danish and Norwegian word for a mood of coziness and enjoying the good things in life by yourself or with friends and family, creating feelings of wellness and contentment.

I think I’ve always been a ‘Hygge baby’ as I’m at my happiest when sitting by a fire in my PJ’s sipping a hot chocolate with a scented candle burning beside me. This is my bliss, and I’m happy to hibernate into Hygge for Christmas! And I learned today that the word hug derives from hygge, so that’s another reason to love it! I might have to do a podcast on this topic for January!

9. Making connections. This one was harder than it looked this year, as an introvert, in person or online networking is not my thing, but I was involved with a great business community that helped and supported me this year, and I was very grateful to have them. While connecting online isn’t quite the same, it’s all we have for now, and is still a great way to get to know others in business.

And so to 2021 – what is in store for us?

• Well hopefully we don’t need another vaccine for the more virulent strains of COVID and our elderly and frontline staff are protected by the current vaccine offerings.

• Hopefully we continue to stay safe, to help and support each other and look after our physical and mental health.

• Hopefully, our businesses and careers continue to thrive and grow as we find new, more creative ways to adapt to our new normal.

• Hopefully, us humans will continue to be grateful for the little things in our day that make a difference, to be grateful for our health, and to find new ways to make ourselves happy.

• Hopefully we emerge stronger, focusing on what really matters to us in our lives, and to the world at large.

• Hopefully we will learn the lessons needed to make our planet a better and safer place to live for future generations, so we are not at the mercy of another pandemic for a long time to come.

As I reflect on 2020 on a personal, professional and worldwide level, I can’t help feeling a sense of pride this year – human nature is inherently good, so much support for people all over the world this year, helping each other through tough times, supporting and promoting local businesses, lending a hand to those less fortunate than ourselves.

The stories of human kindness reduced me to tears many times this year. We are resilient, we are strong, we will get through this, we will be bigger, better and stronger next year, we will see this through and be of service to those that need us most.

Huge thanks this year go to our amazing front line workers who risked their lives to look after the sick and the elderly, who went above and beyond to keep us safe and who are still spreading the message of wearing masks, washing hands and keeping our distance from our loved ones for now, until it’s safe to be together again.

To the scientists working tirelessly this year to create a vaccine to help the world get back to a sense of normality, for helping us to defend ourselves against a virus who doesn’t discriminate.

To the people who fought for human rights this year, so we can all live in a world that doesn’t see colour, but just sees human beings. Your work is ongoing, and hopefully we’ve learned valuable lessons this year to care equally for others regardless of race, colour, or creed.

My mother always said to me as a kid ‘Be kind to everyone, you never know what goes on behind closed doors.’ And she was right, people are having a hard enough time at the moment without others treating them with prejudice because of the colour of their skin or where they live or what they do. It’s our duty as human beings to be more considerate and kind to everyone for no other reason than it’s the right thing to do.

And finally thank you to all my listeners this year, thank you so much for your downloads and comments. After 23 podcasts, I hit over 1,270 downloads, which was mind-blowing for me, and I’m so grateful for your support! I hope the help and advice from myself and my amazing podcast guests was useful and I look forward to many more podcast recordings next year!

I will see you all very soon for more podcasts in January – but until then look after yourself and keep up the social distancing at this most social time of all – not easy to do, but all the better for next years celebrations.

Here’s to some well deserved downtime and rest so we can hit 2021 with a renewed energy and resilience!

If you need any help getting clear on your business plans for 2021 you can email me at hello@lynseyhanratty.com or book a free Clarity Call - I'm happy to help you reach those business goals and make 2021 your best year in business yet!