2020: Reflections.

2020 has been a rollercoaster ride for everyone, we have all been changed by this year. COVID was the star of 2020 and touched everyone's life in one way or another. COVID did not care about your race, ethnicity, national origin, political views, gender, religion etc. it was and is the great equalizer, carrying no bias and affecting everyone. We as a global community had to quickly adapt to the new reality of COVID, and were forced to change the way we work, the way we think about things, the way we behave, and to reexamine our priorities.

We all saw the devastation caused because of COVID-19. The illnesses, the deaths, loved ones lost; we saw the spread of fear and anxiety globally. We also witnessed the economic loses, the job cuts, the small business shutdowns and many losing their savings and livelihood.

COVID-19 also showed us some beautiful sides to humanity. We saw neighbors and communities coming together, we witnessed strangers helping one another, and other touching random acts of kindness all over the world. Organizations pushed their limits to make a place for their staff to function in the new normal, and heavily focused on mental and emotional health while doing so. Many of us experienced our families and children more closely than we have in a while, and though it has been stressful, the closeness to the people we love is healing and humbling.

We have all navigated this year in distinct ways, we stretched differently, facing numerous challenges and obstacles in our lives, as well encountering beautiful moments of our own.

What can we take away from the chaos? Perhaps that we always end up making it through the storm, or that this experience is one more thing that ties us together as a global community, reminding us that we are more similar, than we are different?

As I reflect on my year, and on the many lessons which came my way, both personally and professionally, I am amazed and humbled by the experiences. I am grateful for every lesson, every pain, every opportunity, and I plan to take them forward and shape my 2021. One could say I am thinking about my New Year’s resolution, however I feel like this year and its teachings deserve more than the typical resolutions we make on New Years Eve (and often break). So, I am going to keep things simple, focus on three areas.

I pledge to Start: believing I can, because I have.

I pledge to Stop: turning things down out of fear, or because the outcome is uncertain.

I pledge to Continue: to do one positive thing for someone else every single day.

I close this year out with a thank you to those who sacrificed to make everyone else safe.

I close this year out with respect for everyone who became comfortable being uncomfortable.

I close this year out with so much gratitude for new friends, new experiences, and new challenges.

I close this year out with a smile, as I have learned that I am capable of navigating waters I was once too afraid to tread.

Most of all, I close this year out, knowing that I know extraordinarily little, and there is so much work I have to do on myself, to be a version of myself that I can be proud of.

I hope your journey has inspired you & made your heart a little bigger.

Stay safe, and have a great New Year :)