The other day, someone on the internet mentioned that 2021 doesn’t get the talking down that 2020 got, despite being equally as messy. I couldn’t agree more. Think about it na, after being stuck indoors for a whole year, getting used to a life of zoom meetings, banana bread and Tik-Tok videos. Next thing airplanes are flying again, and it is our duty to sustain our market economy that crashed unwillingly, all while dealing with a virus that didn’t even go away!
Because of this, I like to tell myself (and anyone that cares to listen) this is now officially– “you did your best this year”. You did! No matter how many of your goals you did or did not tick off, you are here now, and you survived another harrowing year.
It is a natural thing to want to measure our year in activities, accomplishments, monetary gain, or just whatever it is that we see others doing or getting on social media. But it is also disheartening when we feel we don’t live up to these self-imposed measures.
The end of a year has a way of forcing us to evaluate. But how about we set different standards for this evaluation?
Think about yourself
You took care of yourself as much as you could. You paid attention to yourself. That is a win. If you got married, got a new job, took a trip, switched careers, had a kid, that’s great. You explored a new part of you and that takes amazing effort. If you pretty much maintained your life and sustained yourself awareness, then kudos to you as well, my love. You are a superstar!
Think about others
Your colleagues, your friends, your neighbours, your pets, your siblings, your family, and every stranger you came across this year. The moments spent with them could have brought a lot of emotions. Smiles, sadness, arguments, even a few tears. But you have those relationships, and you were able to cut off the ones that were not good for you.
Think about the future
I learnt a new phrase just a little while ago. It is, “the optimism of possibilities”. It just basically means that there is so much that can be that isn’t yet. That is how we should see the future. Pregnant. Full of hope and amazing ways it could go. The phrase is the hakuna-matata of the 21st century future. Think of the jobs you could get, the friends you could make, the relationships you could have, the books you could read, the time you could spend appreciating life. Be it the next 10 years, 1 year, 1 month, 1 week, 1 day, there is just so much that the next second holds and it will be amazing to live it consciously and happily no matter what future seconds will be.
2021 was us healing from 2020. And healing comes in stages. So, if you are not done, take your time. And instead of counting what you were not able to do this year, try to count and collect your wins. No matter how small and inconsequential they may seem, they were a big part of what shaped you this year. Pat yourself on the back and say..”I did my best in 2021”