Life Lessons Learned from 2020 and How to Apply them for 2021

The 10 Life Lessons I Learned In 2020 That I Want to Share So that We Can All Learn and Grow Together For all of us, 2020 was a year of trials, challenges, loss, chaos, and overwhelm, but there were so many opportunities to embrace life lessons. As I look back and recap what I learned as I moved through one of the hardest years of my life, I want to share everything with you.  Maybe you learned the same things, or maybe you are still trying to make sense of 2020 and what’s to come from it.  Either way, I hope my experience and evaluation will help you. Life Lessons #1  A Choice The result of any experience is what we make of it.  We can choose to be sad, angry, overwhelmed, and frustrated or we can choose to be grateful and look forward to brighter days. I have probably told you that in a six-week time frame we lost my grandmother who I was very close to, Daisy, our 11-year-old Goldendoodle, and my mother-in-law, whom I adored. Loss is never easy, but not being able to attend funerals or have hugs and share memories with family made it a thousand times worse. I still don’t feel I have closure. But there was beauty and peace in the fact that both grandma and my mother-in-law had faith and weren’t afraid of death. Neither one suffered for a long period of time.  Both were strong, independent, inspiring women who had dementia but were surrounded by people who loved them and left legacies for future generations. Hidden Lessons and Blessings Not everyone gets to experience having a wonderful grandmother in their life. I was blessed to have had her, her love, and her inspiration for so many years and I am grateful for the memories and everything she taught me. Likewise, not everyone gets a mother-in-law that they love and appreciate.  I’ve heard some real horror stories about mothers-in-law, and I feel truly blessed to have had a great relationship with mine. Another thing I am grateful for. Before our sweet Daisy passed away, we ordered a puppy.  The same breed (because we all have allergies) and we were excited to have Daisy help raise the puppy. She passed away, unexpectantly, 10 days before the puppy was to come home with us.  Had we not ordered the puppy thinking Daisy was going to be here, we never would have ordered the puppy. Nor would we have ordered the puppy if it hadn’t been for COVID and the fact we were all five home all of the time. Stella, the puppy, has been a source of joy for all of us, especially me.  She hasn’t replaced the humans we loved and lost, nor has she replaced Daisy, but she’s provided so much laughter and given us so much love that we’ve had a sense of comfort since the day she arrived.  God’s timing is always impeccable. Life Lessons #2 I have never been a patient person. Never! Twenty-twenty changed that. I’ve learned to live in the moment and not rush. Taking things one day at a time and sitting with decisions and experiences instead of rushing through to the next thing. With patience has come the acceptance that things aren’t always on my time, but God’s time.  I am more willing to let things come to me and not forcing things to happen. Having more patience also means giving myself the grace to learn and do more peacefully instead of rushed and hurried and anxious about the outcomes. Life Lessons #3 I’m never too old to transform. For years I’ve lived in a state of anxiety, fear, doubt, and insecurity, my entire life, really. As I started to become more grateful and more patient, I became more aware of my emotions and less anxious. I dove into mindset work that I would never have done had 2020 not provided on-line networking and growth opportunities. Transformation is not easy, it takes dedication and hard work, but it is possible and it’s beautiful when it happens.  It’s like looking at myself from above and watching me grow into who I always knew I could be. Life Lessons #4 After faith, the family is everything. Don’t get me wrong, I adore my friends, but my family, and my best friends who I consider family, are all I need to survive. I have cherished every extra moment with them. It’s amazing how people come into your life for a purpose. With all of the chaos and political unrest, we experienced in 2020 I also learned that a lot of people aren’t who I thought they were. I was shocked at a lot of the content I saw on social media and it really made me reconsider how I adhere to my values and integrity and who I will let into my life.  I was at times heartbroken by the statements and actions of others, other times just disappointed. Yet other times, shockingly proud depending on who it was and the circumstance. Moving forward, I will continue to welcome people into my life because I believe God puts people in our lives at the right time for the right reasons. But, when it comes to day to day relationship building and maintenance, it will be with those dearest to me. Those whom in 2020 were my go-to humans and I was theirs. People whose values align with my values and whom I know I can trust and be my authentic self without fear of judgment or berating. Life Lessons #5 Faith gives hope. Without hope, there is no joy or courage. There were moments in 2020 that fear overcame me. I didn’t want to leave my house, every sniffle, cough, or sneeze made me nervous one of us had contracted COVID. But the more I put my trust in God for protection and for His will to be done, I became more at peace, less afraid, more hopeful and courageous. Likewise, as I became more courageous, I was able to live in the moment and experience joy instead of living in fear. Even when we lost our loved ones, faith gave me hope that I’ll see them again someday in heaven.  Oh, what I wouldn’t give to hug them one more time, but I am grateful they are in heaven, watching over us. Life Lessons #6 Self-discipline and daily habits are empowering. There were so many days I felt like doing nothing. Everyone was home so it felt like a holiday. I didn’t want to work, I didn’t want to exercise, I didn’t want to journal.  I wanted to eat chips and cookies all day. However, what I found is that staying consistent and being disciplined rooted me in the daily practices I need to stay healthy physically and mentally.  I maintained my healthy eating habits, daily exercise, and doing daily devotions and journaling, and to my surprise. It became easier to do all of these things every day because I needed them to give me a sense of security. The more I stuck to my routine and took care of myself, the better I felt. I could focus better and the more hope I had for staying healthy, keeping my family healthy, and keeping my business afloat. Life Lessons #7 I learned to get more curious outside of my box. Curiosity has enlightened me and enabled me to build new relationships and take both my business and personal life to new levels. Life Lessons #8 I learned to dance through the storms of life.  To keep the positive energy flowing. Life Lessons #9 Grace Along with patience and gratitude, I learned to give myself grace. As I dove into mindset work, I realized that I need to be gentle with myself. I can easily become consumed with to-do lists, what everyone else is doing, trying to keep up, and racing through life to do all the things and be all the places. Through grace, I am allowing myself to take it all in and then choose which direction I want to go, which thing I want to do, etc.  It’s self-care at it’s finest. Life Lessons #10 When it’s time to pivot, pivot. For the first few months of the pandemic, I wasn’t able to do any photography. I missed it and I missed working with people face to face. But what I realized is that what I really loved was coaching women and building brands that stand out and make an impact. I don’t ever want to give up photography. However, as I learned in 2020, there may be times when because of environmental factors that I can’t control, or my physical health that I won’t be able to work as a photographer. Having the time to focus on building my coaching business to help women find their second phase and build a solid foundation for success has been the most incredible experience. If I hadn’t experienced the mindset transformation of 2020 and been forced to look to the future to create other streams of income, I might not have built the coaching business to what it is today. Everything happens for a reason and God always has a greater plan for me than what I could ever imagine. Full Circle This brings me full circle to gratitude. If it weren’t for technology, many of us would have been lost and not able to work in 2020. So alas, even though I may have Zoom fatigue some days, I am grateful for the gifts of technology and the ability to continue to grow my business, educate and inspire others and help women grow their brands and businesses. And not only has technology been great for business, but it’s also been great for keeping up with family. There will never be an excuse for not seeing someone again. We have Zoom, Skype, Facetime, and others to keep us visually connected. Technology will never replace the hugs I am so desperate for, but at least it gives me a touchpoint. I would love to hear from you about what you learned in 2020.  I’m guessing you probably learned the same things I learned but which one resonated with you the most? If you know anyone who could use some advice for looking at 2020 in a positive light, please share this episode with them. The more positive vibes we put out into the world, the better place it will be. Learn More About Your Host, Robyn Graham, Click HERE. To learn about The Brand Marketing Insider by Robyn Graham, click HERE. Join the Female Entrepreneur Insider Facebook Group HERE. Book a Brand Marketing Strategy Session HERE. Ask Me Anything HERE. Connect with me, Robyn Graham: Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest