Hindsight is 2020
By: Carre Le Page
Tags: Gratitude, Star Wars, Resilience, Perspective, Stoicism

Hindsight is 2020

One aspect that 2020 will most likely NOT be noted for is the fact that it is the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. While that milestone doesn’t matter in the slightest (other than to remind us that we’re getting old), it’s the similarities that exist between a shit year and an amazing film that are interesting to note.

Any fans of the original Star Wars trilogy will always have a favourite. Even if you are fans of the newest trilogy, or even hold a private space in your heart for Episodes 1,2 or 3, you will still put the original trilogy in a different bucket. And from that bucket you will have a favourite.

According to the copious amounts of information available on the internet, it’s no secret that Episode 5 “The Empire Strikes Back” is the #1 rated film in the entire list of Star Wars films. Well-regarded critic, Roger Ebert, cites it as ‘the heart’ of the trilogy and notes that it is the most thought-provoking and emotionally stirring of the first set of films.

Other fans appreciate it because we watch the characters we have come to know and love take a beating, so there is a stronger emotional connection as we see them fight for their lives.

One of my film industry buddies summed it up for me many years ago, stating that it is the perfect second film of trilogy, executed just like the second act of a film. He said… “Their victory (at the end of Empire) is that they survived.”

And that is how I feel about 2020.

Freud has a great quote…. “One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.”

Looking back at Empire, Luke Skywalker and his buddies get smashed from all sides — the film ends with him losing his hand after a pretty awful ancestral update, Han Solo is frozen in carbonite to be shipped off to a hideous and overweight gangster, and our team of heroes is on the run, licking their wounds.

And, as we end this year, with all the challenges, curve balls, ‘unprecedented’ moments and unrelenting Zoom calls, it kinda feels a little similar.

However, just like the film, could the struggles we’ve just been through be an opportunity for immense growth, both individually and collectively? I mean, the brutal ending of Empire forces the characters to adapt and grow as a result of those challenges.

Perhaps this notion is difficult for many of us to see at certain times, as we battle with anxious thoughts about the unknown future. Or perhaps we’re just tired, craving a break from the feeling of constantly swimming upstream. Whatever the case, the challenges we have been through (or still going through) are setting us up for the next episode. Just like the challenges that any character has to go through in a film to fulfil their character arc, we have to accept that life is not designed to be easy and that we adapt and grow from hardships.

As you head into the Holidays, it’s an interesting exercise to consider what you will say about 2020 in five years’ time. Some might look back on it as the most challenging year of our lives. Others might reflect on 2020 as the year that propelled us into a whole new direction. There will possibly be some regrets, but I think there will also be a lot of gratitude (it comes up in my conversations frequently these days) and I hope there will also be a space for empathy as we consider how others around us will be affected.

But mostly I think we will just be relieved that we survived the year…and that is ok!

When I look back on 2020, I’m going to reflect on a year of turmoil and change, peppered with one extreme high (the birth of a son) and a few devastating lows….. One of my best mates wept openly when he heard the news about Kobe in January, but that was just the beginning. Working in the travel industry, March and April were highly nervous months, which ultimately didn’t improve for about 50% of those I know that worked in travel. Literally several hundreds of friends and colleagues who knew only travel and tourism were suddenly forced to start other things, through absolutely no fault of their own. Then, a tragedy struck close to home when we lost a close colleague in horrific circumstances, taken from us at the height of her happiness as she was preparing to give birth to her first child.

These are the major moments. In amongst all of it were dozens of days and nights of anxiety, stress, nervousness at not being able to see family members, friends in ICU, concern for elderly neighbours, isolation frustration, the list goes on. How did we get through all of it?

Well, in hindsight even now, it was all the mark of what will get us through any future turmoil and challenges.

“The blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.” — Marcus Aurelius

Every challenge that we go through is additional fuel for our fire. If we can train our brains to think this way, then every time something seems shit, we remind ourselves that we are growing stronger as a result. Even the minuscule stuff in life (such as being stuck in traffic) can present an opportunity. Instead of getting upset, that traffic is the perfect opportunity to help you appreciate the fact that you have the means to drive a car!

The phrase ‘hindsight is 2020’ could become a familiar catch phrase as we reflect on the year that was. So again, what will YOU say about it? Let’s not bemoan this year as one in which we all suffered greatly. If we can change our perspective, then the year could be seen as something beautiful, offering us the chance for growth and resilience. After all, if we can get through 2020, we can probably get through anything!

And if all else fails, remember that after the end of Empire, Luke and Leia free Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt and they all go on to kick ass and save the Galaxy!

Time to kick some ass in 2021! Let’s go.