4 Eye Opening Lessons Learned In 2020
By: Sacora George
Tags: Lessons Learned, Self Improvement, Life, Mental Health

Today I’m sharing 4 eye-opening life lessons I’ve learned in 2020 so far and why I’m thankful for the important lessons learned through the struggles of this year!

4 Lessons Learned In 2020 So Far

If you told yourself at the beginning of 2020 “This is MY year!”, I’m right there with ya!

Like so many of you, I spent hours organizing lists, goals, and making game-plans of everything I wanted to accomplish for myself, my blog, and my family. And for the first couple months, everything was going great.

Life was good and we were all blissfully unaware of the fact that our worlds would be completely turned upside down.

And then it happened — COVID-19. I can still remember the weekend it happened. My parents were in for a visit and before we could even blink, the local school systems closed down, and in a matter of days the whole world went into panic mode. (myself included)

2020 is the year that forever changed us all. It forced us to slow down, give up things (whether we wanted to or not), and despite our best wishes for things to go back to normal, I think we all slowly realized with each passing month that we might not ever fully return to the way things were before.

4 Eye-Opening Lessons Learned In 2020

When I look back on this past year, I’m not going to sugar coat it and say that this was the greatest year of my entire life. In many ways, it has been one of the hardest years for me, especially mentally.

All that said, I’ve frequently reminded myself of the bible scripture Ecclesiastes 3 that says — “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven”.

This year might have been hard, but there’s a reason for it and a purpose. Through every hardship, battle, and trial we’re faced with while on this earth, there is a purpose behind it and a lesson to be learned.

2020 might not be my favorite year ever, but it certainly has been the most eye opening year of my life. Today I want to share some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from 2020 so far and why I’m personally thankful for those lessons.

It’s Okay to Slow Down

As a perfectionist and a workaholic, I used to think that being busy all the time was a badge of honor. That if I wasn’t doing anything productive or knocking off all the items on my to-do lists that I was just a complete failure. To this day I still struggle mentally with wanting to always be doing something or accomplishing something, and it can be utterly exhausting.

Like it or not though, COVID-19 completely changed my fast-paced way of life and I was FORCED to slow down. Even better, I learned it’s OKAY to slow down and just be. To be quite honest, it was a wake up call that I desperately needed. I finally granted myself the permission to do less and relax more. I’m not fully there yet, but I’m working on finding that delicate balance and I’m thankful that I was pushed towards that this year.

It’s Okay to Ask For Help

Dealing with mental hardships I’ve personally never dealt with until this year, really left me feeling alone, isolated, and overwhelmed. I’ve always struggled with asking (and accepting) help from others, but I found myself learning this year that it’s okay to do both.

I’m so thankful for my husband who has really been there for me this past year in so many ways and my sweet boys who have been so amazing. I also learned to really rely on my faith this year and it has helped me tremendously.

Use The “Off Switch”

As someone who struggles with anxiety, 2020 was a nightmare at times and completely overwhelming. There have been so many terrible things happen around the world and everything you see on the news and social media nowadays is negative.

That said, this year I learned that it’s okay to take breaks from social media and the news, and there’s an off switch for a reason. My mind can’t handle the constant negativity, fighting, and toxicity that you see, and I’ve learned to really limit my consumption of it all.

I personally find myself much happier when I’m also not comparing myself to everything I see on social media, and I have more time to just enjoy life instead of worrying about what everyone else might be doing.

Be Content With What You Have

They say the grass is always greener on the other side, but I really don’t believe that. This year we were all forced to stay home, spend more time with our families, and taught to make use of what you already have. This might have been hard for some, but for me it was an amazing blessing I’m very thankful for.

Instead of worrying about all the things yet to come and all the things I wish we had, this year I found myself learning to be completely content. My husband and I stopped having the conversations of “when we do this, we’ll do that” and instead made use of everything we had already been blessed with.

I found myself shopping a lot less this year, de-cluttering, and purging the excess to make room for the dreams we could make a reality now. I say it all the time, but we’re not promised tomorrow and it’s important to live and enjoy today in the now.

I hope you enjoyed reading my 4 Lessons Learned in 2020 today and that you too have been able to find the silver linings throughout this year so far.

Original Post: https://www.kindlyunspoken.com/lessons-learned-in-2020/