Four Things I Have Learnt in 2020
By: Burn Bright
Tags: Young People, Leadership, Learn, 2020, Optimism

Four Things I Have Learnt in 2020

2020 has been a crazy year so far. For me personally there have been so many high points but also many disappointments. This rollercoaster of a year has come with many lessons, and here are four of those lessons.

The Author at the National Leadership Camp 2019

1. A New Normal

I’m sure you have recently heard yourself or someone else say: “I’m ready for things to go back to normal.”

Quite possibly this normal is the same normal that they were trying to get out of. It’s the same normal you always heard that person complain about. Just because something is normal, something is familiar, doesn’t mean it’s beneficial. The job you want to go back to that you hate, or into the situation that you were in before, just because it’s what we already know. One book of the bible states: ‘Don’t conform to the patterns of this world.’ Society creates an unrealistic view of a normal that isn’t actually normal. It’s just familiar. We have the opportunity to create a new normal, a new place of familiarity which is so much better. We have the opportunity to create a better us. It’s an opportunity to intentionally change our lives. To create a better situation. A New Normal.

2. Mindless Scrolling vs Intentional Searching

Over this time of social isolation, where most activities I love doing have been cancelled, it’s a struggle to get motivated and get busy. I went from playing cricket every minute of a weekend to scrolling through mildly funny Instagram posts. The longer I scrolled each day, the worse I felt. The days where I kept busy, and only used social media to keep connected, were the days I felt better about my life and experience of social distancing. Social media has also been extremely helpful, but finding the balance between mindless scrolling and intentional searching to connect with our friends can make or break a day.

3. Silence.

Silence. A somewhat rare occurrence. There’s always someone talking, music playing or one of many distractions. When was the last time you truly had nothing else to focus on, sat in silence and just thought? Doing so has helped calm any anxiety I had as well as allowing me to plan for the next day. Silence is a lost form art of relaxation, and it only needs to take 30 seconds each night.

4. Don’t just have hope… Use it!

Star Wars is one of my favourite movie franchises of all time, and with the 9th movie coming out recently I’ve been rewatching all the movies. A New Hope particularly caught my eye. All the characters have this hope of destroying the Death Star, but they don’t just hope it happens by itself. They put that hope into action. They intentionally travel to fulfill their hope. Hope is a big Burn Bright mantra and for good reason, it’s a necessity. But if we don’t live with the intention of having this hope fulfilled, what’s the point of having this hope at all? Hoping to do well at school? You should probably study. Hoping the virus disappears? Follow guidelines to help with that. There’s only so much hope alone can achieve, but truly living with hope in mind truly makes a difference