Final Thoughts on 2020

It's difficult to sum up an entire year in a single post, especially with one as unpredictable as last year! How can we even begin to discuss the enormous challenges we all faced? Despite the enormity of the situation, it's important for me to journal my final thoughts on 2020 for future reflection.

There were hardships.

Without a shadow of a doubt, we all faced hardships and painful experiences. A couple of our friends passed away this year and we had to say goodbye to our best friend Bandit. We watched as other friends lost their own family members or struggled to make ends meet due to Covid 19. The political shit show and volatile sentiments of this country certainly didn't help.

I think we could all agree that 2020 will be memorable in more ways than one. It definitely was one of the ugliest times in history as far as I can remember.

To all of you who endured so much, my heart goes out to you.

There were blessings.

As Donetta said in her post, there were also tremendous blessings last year. We sold our house and got out of debt, as well as achieved our dream of traveling full-time. I turned 50 and had a fantastic birthday, we started hiking, business was awesome, and we lost a lot of weight by changing to the keto lifestyle.

In short, 2020 was also memorable in a different way and one of the best years we've ever had in our lives. I guess you could say we experienced the extremes of Yin and Yang in 2020.

As hard as it is to say, I wouldn't change it for the world because it brought me such happiness.

How we look at things matters.

Thinking through my final thoughts on 2020 has also provided a new perspective and one I'd like to share; how we look at things matters.

Traditionally I've been a pessimist.

Having experienced so much emotional pain, mental wellness issues, and shitty business dealings with people in the past, it had tainted my entire worldview. And to be honest, there are still hurdles to overcome. Maybe you've been there yourself.

Yet somehow, even when I don't see much hope in humanity at the moment, I'm feeling optimistic. This is because I'm choosing to see the positive.

What if in 2021 we all stopped fixating on the bad and focused on the good? And believe me, there IS good in the world. What if we stopped trying to enforce our beliefs or opinions and just started to ignore the bullshit? Let people be who they are.

There is no requirement to be a Negative Vibe Merchant in life. I've learned that looking at things in a more positive way greatly impacts my life.

The same will be true for you.