Reflection on 2020

It’s no secret that 2020 was an unpleasant year, stemming mainly from the aforementioned COVID-19 pandemic causing lockdowns, borders closing, economic fallouts, bankrupting businesses, and bringing plagues of stagnancy derailing once active societies worldwide.

Many around my circle are quick to point the finger at 2020 being the worst year in history, I can only extend ironic chuckles at them, mostly because the world has been through severely worse spells as history has proven, and COVID-19 and its aftereffects are a merely a little footnote in comparison, but it doesn’t make it any more comforting as we have had to go the motions of our lives in a forced, but necessary safety.

I came to a few realizations about myself when sitting at home as I continue to churn article after article here in AgeCare. 2020, as much as it has restricted me, has also made me free to dissect the many facets of my life, mainly related to all the things I told myself I was unable to do, or my inability to improve on pre-existing flaws I already within myself. When you are your own harshest critic, it’s already amplified with waking up, breathing, staring into space and wondering why hasn’t anything changed.

Within the self, there is no judgment or criticism other than very same we deal within. That doesn’t mean we need to beat ourselves over it. Defeatism is not the answer.

I reflected long and hard on myself in my time alone, constantly asking questions like:

• Are there certain patterns habits that I am doing that I want to stop doing? 
• What does this remind me about myself?
• What would I have done differently?
• What’s stopping me from doing the things I have set out to do?
• Did I make an impact? What have I achieved?
• What will the future be?
• What do I want most in the world?
• Does it really matter what others think of me?

It was only by reflecting can we really improve our strengths, align values and goals, and track growth. By reconnecting with moments in life, and inspirations that influenced your goals, it can keep you moving forward from past mistakes, and enable both confidence and determination to help you work well to your strengths and areas you want to excel at.

By still taking the time to do a little self-evaluation and introspection in order to outline the little things within the larger picture, our errors, faults can be less overwhelming in this regard, and we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And the best part about it is that you can do it any time on any part of any day. Whether it’s by yourself, in the shower, driving, after work, bed time to gain a more personal clarity, or sharing your reflections with friends or family can bring more perspective to explore wider possibilities.  We all have the time in the world now do get a little real with ourselves no? Remember, it’s not just about how you would change, but it’s your own capacity as to how you can apply this experience to other related or unrelated situations to ACTUALLY learn, change, and improve. 

While this pandemic has been stressful, I am still fortunate to have a job that allows me to have the time and energy to pursue other projects of interest, and to an extent I have done some personal accomplishments I once dreamed about maybe 3 or 4 years ago as I meandered around in college, but having a grounded foothold for myself to achieve these goals has made me happier, and a little more satisfied. Having a good support system in my current job, interacting with family and friends, in spite of our own tumultuous battles in our own avenues in life, and having the time to reflect on things with them, and reflect on myself has made me, and to some extent, them too emotionally and mentally healthier.

Granted, there is still a long and trying road ahead of us, but let’s continue to work with what we all have to make that road a little more bearable to walk on the coming years. I hope the readers of this quaint blog here have also taken their own times to reflect on themselves in this trying period, and whether you’ve improved, or are working to improve yourselves for the better, I hope we can have some breathing room, and come out stronger and better than before in 2021.

Godspeed and good luck.