The hidden gains of 2020

There has been a great deal of loss, fear and unexpected changes throughout 2020, and even now the future is uncertain. But along with it have come some valuable lessons in survival, resilience and positive change that may have gone unnoticed. 

The year 2020 has truly thrown a curveball our way with the spread of Covid-19 which has assumed unprecedented proportions; more than half the year has been spent in the midst of lockdowns, quarantine, and travel bans, and life as we know it has drastically changed for many. However, being the resilient species we are, human beings have found ingenious ways to keep things going. Thanks to the digital age, many of us are able to continue our daily business of working, studying, and even shopping using the online platform with relative ease. The year has seen a lot of trials and heartbreaking loss, but it is important to note some of the good we may have gained, perhaps without even realizing it.

Here are a few hidden gains from this tumultuous year:

A new way of doing things. This year stands tribute to our resilience and adaptability in the face of sudden and extensive change. It has compelled us to see ordinary things like going out or how we interact with others in a completely new way, to approach problems with novel solutions, and provided us with a much-needed refresher’s course in personal health and public safety.

Quality time with loved ones. Social distancing may be the new norm, but the social connection has always been the cornerstone of rich emotional lives. Staying at home more has allowed families to reconnect emotionally, adjust with physically being in each other’s company for extended periods of time, and it has also helped establish healthy boundaries for being together.

Revisiting ourselves. Deluged with our work, familial or social responsibilities, we often put our own interests in the backseat. We promise we will come back to them when we have time, but the time never seems to come. The lockdown put us in a forced break and many have rediscovered forgotten hobbies or finally got the time to pursue new ones.

An existential wake-up call. The pandemic has brought us face to face with our own mortality, and so this year has brought with it some much-needed perspective. It may have each of us questioning whether we are living our life to the fullest, or it may have reaffirmed aspects about ourselves we already knew. In any case, it has nudged us to engage in a healthy dose of self-reflection.

Over the past decades of advancement, we have taken many things for granted. We may not have given many of our personal relationships the attention it deserved. We didn’t often acknowledge the privilege of clean air and freedom to be outside without anxious thoughts about our own or our family’s health. And all too often in the midst of our fast-paced lifestyles, we have even forgotten what our own needs and desires are. 2020 may have been the “Pause” button we needed but couldn’t take until it was thrust upon us by nature – a chance to contemplate about our lives, to redefine its meaning, and to appreciate its value.

One of the beautiful quote I read from one of our Ex-managers in the company I once worked in her FB page; from the book Helen Macdonald’s ‘Vesper Flights.’

“What people see in me is the successful woman, the leader, but all of this is built on sweat and work and temper, you know? It’s losses, tragedy, death and tears. I guess you cannot be strong if you never have been hurt and learn how to survive that.”

Great lives are born of grit, sweat and tears.  Boiling down to 'Tough time do not last, but tough people do'.