It’s hard to put the last 12 months into words. I can only speak accurately about my personal experience, which has largely swung between worry and inconvenience, to tragedy and despair. Often within a matter of hours or minutes.
Thinking back to March, 2020 is particularly tough. My girlfriend and I both contracted what we can only assume was Covid-19, as testing wasn’t readily available. As someone classed as clinically extremely vulnerable, she was hit particularly hard.
Eight months later, and I still question whether or not I made the right decisions while caring for her. But I’m mostly just thankful that she’s OK, although we’ve both experienced long Covid in different degrees. Not that it stopped her from getting back to work, running a non-profit, and pursuing a variety of academic qualifications since then!
And at other times, the biggest hassle has been a seemingly random supermarket substitution in our online shopping delivery.
I’ve found out that people I knew have sadly been lost to Covid and other causes in 2020. And at the same time, being self-employed and working largely from home for the last decade means my routine hasn’t been affected as much as most people.
Going into hospital for an operation as a day case during a pandemic was worrying. But the staff were amazing, everything went well, and it was a minor inconvenience to wear a mask on the ward. And I’ve seen tremendous strength and courage from people I know who are facing far bigger health issues and operations.
There are friends and family who have been affected much more than me, and people around the world have dealt with more tragedy than I could probably cope with. While others have been fortunately spared much of the physical or mental impact of 2020. And all degrees in between.
All of this has meant that it’s been easier to find myself doomscrolling through the seemingly never-ending misery of 2020 into the early hours of the morning. It’s the mental equivalent of picking at a scab, and just as depressingly addictive at times.
So as a partial antidote for myself, I wanted to share some positives I’ve managed to take from 2020. Especially if there’s a chance it might help someone else to discover some solace or comfort from their own experiences of the last 12 months.
And if you’re struggling with your physical or mental health, remember that you’re not alone, and that there is help and support available from friends, family, support groups, or random people on the internet.
Taking Some Positives From 2020
In no particular order…
- Liz: As an introverted only child, I would have assumed months of self-isolation with another person would have driven me insane. But it’s made me appreciate her even more, as she’s managed to be supportive, inspirational, and helped me be a better person even when times have been harder than ever.
- Family: My son has always amazed me, but he’s surprised me throughout the year with his compassion, understanding and maturity. And the unending support of my parents has never been more appreciated.
- Nature: I’ve always enjoyed walking, but it’s easy to put it off when it’s cold, wet, or there are deadlines to meet. But this year it’s been essential to spend time with my son, get outside the house, and escape for a bit.
I’ve discovered some great local places that I’d have never visited pre-lockdown, had hours of conversations with my son (who has somehow become a huge fan of hiking at the perfect time), and found an appreciation for my childhood walking holidays when my friends were all going off to Disneyland or Spain. - Reading: Covid and recovering from operations helped me really commit to reading again. As a child and teen, I was a voracious reader, and wanted to get away from screens again, but hadn’t quite managed it until 2020. Plus friends and family have sent me hauls of amazing books for presents, which definitely helped me finally set and beat a Goodreads Challenge. Which I’m upping this year.
- The internet: I’m one of the last generation to grow up without ubiquitous internet. I made it to my mid or late-teens before discovering dial-up modems in the mid-90s. But having worked largely online since then, it’s easy to underappreciate the value of being able to connect globally with people, information and entertainment. And shopping online has been invaluable.
- Sim Racing: Hobbies have been important for lots of people during 2020. And I didn’t fancy trying to make sourdough, or knitting. But investing in an entry-level wheel and pedal set-up for my PC has allowed me to indulge my passion for motorsport without leaving my house, and enjoy something which completely focuses my mind on what I’m doing at that moment.
- Work: I largely work online at home, so some things haven’t changed. But I’m lucky that the vast majority of my clients, colleagues and work network have been hugely understanding about the pressures we’re all under, and have been supporting each other in various ways.
As I’m not eligible for any kind of government support, it’s literally kept a roof over my head. - Personal projects: I’d already decided to focus some of my spare time focusing on a couple of personal website projects I’d left to languish. So it turned out to be a timely decision – even if work was slow, or things were tough, it gave me something to motivate practice, routine and effort. And even brought in a small amount of cash when everything makes a difference.
- Small local businesses: One of the amazing things has been how local businesses have really stepped up, adapted and supported the community. From a nearby pub setting up a book and DVD swap, to many donating food and products to those in need, to the range of delivery services and more.
It’s shown the value of supporting smaller, local firms when times are good, as well as challenging. - Local community: It’s easy to be disconnected and anonymous in your local area during the modern digital age. But seeing the local online groups spring up, and offer help and support, has been a wonderful thing. I’ve seen people in need get help in minutes in our area, whether that’s a misplaced delivery, a lift somewhere, or borrowing items like heaters when boilers have broken.
- Friends and contacts: We can all feel alone at times, even with a big network of family, friends and online contacts. But making the effort to connect and support each other repays itself so many times over, particularly at times like 2020. Just a quick message to see how someone is doing can make a huge difference, and it’s something I’m going to be much more active in doing this year.
When I thought about sharing some positives from 2020, I thought it might make a small list of bullet points. But actually, there are lots more that I haven’t even mentioned.
Trying new recipes, re-reading old books, taking a chance on things I wouldn’t normally watch or read, sorting through boxes of junk I’d ignored, making it to 3.5 years since I last had a cigarette, appreciating wildlife in the garden, putting more value on the basics of food, warmth and shelter, not having to commute anywhere, the larger acceptance of remote working, less traffic and lower pollution during lockdowns, the amount of conferences and events offering free or low cost virtual options, seeing online communities like marketing, seo, freelancers, copywriters and more coming together to support each other, local Halloween and Christmas Tree trails, chatting to neighbours over the garden fence, not having to cut my hair or shave unless I want to, saving on buying new clothes, the consideration of the majority of people for social distancing and masks, an appreciation from most of us for the hard work and challenges faced by all sorts of frontline workers from NHS staff and teachers to delivery drivers, the compassion shown to people struggling in all kinds of ways, the rapid response of the medical and science community in developing responses and vaccines, and lots more…
There will always be people or reasons to trigger us into anger or rage because they aren’t acting the way we might hope, or events which cause sadness.
But I think it’s more important than ever to acknowledge and deal with the negatives in life, but to focus on supporting and enhancing the positives…
That’s the way humanity has always built a route out of hardship in the past, so there’s a good chance it’ll work, even if it’s still far too tempting to send an angry tweet or sarcastic comment on Facebook. A word of ecouragement to someone embodying something positive will have more effect than trying to get someone to change their existing worldview.
And now to making 2021 more positive than ever…
