We all know it’s been a weird year. Weird really isn’t the word…lets go with utterly bonkers!
There’s been so much pain, fear, loss and heartache that at points it almost felt too much to bare. But along with it being the most unprecedented year in living memory, there has also been some good to come out of it too: and that’s what I wanted to focus on.
All I see are post saying what a sh*ty time it’s been, and screw you 2020! Yes for the most part I can completely agree, but that’s not all that this year has given us. We might need to look a little closer but there is a lot of good we can take from it…
Innovations
I think it will be quite some time until we have a clear idea on the impact COVID has had, and continues to have, on the world. I also think it’ll be quite some time until we get to see all the amazing innovations that have been created due to these incredibly crazy times!
When things are going well it’s natural that we don’t spend as much time and effort on searching out new solutions: so when things start to go wrong it gives us the kick up the proverbial to try and find ways to make it better again!
I’ve no doubt there will be thousands of new business, ideas and innovations that will come from 2021 – I’m just excited to see what they are.
Zoom!
Pre-lockdown I think you’d have struggled to find many people who had heard of Zoom. Or at least I hadn’t. To be honest I wasn’t a big fan of video conference calls, they made me feel uncomfortable to self conscious and I never felt like I knew what I was doing with the tech.
2020 has, however, given us no choice but to get comfortable with it! Being our only main form of communication for business, and for a lot of families (hands up if you’ve done a Zoom quiz!), has meant we’re now used to, and mostly comfortable with, video calls.
This is going to have huge implications on the way to communicate moving forward: meetings can be conducted from anywhere in the world, saving so much time and money. It will also mean remote working is set to become the norm, giving flexibility to people and a completely new lifestyle way of working. It also opens up new markets, gives us the option to live in the countryside, reduces transportation costs and environmental impact, the list goes on! Being able to build relationships remotely is something I’m definitely thankful to 2020 for, although no matter what anyone says it’ll never be the same as meeting people in person.
Mental Health
Given the way in which we work has been thrown upside down in 2020, employers have had to re-evaluate the way they look after their staff. With so many new issues arising from furlough to remote working, it’s been fantastic to see so many companies openly discussing mental health and making it a priority for their teams.
Putting mental health higher up the agenda for companies can only be a good thing.
Talking about our mental health can only be a good thing.
Making mental health support available to more people can only be a good thing.
Hopefully it’s the beginning of a long-term shift in the way we look after our staff, the way we look after each other, and the way we look after our selves.
I Found Myself
(I was behind the sofa! Just kidding. Couldn’t resist.)
In Aug 2019 I became a Mum for the first time, and to say it was a shock to the system would be an understatement. I always just figured having a baby meant I’d still be Jeni, but with a baby! That’s not how it was for me, and I’m sure it’s not for many women.
I felt like I’d had my identity ripped away and there was nothing left of me but a shell of a women who couldn’t even shower or get herself a hot coffee.
I had to rebuild myself. Learning to do things simple tasks again with a baby attached, figuring out how to function on 20 minutes sleep, and also finding out who I was now that I was basically starting from scratch.
The thing about starting from scratch is it’s scary yes, but it’s also such an amazing opportunity to re-build yourself as the person you’ve always wanted to be! It’s not often you get an opportunity like that, so in 2020 I took it and I’ve been rebuilding ever since. Leaving my job to start a my dream business, maintaining my sobriety postpartum (3 years in June!), and learning to be a Mum are all things I’m extremely grateful for this year, and I think overall I’ll look back fondly on 2020 for the breathing space it’s given me to be able to grow.
So yes it may have been hard, and yes it’s definitely been weird, but I hope you have some good things to have come from 2020 too – and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2021!
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