The year 2020 was quite an eventful year and not in a good way. Most of us, are glad to have just survived the spooky year.

 We are all ready to leave 2020 behind and hoping 2021 brings love and joy in all our lives. 

Looking back, though, it was all a bit scary. 

For me, I have to thank my lucky stars. Innocent of what was about to unfold in the world, beginning of this year, I took a leap of faith and decided to launch my blog.

 I was excited, nervous and scared about this new venture. A part of me feared putting myself out there and, of course of the negative criticism that comes with it. To my surprise, I got an uplifting response from my friends and family. You can read my very first blog post here. 

Towards the end of 2019, while I made a New year’s resolution for 2020, I was looking forward to a new decade that I could make mine. For me, the year 2020 was supposed to be more adventure, more travel and more memories! 

But 2020 had a different plan for us. As the world slowed down, we explored new ways to keep ourselves engaged amidst quarantine.

 Lockdown and quarantine

 These were not on the agenda but were unique experiences that I tried to find a silver lining. For instance,- I was fortunate enough to be able to transition to working from home. I always wanted to have more time in the mornings to focus on my personal development. The slowness that came with the quarantine was what I desperately needed. 

It was the perfect opportunity for me to immerse myself in my old hobbies, such as catching up on reading and explore new hobbies, such as this blog. Several weeks into quarantine, I posted a blog post detailing all the ways I allowed myself to be creative and, in general, have more fun while still being productive. 

I felt grateful to be well-positioned to ride this dreadful wave. 

Dating

 Love, dating or relationships weren’t at the forefront of mind entering this year. However, life always has ways of catching us by surprise. 

While I happily adjusted to life in lockdown, I wasn’t ready for the emotional rollercoaster that comes with dating. Of all things I wanted to experience in love, ghosting wasn’t on the list. Yet, when it happened, I found a healthy way to boost my self-confidence to overcome rejection feelings.

 I also picked up some excellent dating and relationship tips such as how to deal with a guy who’s giving you mixed signals, how to spot (and let go) of toxic friendships in your life, how do you know your partner is the one and many more. 

Finding Happiness in simple things

This year’s personal goal was to bring more energy, creativity, and efficiency to my personal and professional life.

 Keeping that in mind, I knew I had to start my mornings on a positive and happy note by doing daily 5-minute gratitude and daily affirmations. The overflow of positivity and joy in my life was almost instant. Being skeptical of the life-changing results for something as simple as giving thanks for the little pleasures of life changed my attitude. 

While I was sad about not following through with my plans for travelling to Spain and France, I discovered a whole new appreciation for long walks, long drives and re-discovering my city. I made a conscious effort to enjoy morning smoothies, endless trips to bakeries trying different pastries and ice-creams, star-gazing, long drives and family dinners. 

Enjoy the now

As I was pushing myself into exploring the unknown world of writing and blogging, I kept reminding myself to “enjoy now.” Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar, in his book Happier, talks about the arrival fallacy. He describes it as “this illusion that once we make it, once we attain our goal or reach our destination, we will reach lasting happiness.” Ben-Shahar correctly identified my source of unhappiness and hopelessness.

Around this same time, I came across the book, ‘The Power Of Now.’ I instantly took it as a sign to live in the moment and devoted more energy into appreciating now.

In reflection, 2020 has been a sobering year more so than defining. 

From the terrible loss of lives due to the pandemic and the powerful transformation brought by the Black Lives Matter movement, it has been a year that brought us all closer to home. A year full of realizations for what truly matters in our lives. We realized what truly mattered through all the trauma was our family, friends, and humanity- these are things we deeply care about. 

Having an adequate supply of toilet rolls came to a close second. 

A big thank you to all those who take the time to read my blogs. Your positive feedback and comments make it all worth it. I sincerely wish to continue to bring joy, positivity and creative energy to this platform. 

Again, thank you so much for reading.

Keep smiling. Here’s to more hugs and fewer hand-sanitizers in 2021. 

Goodbye, 2020. It’s been emotional.

Happy New Year!! Sending lots of love you your way. Stay safe!

xx

Yachna