Hindsight in 2020
I don’t like to make New Year’s Resolutions. To me, it is like planning for failure. I don’t know anyone who ever sticks with them. I know people who make them and people who break them. I like the idea of a word of the year but haven’t thought about it yet. I had time. I just didn’t do it like I didn’t do my holiday cards yet.
I do like to set goals for myself throughout the year and if I meet them, I am proud. If I do not, I will try to figure out why and practice forgiveness of myself if needed. This year was a year of goal-setting, goal-meeting and goal-failing but in all, despite the fact that we were in a pandemic, I want to celebrate some wins.
I want you to celebrate your wins too. I hope you do. You made it to the end of a really hard year and that is something to celebrate.
Here are the things I’m excited about from 2020:
I moved to London. It took about 6 months longer than I thought it would and then when I did get here I wasn’t able to go too far outside my flat but I’m happy to be in a city I love and will experience more of it soon.
I rode my bike 1530 miles this year. In a year when I traveled less by plane than I have in the past decade (17K miles), I spent more time exercising than I have in any year, and I am proud of that. I’m not too proud of the weight gain but I guess that means my cooking has improved!
I kept doing comedy. In the new world comedy is mostly on Zoom but the opportunity to connect with other comics and audiences has been wonderful. Hosts have been very gracious in creating these shows for comics to do. I even have a gig tonight! I did at least 65 gigs this year both online and in-person when it was possible! I can’t wait to meet some of these people in person.
I took two writing classes. I have not really shared a lot of my most personal writing before but I learned to do that this year and it was incredibly rewarding. Again, I got to meet some awesome people online too.
I started my podcast. If you haven’t checked it out, please do! It’s called More Than Work I’m really proud of it and have interviewed really special individuals including one from TWLOHA which is an organization I hold dear. There is more to come next year.
I built this website. My friend Rob did the design and has been the best friend and creative partner I could ask for.
I participated in the 2020 election calling voters and texting them from my UK flat. I’m still participating as the GA election is imminently approaching. I felt fortunate to do this work even from abroad.
I standup paddle boarded for the first time and even stood up! I also met some new friends at a women’s retreat. We haven’t been able to meet since but making friends as an adult is hard and this year it is even harder so it seems like something. I made another friend in London too who invited me to watch the Oscars with her when I was brand new to the city. People’s kindness shouldn’t be so surprising!
I connected with my family and friends. I talk to my mom and sister almost daily. Some friends surprised me by reaching out and connecting more than ever before and that has been a joy. It’s pretty special to FaceTime with kids and to figure out how to entertain them (I don’t know how teachers do it). Or, to do a happy hour with friends that ends up lasting 5 hours! I hosted a Zoom baby shower too and never would have been able to attend this particular baby shower otherwise. The pandemic kept us socially distant but also brought us together in some cases.
What’s next?
I am pretty sure reality has set in for everyone but the end of 2020 doesn’t mean that with a switch 2021 will be easy. It is going to be tough. We are going into the next phase of the battle against COVID (since the war metaphor is the most handy to use). We are going to see increased regulations in our countries and cities. We are going to see the vaccine jabbed into our arms when our number comes up. And, we are going to see a shift back to normalcy that will probably come after we hoped it would. This isn’t a pessimistic view in my opinion, but a realistic one.
Realism is what got me through a lot of 2020. In April, I was already sure I wouldn’t be home for the holidays. That expectation setting I did with myself was helpful in reducing disappointment when it became reality. I’m going into 2021 with a realistic optimism. Things will get better but it will take place over time and until then I need to try to maintain realistic goals and expectations of myself.
So, no resolutions then?
I won’t make any resolutions tonight. I will continue to try to improve myself and to have a positive impact on others each day, to the best of my ability.
There are things I want to do next year and I’ll share them here in case seeing my list helps someone else. But, I’m not attaching anything to these things because if I have learned anything, it is that I can’t control a lot of what happens in the future for instance being told I have to stay inside for 6 days due to COVID exposure…
In the future, I’d like to:
Meditate daily (I did hit 105 days in a row in 2020)
Exercise daily (I rode my bike 115 days in a row in 2020).
Blog more and write more
Increase the reach of my podcast
Keep performing comedy of course including working on some material about certain issues that I have been avoiding and start writing a show.
I want to eat healthier and drink a little less.
I want to travel when it is safe both to countries I have never been to in Europe and back home.
Get more involved with volunteerism in the UK. I’m starting to work with SURF (donate if you like!). And, I want to work with the MS Society here as well as maintain my ties to the MS Society and Shatterproof back home.
Be a kinder person and continue to improve myself in various ways.
Going Back to School
I’m starting my first course towards the Public Leadership Credential at Harvard Kennedy School in January. My goal is to understand more about policy and leadership to work towards more service-oriented work, advocacy and possibly join a non-profit board. I know my purpose is to serve. I was inspired by the nomination acceptance speeches of President Elect Biden and Vice President Harris and their service. I spent months researching education and career options, and I am very pleased to start this program. It’ll be a challenge but the education will surely be invaluable and make me a stronger contributor to society.
Last words about 2020:
Lastly, there are over 344,000 Americans dead as a result of COVID as I post this. People are out of work and suffering from a mental health perspective. There was civil unrest which turned into a global movement for racial justice, equality and equity. I’m in London but I will always be American and most people I care about are in the US. The response of the US Government has been atrocious. The UK hasn’t been much better but guidelines are clearer and the response is from the top. In the US, states have been left to fend for themselves. The leaders who are trying to do something have no support. January 20, 2021 will be the beginning of change. I am confident that if people can seek to understand and consider others when they act, 2021 will be the start of something better.
