20 Things I Learned in 2020

It’s no secret that 2020 has been a hell of a year. From a global pandemic hitting us out of nowhere to recurring lockdowns, and the rise of major social movements — it’s a year that won’t be easily forgotten.

My plans for 2020 went out of the window quite early in the year, which gave me plenty of time to reevaluate and analyze every single aspect of my life, which in turn allowed me to learn a lot about myself and what I want. Because it’s always during the worst times and experiences when we learn the most.

So here are 20 wonderful things that I learned during this crazy year.

1. Overworking yourself is useless

Working from home is great, it has many advantages — you don’t have to commute, you don’t have to wake up so early, you decide when you want to work… — but it also has a huge downside, you overwork yourself.

I lost count of all the days that I spend working overtime because I didn’t have anything else to do, or because I couldn’t finish what I started, so instead of doing it the next day, I stayed up until midnight working.

After a few weeks of overdoing myself, I learned that it was worthless. It didn’t make me happier nor proud or productive; it just made me feel distressed and tired all the time. So I started creating boundaries and rules, which made me 10x more productive and it gave me back my free time.

2. Asking for help doesn’t make you weak

Asking for help is something that I’ve always struggled with. It made me feel like I wasn’t good enough or like I was incapable. But this year I realized that I don’t have all the answers — nobody does. Therefore, asking for help is as valid and as brave as doing something on your own. Learning to accept that I can’t do everything has made me more productive, a lot happier, and more self-aware.

3. Mental health is as important as physical health

Physical well-being is a subject that most people talk about openly and something that has been prioritized for years. However, mental health has always been a taboo topic. I feel like 2020 has been the year of mental health awareness, and that makes me appreciative.

Because after being stuck at home for more than three months, only listening to bad news and without much human interaction, everyone needed some support. There is no shame in visiting a therapist, in talking about the things that worry us or that make us anxious or sad. 2020 has taught me that prioritizing mental health before work doesn’t make us selfish, it just makes us human.

4. Taking breaks is important

I’ve never been the type to take breaks; I always thought they made me lose valuable time and I felt unproductive. But this year, I learned that taking breaks is the best thing you can do for productivity.

Taking time off allows us to see things with perspective and it grants us time to collect our thoughts, to really think about what we are doing and where we are going. So whether it’s social media, work, family, or any other responsibility you have, taking breaks is necessary for your mental health as well as for growth and productivity.

5. Your mind is more powerful than you think

I’m not going to lie, at the beginning of the year I was a pessimist — and not the funny, sarcastic kind. I couldn’t seem to notice the good part of all of this, which made me miserable and depressed for a while.

But with so much time during lockdown, I learned to pay attention to my thoughts and really understand them. Thoughts become reality, so what we believe is what we put out into existence; and if we only have negative thoughts, that’s all we get.

By learning to recognize your adverse thoughts or limiting beliefs, it’s much easier to think positively and not get too caught on self-hatred, anger and pessimism. Therefore, paying attention to your ideas is essential to thrive and achieve what you want.

6. The present is all we have

In a fast-paced world, keeping our minds quiet and being present is almost impossible. We’re always thinking about what happened, what will happen, what could happen, or what would’ve happened; but we never take the time to appreciate what is actually happening in front of us.

“Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be.” — Eckhart Tolle

After reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle I realized that if we genuinely want to live and enjoy life, learning to be present and taking pleasure in just being is essential.

7. Perfection isn’t real

Perfectionism is one of those things that will slowly but surely ruin your life. I’ve always been a perfectionist — a bad one — ; but in 2020, I learned that perfection isn’t real. Perfection is just a word, and in a diverse society like ours, it doesn’t exist, because nothing is flawless.

Therefore, trying to achieve perfection is counterproductive and unhealthy because you’re never going to get there. So at work, in my personal life and my relationships, I started looking at things from another perspective. I began savouring the process instead of stressing about the outcome, and it’s one of the best things I ever did.

8. Be grateful

Gratitude is extremely underrated. We go through life thinking that everyone is as blessed as we are, that everyone has access to what we have; but the truth is that we are privileged.

I always took for granted my health, my family and friends, the fact that I am able to go to school, to vote, to have so many opportunities, to have food on the table… So even though I don’t own a lot of things, I have what I need to be happy, and that’s everything I could ever want.

For me, 2020 wasn’t the year that I accomplished all my unrealistic goals or resolutions, instead, it was the year that I learned to be grateful for what I already have.

9. Growth hurts

This year I’ve grown so much. And I’ve done so on a much deeper level than I imagined was possible. But with great growth comes great pain too. In order to learn, you need to experience and fail, and failure sometimes comes with pain and grief.

To grow, you need to embrace that discomfort, feel it in every ounce of your body, and let that be the reminder and motivation that you are, in fact, growing. Just remember that there are no flowers without rain.

10. There’s joy in the art of doing nothing

One thing that 2020 has given me is the opportunity to find joy in doing nothing. We live in a society that prides itself in being productive all the time, and we feel regretful if we aren’t working 24/7.

However, during quarantine, I grasped how to find joy in the little things, to take pleasure in waking up late, in drinking a cup of coffee without rushing, in just looking at the sky. Because life is filled with glorious little moments that we take for granted and we often forget to enjoy the fact that we have those, the fact that we are there — and that should be enough.

11. It’s never too late

Quarantine has been the perfect excuse for people to take on new challenges, to learn a skill, to start a passion project, to get healthy… Whatever it is, all the people who have succeeded in doing so — or that have tried but realized that it wasn’t for them — have proven that it’s never too late to do the things that make you happy.

In the process of doing those things that might scare us or that make us uncomfortable, we learn what life is all about, what it really means to be breathing. Because if you want to do something, it doesn’t matter your age, gender, background… you’ll find a way.

12. It’s okay to have bad days

2020 is the epitome of a bad day — in fact, it is the epitome of a bad year. The truth is, that everyone has bad days, and not because of them you are less worth it or you aren’t good enough. In order to heal and be at ease, it’s important to let yourself feel things, and those things might be anger, sadness, frustration, or anxiety. But they are there for a reason, and to move on you have to acknowledge them and let them go.

Sometimes it’s good to have bad days, as they remind us of the good ones.

13. Video chat is no substitute for human interaction

As much as I loved zooming, face-timing or whatever platform you used for catching up with your friends, it is no substitute for human interaction. After a few weeks of looking at a laggy screen, I yearned for human touch and a big hug from my grandma.

We often think that a device has everything we need to be happy: it has internet, games, and we can talk to people in it. However, we take for granted the fact that we can hold and kiss the people we love in real life, and that no matter how many pixels a screen has, nothing can substitute a person’s touch.

14. Forgive and let go

2020 has taught me that holding on to anger and resentment is useless and it just makes you unhappy. Learning to forgive those who have wronged you or hurt you in any way is necessary to move on to better things. Moreover, if you are stuck thinking about all the things that someone — or you — could have said or could have done differently, you’re wasting precious time.

15. How you spend your time is everything

I’ve never really paid close attention to how I was spending my time. I never counted the hours I spend working, socializing, or enjoying my hobbies. But during lockdown I had a lot of hours, so I did start counting — and I hated what I saw.

I realized that the days when I felt the happiest and most fulfilled were those that I spent with the people I love and doing the things I cherish the most. Therefore, I started prioritizing those things and I put my happiness first, which made me extra grateful and gave me more purpose in life.

16. Bad days only last 24 hours

If this year taught me anything, is that bad days can only last so long — I mean, there are only 24 hours in a day. So no matter how horrible your day has been, know that in just a few hours you have the chance to start over and to create a new reality. Never take that opportunity for granted.

17. Honesty is the best policy

Let’s face it, no one can read your mind. Therefore, if you aren’t honest about what you want and what you need, you can’t expect people to behave accordingly. I can’t even tell you the number of times that I got in a fight because I assumed people knew how I felt, but realistically, that was quite selfish.

This year I learned that by staying quiet or not telling the truth about how you feel in certain situations to make others feel better doesn’t get you anywhere, it just makes you sad. You can only wear a mask for so long; that’s why communication is key if you want to establish healthy relationships — with others and with yourself.

18. The outdoors is underrated

I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory because we’ve all experienced how great it feels to go outside when you’ve been stuck at home for months. I used to love staying in — I still do — , but I have a newfound appreciation for the outdoors now. I am so grateful that I can go out and walk, whether it’s in a noisy city or in a quiet forest.

19. When we don’t stand up for each other, we all fall down

In the year where many movements have risen and become truly strong, I learned that there is no I without us and that if we want to make a change, we have to stay together and persevere. Don’t get me wrong, we all have our own things we have to get through, and every small act counts, but without the support of others and a unified front, we won’t go anywhere.

That’s why minorities or oppressed groups need our help and our privilege. By recognizing that we have privilege and standing up for the ones who don’t have it, we are being true allies, and it’s what will make us win.

20. Celebrate your wins

This year, I can’t say I accomplished everything I wanted, but I will say that I am very proud of myself for getting through it. 2020 was the year that I realized that celebrating your wins — as small and insignificant as they might seem — is crucial. So be grateful and give yourself credit for achieving smaller goals, because, without them, bigger ones wouldn’t be possible.