Lessons Learned from 2020

2020. One hell of a year, am I right?! I kicked off the year with a quick beach trip, my first time at Harry Potter world, and putting the finishing touches on my dream wedding plans.

When COVID shook up everyone’s plans, I had days I HATED being confined to my apartment and days I was extremely grateful I got to spend more time with Billy and more time FaceTiming my best friends and family than any other year.

This past year I rescheduled my wedding for 2021 (fingers crossed 🤞🏻), started Health by Haven, watched a dear friend’s world be flipped upside down by a tremendous loss, experienced half my coworkers (who were more like family) get laid off, taught countless virtual Pure Barre classes, missed my family like crazy, went back to school to study nutrition, ran my first 30K (virtually), ran my first marathon (also virtually) and bought my first home.

Clearly it was a rollercoaster of a year. One of the most emotional in both bad and good ways. But the thing I learned over and over this year is that no matter how hard I try, I’m not always in control and that’s okay. Friends and family matter most and we have to keep trying our best to make the most out of every situation. We can’t let COVID-19, or anything else for that matter, beat us down or dictate what we get to accomplish.

I have a feeling we’re heading into another confusing year. There will certainly be more challenges we must face, but if we can get through 2020 we can get through anything. We’re stronger than we think.

Here is an abbreviated list of the lessons I learned in 2020. I went through many iterations of this list, trust me, there were a lotttt of lessons learned. I thought about putting examples or explanations to each statement, but I figured they stand alone and may speak to you in a different way than they did to me. 

What lessons did you learn in 2020? Let me know in the comments below!

1. You can’t plan or predict everything. You aren’t always in control.
2. Adaptability is an essential life skill.
3. It’s okay to feel a multitude of emotions at once.
4. Family and friends are everything. 
5. Putting your health first is crucial. 
6. Taking time for yourself matters.
7. Make time to pursue your passion. There will always be an excuse not to.
8. You can do hard things.