I think a lot of people are looking forward to 2018.
They would love to turn back the clock a bit to when everything was “normal”.
(Read: known.)
If it’s you, I don’t blame you. I just hope you weren’t the typical Twitter user of the time, spouting things like:
“OMG 2018 is the WORST. I want it to JUST BE OVER already. Three aging celebrities have died, wow!”
Those deaths were tragedies, but they were not disasters. I called it out for what it was: self-indulgent and dangerous whining.
And now here we are.
2020 has brought us record wildfires, a disease with a rapidly rising death toll, financial collapse, mental health eroding lockdowns, and riots.
We’re only halfway there.
And I suspect there is something worse to come.
But don’t blame 2020 for it. Whether 2021 is better depends, to a large extent, on its ability to recover. Yes, a few years ago, you dramatized a bit of sadness over the death of celebrities in the worst of the world…
Well that was a mistake.
I am not telling you to ignore or repress your emotions. If a childhood hero dies, by all means feel sad. Get angry when someone disrespects your rights.
But it is selfish to exaggerate, indulge and share your feelings too much.
Getting put off by likes and shares, instead of processing emotions, made him less resilient. So when real problems reared their heads, you were less able to deal with them. That hurt everyone who trusts you in some way.
Like I say, it was a mistake.
And what do we do with the mistakes?
We shake hands, learn what we can, and move on.
If you can’t move on?
If you’re struggling right now, feeling drained, or just because this has taken a lot out of you, it’s tempting to point the finger outward. The world is on fire right now, so of course you’re not 100%.
But just because you’re in pain, that doesn’t mean you should suffer.
Some people crack under pressure. Others find their true strength. The difference is not in who they are but in how they respond to challenges.
Most likely, you have an outdated and damaging response to challenges. That’s not your fault: who among us was taught how to prosper while our worlds crumble?
But now that you are aware of it, you have a responsibility to let go and embrace something better.
I have made part of your conscious unconscious. If you are still using the old bad patterns, now is your choice.
So choose the path that makes you stronger. We all need your strength right now, more than ever.