Yesterday I kicked off the series, 20 things learned in 2020.
If you missed part one you can read it here.
Now, remember, when I say “learned” it could be new things or it could just be things that were “lessons learned” in 2020, they just became more important this year.
Anyways, let’s dig into lessons 6-10.
6. Control what you can control
I’ve always been a big fan of this one, but it became uber important in 2020.
I mean, let’s face it, there’s really not a lot in life we can control.
However, that got blown out of the water in 2020 and almost everything was out of our control…
Where am I allowed to travel?
Can I operate my business?
Do my kids go to school and tune in remotely?
It can be super frustrating when things feel out of control, and it causes a lot of stress and anxiety.
But, there are always things we can control.
We can control our attitude and behaviors, we can control our mindset, we can control how we treat and fuel our body, and we can control our actions.
Always.
7. Have a clear vision
There were a lot of goals that got derailed in 2020.
Whether it be the actual goal, the ability to focus on that goal, or the timeline of that goal.
But you know what probably wasn’t thrown off?
Your vision.
I’ve written about visioning at length, but it is a point in the future, typically 3-5 years out.
You write it like you’re actually there.
Now, 2020 might have caused us to reevaluate, to adjust, and maybe we took a little bit longer path to get there, but our vision hasn’t changed.
That’s motivating, and that’s why it’s so important.
8. Kindness matters so much
Be kind.
It’s one of Kim’s sayings, and it’s one of our values here at Spurling.
Kindness.
It always matters, but it really mattered in 2020.
Why?
Because it was easier to not be kind.
Tempers were hot, there was always something to be mad about, there was always someone with a different opinion, etc.
In moments of frustration, it can be challenging to have the self-awareness that you’re not being kind.
We don’t need to agree with everything/everyone, but we can treat them with kindness.
9. You have to keep up, things got accelerated
In many ways was an accelerator, especially in the technology sector.
Let’s take a peek at our industry.
The ability to train someone online, whether that be in a follow-along live format or a digital program to log through an app (both of these we now do) has always been possible, at least for the last 5-10 years.
However, what 2020 did was accelerate it.
It forced us to adapt quickly, to pick up and learn the technology.
It challenged us with building a relationship and community, albeit virtually.
It’s not perfect, but there are a lot of people we woudln’t be helping right now if we didn’t embrace that accelerant.
And to be honest, the ones that didn’t embrace it are the ones struggling.
It’s the same with restaurants adapting to online ordering/take out, schools learning how to teach virtually, and workplaces allowing you to work from home.
Often times, once we’re in it, we realize it’s not that bad, but 2020 was a “forced” learning curve.
That’s a good thing.
Whether it sticks or not is to be determined, but at least it forced us to get better.
10. Things don’t go as planned, and that’s okay.
How many of your plans got ruined this year?
Everyone, right?
As a planner, I HATE when things don’t go as planned.
In fact, a small thing can totally mess with me.
If I see one little thing I don’t like, or one little part of my day doesn’t go as planned, it can throw my whole day off.
I’m sure others that have a similar personality can relate.
But here’s the thing…
Since so many things didn’t go as planned this year, it’s been a great learning and opportunity to live a day, a month, a YEAR, when there is really no plan, it’s just figuring out how you’re going to get through the day.
Or you have a plan, and it doesn’t go as planned.
I just think it’s been great practice for how to react when that happens, I’m not always good at it, but it’s gotten better.
I hope you’re enjoying these lessons.
I’ll be back next week with parts three and four.
Upcoming the rest of this week is Kim’s weekly post, our podcast, and Josh’s weekly post.
Stay tuned!
1% Better.
Dedicated To Your Success,
Doug Spurling