Time to Celebrate

The countdown to 2021 has already started, and in parts of the world it might well be 2021 by the time this message is read. There probably aren’t too many people who would like to repeat the year 2020. It has been one for the history books, that’s for certain.

According to Dr Albert Bandura, professor emeritus at Stanford University, we tend to pass through our accomplishments too quickly and too lightly for them to make a lasting impression on our self-esteem and self-worth. Despite the challenges of the year 2020, we do want to take time to reflect and celebrate, because we have accomplished a lot.

One year ago, who would have thought we would be dealing with the effects of a pandemic, causing the deaths of nearly 2 million people around the world, and so much pain and suffering for the families of those taken. And yet, we dug deep and the epidemiologists and researchers immediately began to understand and combat the virus. Health workers all over the globe are celebrated for their compassion and dedication, in the face of incredible odds.

Climate change landed on the front pages of news sites around the world. Wildfires first in Australia, then the west coast of the U.S. Tornados, hurricanes and typhoons and their resulting secondary damages. And yet, we may finally be in a mindset to start taking it seriously, led by our creativity and ingenuity on multiple fronts.

The tough conversations around race issues are finally being faced. This is Step 1 toward positive changes in multiple mindsets, the first of many more to come. It will take courage, persistence and resiliency to move in this direction, but we have the strength to take it on and succeed for all concerned.

On the personal front, for a lot of us, 2020 caused us to look within and dig deep to see our way through the physical, mental and emotional stresses we faced. We are still going to need to tap those reservoirs of strength and persistence, and apply them to our dreams and goals for 2021. And we’ll need a bit more patience, as well. But you know, we all have it within us. We just need to paint the picture, vibrant and shiny, of the world we want.

So, farewell to 2020. Take your place in the history books. And here’s to 2021 – time to look forward to a better, brighter and hopefully more relaxed leap into the future! Keep dreaming!

Happy New Year!