The lighter side of 2020

#1

So 2020 was quite a ride, a lot of stuff from the year presented us with worry, anxiety, doubt, hurt, and the list can go on. I don’t want this thread to be one of those, as we know we are still in the midst of the pandemic and lockdown.

I have been on a little gratitude journaling and what I would like us to take from the year though, and be reminiscent of, are those things that we can be thankful and grateful for and to give gratitude in. The things that made us grow, that gave us hope, the things made us see the light in others, that continue to push is, and so on. Amidst all of the adversity, I think there is still a lot of good that can be taken from it. I chose to believe that there is more good than bad out there and continue to further my faith in humanity.

As some of you may, or may not know, I am big on productivity and positivity. As such I would like to kick things off by giving an example of the things that bring me hope and joy over the past year.

Here’s my 2020 wrap up from Todoist:

This past year we saw the schools close down and myself and my son were forced into working and schooling from home. This was a real challenging time for me and my family. We aren’t trained to be teachers. How do you separate and distinguish the role of parent and teacher? Needless to say, we were challenged in so many ways and my son saw improved grades and his marks were promising at the end of the year despite all of this.

There were a lot of challenges too that presented itself as a family, though despite all of that I can thankful we pulled through. This whole situation has forced to come closer together and has strengthened our family unit. We only have each other here in Cape Town and have not seen any family in over a year. I am thankful for my family.

On a professional front, I have worked my way into a senior role with leadership responsibilities. I was honoured and humbled when a colleague had asked me to coach and mentor them through the course of this year. I am grateful for my job and the company I work for. My pay and bonuses have not been affected unlike many, and having a company that understands personal challenges and situations.

I have also grown spiritually and give all glory to God.

So, what say you, I would love to hear and read some of your stories of gratitude. I think a lot can come from giving thanks and sharing the things that we can be thankful for.

#SpeakLife

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#2

I’m not sure this qualifies as the lighter side! :smiley:

I’ll add mine, because I also try to live with a positive mindset (which is harder and harder to do if you venture on to Facebook) and this past year or two has really triggered the gratitude reflex in me as well.

Of the top of my head:

  1. Celebrating 11 years of my relationship with my wife next month brings the rest of our lives and the stupid things that people qualify as “drama” into perspective. We’ve lived in three different cities together, and had ups and downs together, but when I think of all the challenges we’ve faced together, that report that is due on Monday that’s stressing me out just… pales in comparison.
  2. Despite getting Covid twice, my wife and I are in good health, and that is a big one to be thankful for. Covid struck her harder than it did me, and she’s diabetic, so I’m quite relieved that we’re both well now.
    I also had a very successful operation to open up my nose so that I can breath better, and I got a CPAP machine to combat my sleep apnoea, and it’s working wonders. I never realised how bad I feel when I wake up until I got this machine… I simply didn’t know that most people don’t wake up with a headache! That’s in the past now.
  3. At work, there’s a lot to be thankful for. I work with a lot of great colleagues in my team, with two in particular growing very close over the last three years. So much so, that we’ve registered our own company late last year that we’re trying to get some momentum into.
    Our site is being bought out, but our BU manager has campaigned for a few of us in particular with the new owners, to protect our jobs, and it seems that it was successful.
    My employer also managed to recover all our salary cuts from the TERS funds, so my pocket was not influenced greatly.
  4. Finally, being a citizen of the internet helped with lockdown blues. We raced and laughed in the Sim Racing leagues, and my friends in other cities and countries didn’t really notice a change in how we interacted under lockdown… except that there was more sober gaming than normal! :smiley:
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#3

Despite most small companies floundering and the general economy being terribad at the moment, our company had a bumper year to the point that we could give all our staff generous increases and Christmas bonuses this year. We’re also on track to do a profit share at the end of Feb to key individuals who contributed to the growth of the company this past year. Our son also started going to preschool in October, which is doing wonders for his social development. Other than that, our relatively small family (I’m an only child and my wife as 1 sibling) are all doing well and our niece also managed to visit us 3 times since travel was permitted again.

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#4

I got to work from home! I know people had it really bad last year but it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. Didn’t get a raise but kept my job so that’s good.

Games I played last year:

Music I listened to last year:

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#5

Thanks for sharing everyone, really nice to read some praise and see what people can be thankful during these times.

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#6

I got a job in 2020 after being unemployed for two years. It’s not the most glorious job but it’s enabled me to replace my faulty joycons and buy a couple of games.

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#7

Thank you for sharing :slight_smile:

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