Finishing Strong in 2020
Don’t let anyone bully you into ‘finishing the year strong.’ It’s enough to simply finish.
I read this on Twitter the other day. And what struck me was how much it immediately resonated. I paused, stared at it, and slowly nodded my head in agreement.
A year ago, I would have scrolled past a tweet like that, deeming it a lazy statement. Of course you want to finish your year strong, look ahead to your goals — and set new, vivid ones.
But I think we can all agree, it’s been a year.
And as I sit here with my mug of coffee, feeling still very tired after a solid 7.5 hours of sleep, I can’t help but scan back through the past year… and actually feel kind of proud of where I'm at now, in the midst of it all.
At the beginning of 2020, I started chronicling the year, to remember the intricacies of it. By May, I realized I didn’t really feel like tracking it all anymore, as I felt more like I was keeping a running list of everything that was going wrong, or anxiety-inducing. And man, it felt like a lot.
My dad’s death, the sudden loss of my job, a worldwide pandemic, BLM protests, an intensely heated election year — and those are just the big ones, for me at least.
So back to that tweet.
Regardless of how your year has played out, it’s safe to say that we’ve all been through a lot. Many of us have had more alone time that we’re used to. More news alerts pushed our way than we could ever want. Lost jobs, new jobs, new job settings. New twists, new challenges, new moral conflicts that we never could have even dreamt up. Face masks, tele-appointments, hurricanes, wildfires, and let’s not forget the toilet paper shortage.
Birthdays and holidays were moved to behind computer screens, weddings were cancelled, rescheduled, or changed to be ‘distanced’. The list of oddities are endless.
So, you know what… I agree.
Kait, the go-getter who hates hitting snooze, doesn’t take naps, truly enjoys seizing daily tasks with vigor… is tired.
My take? Finish the year, whatever that looks like for you. Finish these last 2+ weeks doing things that bring you joy, if time allows. And if that’s checking things off your list — great. If that’s holing up and watching Holiday movies, fantastic. If that’s hitting snooze and eating a donut each morning, (maybe keep an eye on your sugar intake but you know what) go for it.
I had a week-streak of morning donuts myself last month.
Finish 2020 at the pace that you might need to for your mental wellbeing, and do your best to do it gratefully. This year resembled a dumpster fire in so many aspects, but there is always good that can be found. Write that little list of good things down, give it a nod, and then welcome 2021 with open arms.
