Embracing the lessons of 2020
Some of you will know that I like to choose a word every January - a word that channels my intention for the year ahead and gets to the heart of what I want it to be all about. This year, the word I chose was expansive. It captured exactly how I wanted 2020 to feel - spacious, stretching, full of growth, and full of adventure.
I’ll admit that a couple of months ago, I started to question my choice of word. How could this year be expansive when I couldn’t even leave my house? How could I embrace my desire to expand mentally, emotionally and professionally when so many of my plans had been cancelled or put on hold?
I wondered for a while whether I should change my word. Whether I should park expansive for now, and turn to a softer, gentler word - nurture or nourish or ease or flow. But I decided to stick with it. Because while the plan might have changed, the opportunity to expand my mind and my perception of life is more present than ever.
There is no denying that these first 6 months of 2020 have been hard. I cannot remember any other period in my life where there has been such a collective sense of grief and frustration and despair. From the Australian bushfires to the global pandemic to the senseless murder of George Floyd and the challenging conversations that have so rightly followed, it feels like the whole world is struggling to catch a breath.
And yet, I also can’t remember a time when there has been such a collective appetite for growth. I can’t remember a time when there has been such a universal desire to challenge our perceptions and expand our way of thinking. I can’t remember a time when we have all been so united in examining our beliefs and whether we’re living our lives in alignment with them.
2020 isn’t turning out to be the year that any of us expected. Those goals and hopes and ambitions that we had back in January probably feel pretty distant for most of us right now. And it’s tempting to want to write 2020 off because of that, to start the countdown clock ticking to a brand new year and a fresh start.
But what if instead, we all embraced this year as the growth opportunity it is presenting itself to be? What if instead, we chose to see it as a year of change and challenge and expansive thinking? What if instead of giving up now, we all agreed to make this a year that we’ll look back on as a powerful and pivotal and positive one?
I’m committed to learning the lessons that 2020 is here to teach us. I’m committed to leaning into all parts of it - the growth, the challenge, the wake up calls, the joy. I’m committing to making this an expansive year - perhaps not in the way that I’d originally planned, but in a way that feels even more necessary and enriching.
And I hope you’ll join me. Because tough times make even people. Challenging times help us better appreciate the joy. And from devastation and despair comes a vision of an even more beautiful future. I can’t wait to dream it up with you.
