The year 2020 has been full of ups and downs. And it is something that this generation has never been through before. And like most people, I put a lot of effort into planning, organizing, and setting goals for everything I wanted to achieve. The beginning of the year 2020 was great until the pandemic hit, everything changed.

I remembered vividly that my country went into lockdown and life has never been the same since then. What is crazier is that even up to this point, as I’m writing this article, things are yet to get back to normal. But that’s life. For some, 2020 was a great year with exponential growth, especially for the health and medical industry. But for most people, 2020 was gone for good.

The year 2020 may or may not be an amazing year for you but, the good news is that it’s over. And like everything that happens in life, we need to learn the lessons, gain the experience, and make progress and make this new year a better year.

So, I’m going to share the 10 life lessons that life has taught me in 2020 and how you can learn the insights and make your coming days better…

1. Life has no guarantee

We don’t have the crystal ball to predict the future, and there is no guarantee that things are going to work out according to your plan. Nobody expected 2020 to happen this way. It is something totally new and unexpected. The same goes for life. There are no guarantees. You can start a restaurant business today and the next day, you will have to close it because of the lockdown due to unforeseen circumstances. Hence, do your best and prepare for the worst. Accept the fact that there is no guarantee in life.

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Dr. Seuss

2. Planning is still important

While it is true that nothing is guaranteed, but you still need to plan for what you want. Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” The key is planning, not the plan. When you plan for what you want, you can become better when things happen. Not only that, you become more proactive when you have a plan. You know what to do and what matters most. Thus, making you productive and giving you a sense of direction in life.

3. You are your best investment

If you didn’t do well in 2020, it is time to up your game. Remember that you are your best investment. Hence, work on improving yourself. Read more books, improve your skills, and increase your knowledge so that you can become a better person in your career, business, family, and life.

4. Acquire knowledge and skills, not stuff

Yes, stop collecting stuff that isn’t important to you. Instead, work on collecting knowledge and experience that truly matter. You will notice that on the brink of death, material possessions aren’t the most important to you. You can have the goal of owning a sports car, but with the lockdown, you can’t even drive the car to impress people who don’t really care about you. Don’t work on acquiring stuff. Instead, pursue knowledge, skills, and work on experiences that grow you.

5. Take full responsibility

If you are out of business or lose your job because of the pandemic, there are only two things you can do: blame or take the responsibility to become better. You see, when you blame the pandemic for causing you to lose your business, there is nothing you can do about it. But instead, if you take full responsibility and learned the lessons, you will become more resilient and gain a better experience. The key is to take responsibility and heed the lesson. Perhaps, life won’t be as difficult if you have enough savings and don’t spend all your money on unnecessary stuff. That’s the responsibility you need to take.

6. Pursue your goals and what matters to you

Things can change and become unpredictable, but you can still choose to work on what matters most to you. By now, you should know that you can’t rely on just one source of income. If you do, you could lose your main income source if you get retrenched. Hence, live a portfolio life. Pursue a few passions and work on a side hustle that makes you feel excited.

7. Save and invest for your future now

Your future is created today, not 20 years from now. Hence, if you want to have a better future, you need to work on it right now. This is especially true when it comes to saving and investing. Time is your ally and you want to make the best use of it. Put aside a portion of your income for savings and investment. When the time comes, you will be glad that you have savings to at least cover a couple of months of your expenses.

8. Take care of yourself

What is important is to learn to take care of yourself. After 2020, most people only started to realize that their health is their most important asset. You see, if you don’t have good health, you can’t enjoy your wealth and life at all. The key is to learn to take good care of your health and so you can have the energy to pursue what matters to you, to live life, and to enjoy it.

“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” – Brené Brown

9. Always count your blessings

No matter what happened, count your blessings. You can choose to focus on what you lack, or you can choose to focus on what you have. The choice is yours. There is a saying, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” So, it all depends on how you look at things in life. You can choose to focus on what can go wrong or think about what can go right. Of course, when you choose to think about the good in every situation, life becomes lighter and brighter.

10. Enjoy the journey

Regardless of how 2020 turned out for you, it was the past and has gone down in history. There is nothing you can do to change it anymore. Therefore, learn to enjoy the journey and the days that are coming your way. The year 2020 may not be a great year for you, but the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it. Remember, life is like a roller coaster. It has its ups and downs. And it is your choice to scream or to enjoy the ride.