What a year! Indeed, it’s going to be our first reaction whenever someone asks us to describe 2020! The most unpredictable year with lots of surprises, and the biggest one among those is Covid-19 and the lockdown situation worldwide. It didn’t only make us suffer physically but mentally, as well. We had to force ourselves to adapt to the new normal, which has taken a toll on our mental health. But as the new year is only a few days away, and if we look back, we have to admit that, besides all the negativity, 2020 made us realize ourselves differently. It’s more like discovering that side of you, which you knew was there but couldn’t find that until this year. Let’s talk about some of those valuable discoveries that helped us to see the worth of ourselves, our surroundings and made us grateful.
Valuing your loved ones
Whenever we go through any mental health-related issues, most of us experiences one common thing, that is loneliness. We start to think that there’s no one for us who will listen to our pain, not even our family and friends. Everyone is busy on their own. But when we were somehow forced to stay at home with our family members during this pandemic, we realized that it’s not that bad to spend some time watching movies, cooking, eating together with them. And most importantly, we started to fear that we’ll lose our loved ones. The realization that “Yes! I need them. I can’t afford to lose them” has soothed our minds that we are not alone. Someone is there who values my existence, and I do the same.
Time for Self-care
Realizing self-worth is important to deal with the negativity around us. Often, we lose ourselves so much that we start to hate and harm ourselves. But the first rule for overcoming the pain is to “Love thyself.” But this loving thyself process wasn’t a choice for many of us due to the busy life. Think of a regular day of yours a year back and calculate how many minutes a day you spend for yourself by doing the things you actually love to do? This pandemic has given us that chance. Many of us have discovered a new version of ourselves. We got the time to read a book, cook a special dish, humming a song during work, do a little skincare, exercise, play video games, etc., and many more things like these which we wanted to do for a long time! Won’t you agree that doing these things besides the routine activities helped to calm your mind?
The Fighting Spirits
A big shoutout to everyone who is still holding themselves during this critical period. 2020 indeed tested us almost in every possible way. We have to go through fear, anxiety, trauma, anger, frustration, depression, loneliness, insomnia, and whatnot! Every day was and still is a battle for survival, both mentally and physically. But we are still fighting to stay positive and live with everything we can. It can be said that this fighting spirit was the most significant gift from 2020 for people all over the world.
Finding inner peace in times of uncertainty
Sometimes all we crave is for some space around us, which is not easy to get. But this pandemic finally allowed us to have that. We got the time to think and solve what’s bothering us. We got the time to relax our minds and heart from the constant negativity and dilemmas. We won’t say that the struggle has ended completely, but we learned to give us some time to manage and adapt to the change. Every moment of 2020 was unpredictable, but this uncertainty has somehow relaxed our minds from the outside pressure. We have figured out our priorities, what’s actually good for ourselves, and the importance of life.
Hoping for a Better Future
We often think that “Nothing will change ever”! And somehow accept the situation and continue to live with the misery. But look around yourself now. Each and every person is hoping for a better future. They still have the faith that everything will be the same again. We won’t have to fear this invisible demon anymore. We’ll be able to breathe in the fresh air; children will play outside freely, we can again enjoy festivities without any restrictions, we won’t have to maintain distance from our loved ones! This seed of hope is all we need. We have learned no matter how bad the situation becomes, there’s always a way to overcome it as long as we keep hoping for that. Because hope is a shield that won’t let you lose. Remember, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
Content Writer, Associate of HR & Finance, Voice of Business and Marketing Student of the University of Dhaka.