Lessons From 2020 So Far

It was 8:46 a.m. Hijackers steered American Airlines Flight 11 into 1 World Trade Center. At 9:03 a.m. they crashed United Flight 175 into 2 World Trade Center. At 9:37 a.m. the terrorists steered American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon. At 10:03am the passengers on United Flight 93 saved countless lives by launching a counterattack against the hijackers. This resulted in the plane crashing into an empty field near Shanksville, Pa. 

I understand that a sufferer of Truman Show delusion traveled all the way to New York to check whether the World Trade Center had fallen. He believed the 9/11 attacks were an elaborate plot twist in his personal storyline. It was exactly 9 years after the incident yesterday. 

The focus of the blog today centers around lessons learned from 2020 so far. This year has been hard. You can say it has sucked. It has brought so much pain, disappointments, anxiety, and distress to many families. It has been a tough year on the average and it is okay to admit that. I'm not going to say we should ignore everything and "be positive". I won't say that because that will be dishonest. 

So, if you are mad at what this year took from you, that's okay. All I am saying is that you should find a way to reclaim whatever part of our year you can. It is hard work. That's why I am forever rooting for you to finish strong.

You can say it sucked. From Nipsey Hussle the great rapper (God bless his soul) to the massive blast in Beirut to the loss of Kobe Bryant and Gianna, his daughter, to the wildfires in different parts of America, to the loss of lives all over the world due to the pandemic. Recently the hero from Wakanda – Chadwick Boseman. And the year is not over yet! 

So what are the lessons from 2020 so far

1. The most important things in life aren’t things. 

For a long period during the pandemic, everything was at a standstill. It was like the world was brought to a pause. We began to see signs everywhere urging us to stay indoors to stop the spread of the virus. For me, it was a time to rethink the things that really matter -things like what legacies I would leave when I’m gone. 

Many people go through life trying to ‘fit in’, trying to impress others. Too many feel unhappy with the choices they make because they realize those choices aren’t worth it in the end. We drop everything just to get our hands on these new and shiny things, forgetting that real invaluable possessions can’t be bought with money. If you live in an amazing house with no happy family to live with, can you really tell yourself you live in a home? Stop wasting your time pursuing things that won’t reward you with long-term happiness.

2. Health is a collective responsibility

 There is a widespread assumption that responsibility in health care is vested in the last resort in the individual carer who is caring for a given patient. 

This assumption is very weak in its unmodified form.  if we are to understand the nature of health care at the present time we must take the norm to be collective and not individual responsibility. In the eventuality of a pandemic, healthcare is a collective responsibility. Better still, to prevent a pandemic, people need to take collective responsibility. The assumption that moral responsibility in health care must be vested in an individual is examined and found to be inadequate. 

3. Learn to be vulnerable. 

The year 2020 has been a year like none other. None of us has experienced a year like this due to the world-wide coronavirus pandemic. When much of the economy was shut down or restrained due to social distancing, stay-at-home recommendations and some types of business shutdowns several sources of county revenue started declining. Organizations were forced to lay off or furlough employees, cancel projects, defer construction and maintenance and more: While at the same time, in many instances, families had to increase spending for Covid-19 related expenses.

It is forecasted that the effect of the pandemic would be felt for a long while. For instance, the German government expects the economic devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic this year to be slightly less severe than originally feared, but it will revise downward its growth forecast for next year.

Everyone is trying to be tough and all. But vulnerability makes us human. By being vulnerable, you are able to heal and grow out of the pain and suffering which you would otherwise have bottled up. It may sound like an oxymoron. It may sound contradictory because you have been taught to toughen up. You believe when you are vulnerable, you would likely be played or taken advantage of. Many times, we become alert and defensive, because we would not want to be taken advantage of. Just like a lady who has fallen into the hands of sweet talkers. Have you ever met a man who is a genuinely good person and comes from a good family, yet is a GREAT player?

4. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket- The importance of Diversification

None of us have lived a year like this. Depending on a household’s economic base, some have fared better than others. And those that did the very best were those that had a good diversified income stream and a decent level of savings that could be used to lessen the impact of the challenges and still maintain a good standard of living. Someone once said, “Good lives are lived in the margins of hope and possibility.” Apply that to the life and operation of a household. Without some level of savings, the household has little hope or possibility during an economic downturn or recession. In the times we are in, it is risky to depend on the status quo and the traditional income sources especially for salary earners. A diversified income has more than one source. The advantage is that it limits your risk. You can start a side business, invest in real estate, digital advertising, or agriculture amongst others.