2020 Cover Story

The plan for 2020 was set... Barcelona, Cyprus and then take on the monster Mt Kilimanjaro. That would have been my first step towards achieving my ultimate life goal of undertaking the 7 Summit Challenge.

Almost 6 months into 2020 and needless to say the plans have altered ever so slightly to finding new ways of entertainment indoors.
So what have I tried so far? The first thing I think everyone thought was it’s now or never... Get that "summer body" we think of every summer and the idea somehow dissipates into hot cholocate and all good food comfort by winter. So I did — I took the 30 day abs challenge and I stuck to it though the abs were slightly lacking by the end.

Then came the cooking phase... If "Kobe" could do it, well hell so could I! That’s one phase that’s stuck with me, mainly because I treat food as religion. It requires utter dedication, and nothing less will be justifiable.

So what else? The thing everyone spoke about was enhancing your skills, making yourself more desirable in the virtual LinkedIn community. Well that’s what I did, or have tried to do so - learning, well attempting to learn new computer languages, but is it just me or its difficult to keep going all the way through? To keep that motivation level up to gain all extra qualifications because well others are doing it... Is it FOMO? Or imagining future job interviews where there is just one question - what did you do in 2020? Is it the fear of being less interesting than the next person? Or is it your uncertainty of the unknown?

Going through all the phases has made me realise one thing.. this is a period of time that we are never getting back (well hopefully, anyways). I have decided to look at the small positives I have found through out. Realising who is there for you, reconnecting not only with your "long lost friends" but also family. Rediscovering my love for cooking and baking, something I didn’t do enough when I was busy with my pre-covid "normal life". Most of all, loving the small moments. Whether it’s a BBQ or like right now as I type my thoughts while sitting in an Argos paddle pool my sister "forced" me to order.

So, how is 2020 going for me so far? Different to what I had hoped for but I have taken the time to rediscover the things I love - things that might not particularly help advance my career but help me enjoy life. Something we all forget to do when running and trying to survive this world.