2020 year review

A year we will all remember and how perspective got me through it in a positive way

It’s been four years since I wrote and prublish one of my year reviews.

That said, no matter what, despite of letting it slide some years, at times even feeling overwhelmed by events during those 365 days; every new year I take the time to sit and look back, think about what happened, what I learned, what I forgot.

For me, it’s a valuable practice that provides perspective. The appreciation and ackoledgment of the passing of time and all that it entails.

A way to not take things for granted.

2020 was interesting and challenging, to say the least, we all know that. Hard and painful in very different ways.

However, I’m not here to talk about what we already know, but what it meant to me and what came out of it.

One thing that caught my attention was that, although at glance it seemed an uneventful year; when looking closer, many things started to emerge. Moments, memories, ideas, lessons.

Let’s have a look.

Overview

There is one big lesson for me in 2020. Uncertainty.

No matter what you think, how you feel or even where you are at any point in life, it’s always going to be uncertain. Nothing can ever be taken for granted.

No matter what we do, who we are, what we have. No one could have ever envisioned a situation like the one the entire planet faced during 2020.

Lost jobs, businesses and lives. Entire industries shutdown overnight and the way we interact with each and the world complete shifted. Once in a lifetime? Probably, but it happened.

It was uncharted territory and options were limited. At least that’s how I felt.

Gratitude towards where I was, what I had (attitudes, skills, resources) and how I was able to ride the wave, and by consequence take care of myself and those close to me is one of the key highlights.

Is not an exaggeration when saying I felt immensely grateful every time I did my groceries and continued to work from my home; knowing I was able to provide for my parents and that we were safe.

It helped me realise, that I was on a privileged position, but also, to not forget that I was able to put myself in that position by making choices and hard work after arriving to this country seven years ago.

The Breakdown

Usually, when looking back, I tend to review the year through various lenses, key areas I’ve been focused on; for example: personal, entrepreneurship, running, traveling, etc.

This year, however, I kept it simple and went to what mattered the most: the highlights, what worked, what didn’t work, lessons learned, how I think spent my time, and some miscellaneous.

The Highlights

• Left the agency (previous job)
• I didn’t work for a couple of months
• Started writing daily again
• Getting back into daily city photography
• Tried the 5 minutes journal (recommended by a friend). Great daily excercise
• Freelance work
• Having my parents quarantining with me. Knowing that they were healthy and safe
• Got an idea for a new business around remote work
• Started a new site about remote work
• Turned 35
• My nephew was born
• Holding my girlfriends hand for the first time after months of lockdown separation
• Applied to about 100 jobs. Lots of interviews, tons of rejections and multiple offers
• New job
• I also started working in a store on the side. It was scary and very uncomfortable at the begining. I learned a lot about leadership from those around me and realised that am actually good at sales.
• Went to Dublin for the first time. An unsual holiday, a beutiful city and a great break after such a convoluted and difficult year
• Pending important personal matters finally completed
• Christmas and new year with my family and girlfriend. Healthy and together.

What worked?

• Resilience
• Mindfulness
• Been kind to myself
• Confidence
• Self-awareness
• Gratitude
• Pragmatism
• Daily writing
• Meditation
• Freedom
• Savings
• Consistency
• Support systems & the people around me
• Writing every day
• Appreciation and joy of freedom

What didn’t worked?

• Getting on my own way
• Paralysis
• Fear
• Doubt
• Procrastination

Lessons learned?

1. There will always be uncertainty. Deal with it the best you can and move on.
2. Practice. Practice, practice, practice. Repetition and intention are key and the more you do something, whatever it is, the better you’ll become. From the mundane to the extraordinary.
3. Discipline. “Only the disciplined are free”, if I ever get a tattoo it will probably say this. It’s true, and as much discipline can make or break your day, if you compound, it can do the same to your goals and by consequence, your life.
4. Honesty and self-awareness. If you are honest with yourseldf you avoid putting yourself on diffifult positions, sometimes even unexpected ones. Self-awareness is the compass to that. If you know yourself, you know what you really want, what works for you or not and how much or what to compromise.
5. Trust your gut/Instinct/Intuition. For real. I can tell you that for every interview I had last year I knew the outcome before I got the follow up and intuition, along honesty and self-awareness helped inform my decisions and/or how to react to the circumstances, both success and failures.
6. Never doubt yourself. There are things that I know that I know I, stick to them and be confident, even when circumstances make you question your own talents.
7. Be prepared for rainy days. I’m going be very honest, I never doubted I was going to get another job, I was always confident about it, however, I’m not going to lie, there were a couple of moments were I worried that it could take longer that I anticipated and been knowing that in the worst case scenario I had money in the bank to cover dry period makes a big difference. This is something that was instilled by my father from a young age and that until this day has always got me afloat in during challenging periods.
8. Hard work and consistency do pay off. You start with Practice, practice, practice (#2 of this list) and then keep showing up, EVERY-SINGLE-DAY, weather you want to or not. Is that consistency what eventually will materialise as new opportunities.
9. Always give it all. Half-assed work doesn't work. Commit to it, do the best you can and move on, just like Kobe (Bryant). For me, knowing that I left it all in the court, is not only satisfying, but it also gives me peace. I did all I could, I left it all, the ball is on their side. They still might not pick me, but the question if I’ve done a good job or was it good enough won’t be on the my mind.
10. Network and reputation are important. My reputation precedes me, I have come to learn that. Something that I’m proud of and that had opened doors for me, as well as build strong relationships based on trust and respect. Knowing a lot of people across so many industries and walks of life also helps and something I’m also proud of.
11. That one decision. Some times, in life we make decisions that at the time meant nothing but when looking back, had a ripple effect lasting for years and touching so many different aspects of your life. Appreciating these is important, but also acknowledging that we will never be able to forecast the real impact of many, or maybe all of our choices.
12. Pragmatism is important. During my job hunt, there was a week where I had an interview every single day of the week. Exciting and all that, because, yes, it is cool and reassuring when so many companies want to talk to you. However, pragmatism becomes key for two reasons: a) Don’t rest on your laurels. An interview is not the job, and 5 interview does not guarantee a job. Get up, do the work and treat each and one of the interviews as if it was the only one. b) You might not get any of them. Although the natural inclination would be to think “you would get at least one of them” based on quantity; the reality is that, well, you might get none. Accepting this reality in advance helps you prepare for it and be ready to move on to the next thing right away, rather than dwelling and been heartbroken. And guess what? That’s exactly what happened, I didn't get any of them. Not pleasant , but I as ok with it (check #4 and #5 of this list).
13. I’m good with rejection. Well, if you read the one before this you probably get it by now. But knowing this is also important (see #4 on this list). When you learn that you can take punches one after the other you are almost invincible. Another day, another fight. It doesn’t mean that nothing got under my skin and that rejection NEVER hit me, of course it did, more than once. However, it never took me more than a while to get back on track. I felt it, went though it, processed it and moved on. I never dwelled on it.
14. No one is going to come. Just like that. It doesn't matter what it is, the size of the challenge or how daunting it might feel. NO-ONE-IS-GOING-TO-COME. No one will knock the door and offer me a job or solve any other problem I might have. Is up to me and no one else. Get up, show up and do whatever you have to do to get it sorted it. That’s it. Accept it. Deal with it.
15. Remember how you started. Training has become one of the pilars of my life. Not only from a physical and health perspective, but also joy, satisfaction and accomplishment. Not properly training for a long period of time set me back big time. It was like starting to run again. Having to almost start from scratch again give you humility and apreciation. Humility towards those also willing to start and pushing their way through and appreciation towards how far you have come. After four marathons, five half-marathons, and dozens of 10ks and personal bests, I no reguarly remember how it was to build my distance when I first ever started, been patient with myself, while also remebering what I have done and what I’m able to do, so I don’t become complacent or backdown when it gets uncomfortable.

How did I spend my time? — Guesstimate

1. Working — 50%
2. Writing — 12%
3. Training — 10%
4. Reading — 5%
5. Watching — 5%
6. Others: Family, walking, music, etc — 5%
7. Wasted: Online mostly — 8%

Miscellaneous

Movies

1. Parasite
2. Jo Jo Rabbit
3. Tenet -Last movie I watched in a theatre

TV shows

1. The boys — Season 2

2. Jack Ryan — Season 1 and 2

3. The Queen’s Gambit.

Books

1. How to kill a mockingbird
2. My steam engine is broken
3. Remote

Races

Not a single race in 2020.

After been presented with the chance for an entrance to a couple of the marathon majors (Tokyo and/or Boston) followed by their corresponding cancelations, the chance of any race went through the window.

Gigs

No gigs in 2020.

Lots of Daft Punk and Kanye West for me this year though.

1. Daft Punk — Alive 2007
2. Kanye West — My training playlist

That’s it

That’s it. That was 2020 for me. Now, back into the present and into making 2021 a great year; one where I will be focusing on developing personal projects, some new and some recovered form abandonment, but all towards the same simple but extraordinaire goal, work freedom and financial independence.

Ultimately, want I want to focus on is developing work and businesses that will allow me to work on the things that I want, that interest me, challenge me and want to learn about; and by consequence, owing my time to do so.

Let’s do this! See you at the end of the (2021’s) road 😎