Hindsight: 2020

We can all breathe a sigh of relief—finally 2020 is in hindsight! It brings a whole new meaning and feeling to the phrase, “Hindsight is 20/20.” Last year is behind us.

But let’s be honest, while there was a lot that was difficult about 2020, we certainly had things to celebrate and helpful lessons to learn. There were birthdays, milestones, pivotal conversations, and more... They all just looked different than what we expected.

Nevertheless, 2020 is now behind us and it’s time to look ahead to a new year. If you look back at history—100 years ago in the 1900s—the world was coming off of a very similar pandemic in the late 19-teens, and what followed? The Roaring 20s!

For us, 2021 can be the beginning of our Roaring 20s.

Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” What better time than now to pause and think about what we want the next year to look like? I have found that when you take the time to sit and write out your hopes and dreams for the upcoming year, your odds of those things happening go up dramatically. It’s amazing what simply putting the pen to paper can do.

I can hear you now… My world is upside down right now; how in the world can I plan with such uncertainty ahead in 2021?

Great question! If you really think about it, has any year ever really been certain? Or have we just operated under the misguided assumption that we are in control and our year will be free from chaos? If we learned anything from 2020, the reality is that nothing is certain. We can all look back on February 2020 and talk about things we thought were going to happen and did not. However, just because last year didn’t look like we expected it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be intentional with this new year. For 2021, if you make a small, deliberate plan, do you think the chaos will be harder, or maybe just a little bit easier? I think you know the answer.

So, here is a simple three-step process to help you put together a plan for your 2021 to kick off your own Roaring 20s!

1. DREAM | It’s that simple. Grab a blank piece of paper and a pencil and don’t hold back. Write down anything and everything you would want to do, learn, experience, and accomplish in 2021. Dream in categories—health, financial, faith, family, fun, at work... Don’t limit yourself—don't say no just because it feels big—maybe there is something you can do in 2021 to get closer to making it happen in 2022.

2. ORGANIZE | Break your dreams down into manageable milestones. Success in 2021 will be determined by your ability to focus. As much as you would love to do ALL the things you wrote down, it’s probably wise to narrow the list and prioritize what is most important this year. Come up with a top five (or ten) and focus on those things. Then you want to build out the steps to making each of those happen. What do you need to do each month to accomplish this? Each week? Each day? Use these things to plan out your day and your week, and then add them to your calendar—building out a personal to-do list. We do it all the time at work; why wouldn’t we do the same to be effective and efficient with our personal life.

3. SHARE | Accountability is key. Someone else needs to know your plan. You are much more likely to live out the plan if you talk about it with someone. The last thing we want to do is not follow through on what we say we are going to do. Be careful with this one…it can be the hardest one. You must commit to sharing it. Share it with a spouse, or share it with a close friend. Don’t share it on social media—find a person, and give them permission to ask you about it.

Do these three things and you will set yourself up for growth in 2021! You may not achieve everything you set out to do, but you will accomplish far more with these intentional steps.

Put 2020 in hindsight and kick off your own Roaring 20s today!