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Which life lessons did you learn this year? I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve definitely learned a few things. I think that we can all agree that 2020 was a pretty crappy year, but not all of it was bad. There was definitely a lot of good as well.

Here are 5 Life Lessons I Learned in 2020

1. I’ve learned to be more grateful and not to take things for granted

When COVID-19 hit South Africa in March 2020, the company I work for made sure that all its employees could work from home. We were already working from home 2 weeks before the country went into lockdown. People thought that things would get bad, but that it wouldn’t be THAT bad, but it did…

Due to reduced economic activity, the company I’ve worked for for 20 years ended up retrenching two-thirds of its staff (after placing some everyone on 50% of normal pay and trying to save jobs by putting people on unpaid leave).

In the end, I was on unpaid leave for two months (s0 basically retrenched). I did manage to get a few TERS payments, but during that time I was depressed and angry at the world. I felt that I worked my whole life for no reason at all. I felt that the whole world was against me. I stressed my arse off because I wondered where I would get money to pay the bills. I was frustrated because I had to smoke dodgy smokes and that I couldn’t really go anywhere to see my friends. I was worried about not finding another job. It was the first time that I’ve been unemployed since 2000.

Thanks to some good old inspiration from my girlfriend (who told me to snap out of it and make the best of my situation), I started hustling (more about that later)… No reason to delay that because I suddenly had to go to a music festival (cause there were none happening). I am glad that I went to RAMFest 2020 before lockdown though.

Instead of playing games the whole time and basically fucking around, I’ve tweaked a lot of things on this blog and published a lot of sponsored posts to stay financially afloat, I also did a few SEO courses and I kept myself busy. I read a lot of articles, did a lot of research about WordPress and tried not to get sucked in by the negativity of the news.

With a stroke of luck, someone decided to quit their position at the company that I work for and I was invited to back in May 2020. I was extremely grateful to have a permanent job again (even though I was working for half the salary). It took a few months, but things are basically back to normal again now.

During this time I learned that I should never take things for granted. I realized that I had a lot to be grateful for and that I sometimes need a nudge in the right direction (thanks Jo).

2. I’ve learned how to hustle

This is definitely one of the biggest life sessons I’ve learned. During the time I was on unpaid leave I made it a point to get at least $100 in a week by publishing sponsored content. I hustled my arse off to get money in (that I would sometimes get in from side gigs like my band photography). I tapped into everything I could, to keep me sane and stay financially afloat and it worked. Thankfully, I have not missed a single bill since March 2020.

Things are a little better now, but that doesn’t meant that I stopped. I’m still hustling… Every. Single. Day.

3. I’ve learned to communicate better in my relationship

Many of you reading this probably have the nasty habit of sometimes bottling up emotions (like me). I’m speaking out of experience when I say that being in a relationship and doing this is NOT a good thing. I learned that it’s way better to talk things out with your loved one than to let things bottle up (almost to a breaking point).

I’m not perfect, but I definitely learned to communite better in my relationship in 2020. Because we were forced to see eachother a lot more than usual, there’s definitely more understanding and better communication between my fiance and I. (Yes, we actually got engaged a few weeks ago and we’re very happy).

4. I’ve learned to bitch less about things that I can’t control

In my opinion, this is definitely one of the life lessons that everyone should learn. Instead of bitching about everything the whole time, I’ve learned to slightly tone down my bitching and anger about things that are out of my hands. Yes, I still bitch, but it’s a lot less than I did in 2019. I’ve also learned to check the media source before I bitch about something I read in the news. Life is way too short to be pissed off all the time. It really is.

5. I’ve learned to minimize toxicity and negativity

There’s nothing wrong with a good old conspiracy theory. Some of them are legit, because there are a ton of legit sources that make you question the official story that’s out there and some don’t… I don’t believe everything I read in the mainstream media, but I try not go down the rabbit hole when it comes to this. There are people who believe that we’re all going to radiate 5G signals when we’re exposed to the COVID-19 vaccine. I’m someone that questions everything, but I’m definitely not one of them.

I’m not saying that all these individuals are toxic, but they tend to be negative (about mostly everything). Thank goodness that Facebook has an “Unfollow For 30 Days” option. That works wonders for me. No bitching about COVID-19 or 5G. No need to argue with them either (which is good cause that could drag you down the rabbit hole and waste precious time that you could’ve spent on gaming or hanging out with your loved ones).

This is just one of those life lessons that has taught me to live and let live. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.

What else has 2020 taught me?

Beside these 5 life lessons, 2020 has definitely taught me who my real friends are. This year has taught me to pivot and adapt to my surroundings to stay alive. It’s also taught me how to live more, love more, appreciate more and laugh more. 2020 has definitely equipped me with the tools to flourish and survive in 2021. Nothing that life throws at me next year, can get me down.

I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year! Let’s hope that 2021 is going to be way better than 2020.

Watch this space for updates in the Opinion category on Running Wolf’s Rant.