Everything 2020 has taught me

 Well hello to you my reader chums! 2020 has been a strange, hard, and unique year. It's not the year any of us planned as we shouted 'happy new year' on new years eve, however, it's nearly at the end now - and I can't believe how fast it has gone. Even though it's certainly not the year I expected it to be, and at times has been exceptionally hard, I've learnt a lot about myself, my life and also a lot of lessons in general.

What 2020 has taught me

Here is everything I learnt this year:

Taking a slower pace in life is healthy

I don't know about you but I'm one of those people that has to be busy all the time, whether that's with work, socialising, my business or my blog; I don't really have a pause button and I'm not very good at relaxing. However, when lockdown happened and I got put on furlough, for the first time in my life, I took a step back from not being manic busy. I started to have a few lay-ins, take the things that I was doing at a slower pace, enjoy the outdoors more and generally, calming down a lot more. 

As I started doing this, I realised how important it was for my mental health and for my life in general. It's healthy and okay to take a step back sometimes and especially, relax. Being stressed isn't good in any situation and I've certainly learnt this year to try to prioritise my feelings.

Never take time or freedom for granted

I was always that person, if I wanted to do something, I'd go out of my way and simply, do it. Whether that was a goal in mind, travelling somewhere or making a life-changing decision, I have an ambitious mindset like that. With this year, our freedom was taken away a lot in a sense as we had to stay in our homes, unable to travel or really do a lot of things we'd take for granted in regular times.

I've always been very grateful for the life I lead, always travelling and doing exciting things with my friends but I think this year has taught me to never take any of those moments for granted again, and really appreciate them.

I love where I live

As I've gotten older, I have appreciated where I come from, the Kent coast but I don't think I fell in love with it as much as I did in lockdown. Having plenty of beaches a stone throw away from my doorstep, I've refallen in love with some of my favourite beach walks but also discovered many other great places that I now adore. I feel so privileged to live here and spent lockdown exploring my local areas.

It's okay not to be okay

I preach this a lot but I think this year I've actually started to listen to my own advice. My mental health has been challenging to say the least this year as I was already going through a breakup and then the pandemic happened so it has been up and down. I've learnt though, on the down days or when my anxiety is bad, it's okay to have a day off and step back, and just feel all the emotions rather than suppress them. 

Don't put pressure on me 

This falls in line with the previous point. I always put too much pressure on myself to get things done even when I'm not feeling great. But, as I've taken a step back this year, I've also learnt to stop putting pressure on myself, to live in the moment more and relax.

Learning to rely on only me is important

This year has been hard for everyone and because of that, when I've been having a hard day, I can't really go to people or I feel like I can't as I know they'll be going through it and I don't want to emotionally dump on anyone. This is why it's been so important for me to embrace and learn to love my own company, but also being my own reason to smile, and be able to pick up myself.

To appreciate everything I've got

This year has made me the most grateful I've ever been. I've always been a grateful person and tried to stay as positive as possible, but with everything being stripped back this year in terms of what life is, I've really been able to look at my life for what it is - and I'm incredibly grateful. Even though I've been on furlough, I'm so grateful that I'm privileged for a house with a garden, I'm appreciative of all my family, friends, where I live and the memories I've been able to make this year.

Learning how to heal

All of us have some sort of trauma to deal with and often, we suppress it and don't actually deal with it as life gets too busy and it's easier to not have to face it. However, with all the distractions taken away this year and having more time on my hands, I could face everything head on. I was already dealing with a breakup but there are many other things that were troubling me, and I was able to take the time to get to the route of the problem and how to feel better - and really, after lots of different methods, I feel like I've grown a lot and have healed in many ways.

To be kind and understanding more

I've always tried to be a kind person and look out for everyone around me, but I think this year especially, we've all learnt how far kindness can go and affect somebody else's life. It's so important to listen to people, be understanding of their feelings and be kind in whatever way you can, whether that's offering support or throwing a compliment their way.

I hope you enjoyed this post. What things have you learnt this year?

Thank you for reading <3


58 comments

  1. Wish you the best of the best! Thank you for sharing and I loved the post! <3

    www.pimentamaisdoce.blogspot.com

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  2. These are all great lessons to learn! I can definitely relate to quite a few on your list. 'Don't put pressure on me' is a big one for me and it's something that I'm still working on. Hopefully 2021 will be a year of being less harsh on ourselves! x

    https://www.femaleoriginal.com

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  3. These are all great lessons to learn from this year Della, one thing I have definitely learnt is to be grateful for everything, even the littlest of things! x

    Lucy | www.lucymary.co.uk

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    1. Thank you! Yes exactly, I think it's definitely been a year to be grateful for every little thing xx

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  4. LOVE this post Della. Its defintely been a year of a lot of relflections x

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  5. I think that we are all learning that taking a slower pace in life is just fine. I think that the world went from traveling frantically all over the place, to finding wonder and excitement locally.

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  6. I like the "slower pace" lesson. Something that I will definitely focus on in 2021!

    www.fashionradi.com

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  7. Wow, those are great lessons! I think I learned to rely on and trust myself more, too. And I definitely learned to be kinder to myself. I am still learning how to slow down on days when I get "great ideas!"

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    1. Thank you! I'm loving that you learnt to be kinder to yourself, that's so important xx

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  8. I, too, have taken a slower pace of life throughout 2020. Without staying on campus, I found more time for myself and the people around me. I kinda love that!

    Ming Qian | Undergrad Blogger

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  9. I love this post. It's so nice to read your reflections and your thoughts on quite a dark year. You've motivated me to do something similar ahead of New Years Eve tonight!

    Rosie

    https://www.loverosiee.co.uk

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  10. Thanks for sharing your reflections of the year, it has been a tough year for us all, hope you have a great 2021 :)

    Nic | Nic's Adventures & Bakes

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  11. What a great post! I need to learn to not put too much pressure on myself, I know that I do it, but I need to get out of the habit of it xx

    Hannah | https://luxuryblush.co.uk/

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    1. Thank you!! I'm so glad you learnt that too xx

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  12. These are some great things to have learned this year. I definitely think for a lot of people 2020 has definitely been a year of learning how to adapt and what is really important. I learned that I do not need much but my loved ones. I also appreciate the little things like being able to go for a walk or have a meal out. Thank you for sharing. I hope 2021 is a better year. I wish you a great year of happiness and success.

    Lauren www.bournemouthgirl.com

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    1. This is so true! That's definitely something I've learnt too - I hope 2021 is a fab year for you xx

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  13. Taking a slower pace of life is SO IMPORTANT and also something I've learned the value of this past year! Great post lovely, some really valuable life lessons :) x

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  14. These are all great lessons to take away from 2020. Being forced into a slower pace of life really helped me to value the little things xx

    mia // https://beautiful-inspiring-creative-life.com/

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  15. These are lovely lessons to take from 2020! Being gentler with ourselves often makes us more resilient. And gratitude (for things like the place we live) creates so much positive energy in our lives! I'm like you in that I struggle to relax and "not do stuff", so 2020 showed me the importance of taking some quiet time. Thanks for sharing! x

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    1. Thank you so much lovely! I completely agree with you xx

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  16. I’ve taken away a lot of the same lessons from 2020. An appreciation of the smaller things in life and not taking for granted simple things like meeting friends and eating out are near the top of my list. It’s lovely to hear so many people now love where they live. I’m the same. Being forced to spend so much time in our local areas has made me fall in love with it all over again. You’ve learned some great things to take forward. I wish you a healthy, happy and successful 2021 Della xx

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    1. Thank you so much! Happy new year to you too xx

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  17. Great post! I’ve learned a lot this year as well about myself but the don’t take freedom for granted has been a definite theme for me. Happy New Year!

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  18. Some good points here!! Definitely realy on yourself, being happy with what you already have and freedom��


    Happy New Year 2021������

    Cata
    http://beautyofcafe205.blog/

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  19. I think I've learnt that things don't have to be fast paced, and that I don't need a definite answer to everything. I've been worried about my 'career' and that I have no clue what to do, but I now know that's okay and that I've got more than enough time x

    Emily | emiliamarlowe.co.uk

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    1. I love that! Everything will fall into place eventually and there is no time limit on goals xx

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  20. 2020 has been such an important lesson for all of us! Happy New Year!

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  21. Great points. It's ok not be ok, can definitely relate on that one

    http://www.fruityandpassion.com/2020/12/starting-year-in-diamonds.html#more

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  22. 2020 has definitely taught you some great life lessons. I've learnt to appreciate all that I have so much more. I no longer compare what others have to me anymore because I know we are all on different journeys.

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    1. I love that you've been able to learn and appreciate more x

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  23. This was a lovely post to read. The Last one in particular made me smile. If only more people were like you and recognises how such a simple and genuine act can makes someone's day a little brighter! ��

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    1. Aww this is the loveliest comment, thank you so much! I hope 2021 is bright for you xx

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  24. 2020 is a new start for my freelance career and I've learned that it's not as easy as I thought. I'm glad that I start blogging and enjoying the process. There were many ups and downs in 2020 but I've been able to learn to be more grateful and patient.

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    1. I'm glad you were able to learn to be more grateful and patient!

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  25. I love this! Definitely agree with taking life at a slower pace. It’s not a competition and we don’t have to be as fast as others to reach our goals :) x

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  26. Fab post! I'm also guilty of putting too much pressure on myself, taking a step back and taking things a little slower isn't a bad thing. We all need breaks now and again. Thanks for sharing x

    Sophie | https://www.loveandliterature.co.uk

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  27. These are such on point lessons learned for this past year - so spot on for me too

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  28. My hope is that after learning so much this year, our societies will be better.

    Lindifique

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  29. This is a great post Della! I think a lot of people look at 2020 as a bad year, but I personally learnt and grew a lot in 2020. There were so many positives for me and it even encouraged me to leave my current career and begin a new one, start a new business and grow my blog! I agree with you about the travelling I really cannot wait to get back to it when it is safe and fine to do so, it feels so weird without it. I was lucky that I had a trip last January snowboarding, but I was hoping that we would get to do it this year as well but oh well. The show must go on. :) xx

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  30. So many important lessons for one year! I think 2020 has really taught me to value my freedom and my friends! Can't wait till we can get back to normal!

    Katie | katieemmabeauty.com

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