Reflections on 2020: You Accomplished Everything You Needed To

We’ve come to the end of a mad, unprecedented, completely upended year on a global scale — one that all of humanity shared. As we do, like most everyone else I’ve reflected on the year past and the new one beginning.

This evening in a Zoom virtual happy hour a group of my best friends does regularly, one friend said she felt disappointed that she hadn’t accomplished more in 2020. The comment struck me, and caused me to think about the guilt we so easily pile on ourselves, atop the grief and anxiety and very real concerns the pandemic brought to all of us.

I believe that many (if not most) of us can feel like underachievers, or like we wasted so much extra time that we had on our hands while staying home, because we failed to “accomplish” much.

I disagree. I think we accomplished a hell of a lot. I know I did. So did you.

Here’s what I didn’t do in 2020:

I didn’t learn a new language.

I didn’t take up a new hobby, become an avid knitter or skilled photographer.

I didn’t get a master’s degree online.

I didn’t cook gourmet meals alongside celebrity chefs.

I didn’t Marie Kondo my house.

I didn’t embark on a tough new exercise regimen that overhauled my body.