Hindsight is 2020
Reflection has become an important practice for me over the years. I understand if some might not want to think back on a year that wreaked havoc on society. But I’ve learned sometimes when circumstances cause pain, the only way through is through. And reflection has helped me do that. Here’s what I asked:
What am I carrying with me from 2020?
What have I learned?
How have I grown?
These are some of the questions I’ve wrestled with from last year. They’re personal to me, and nothing about the lessons I’ve learned stands out as profound. But I hope my take-aways encourage you as you practice your own habit of reflection.
Lesson #1 - Practice Consistency
Having our firstborn at the onset of quarantine completely disrupted “normal” life as we knew it. It was easy to lose our sense of purpose. So, we leaned into the practice of doing the everyday, ordinary things consistently well. And we learned that doing small things well over long periods of time produces meaningful results.
Lesson #2 - Practice Gratitude
I value excellence and continuous improvement, but there’s a line between excellence and perfectionism. It’s important to know when I’m crossing it, or my relationships suffer. When I feel stressed, I'm easily drawn to perfectionism as a false sense of control. A practical way for me to actively fight that is to keep a gratitude list. Over this past year, I’ve started the morning listing 5 things I was thankful for. It wasn’t life altering, but this simple practice kept the the Lord’s blessings in focus.
Lesson #3 - Practice Community
Prior to 2020, I probably never realized how much togetherness can give a false sense of closeness. It feels close when you’re together, but relationships aren't built on togetherness alone. In fact, when you take that away and live in a socially distant world, the true closeness of your relationships becomes painfully obvious. There’s a process of intentional investment required to foster intimacy. So as a small step, we’ve committed to inviting people to our dinner table each week. We eat good food together. And we intentionally take time to listen to other people’s stories.
What are some of the most significant lessons you’ve learned from 2020? The hope is that our lessons change us for the better, and our practices are part of what foster that change. Dallas Willard once said, “Your system is perfectly designed to yield the result you are getting.”
Your results are a reflection of your practice. What are you practicing in the upcoming year?
