Three lessons from an abnormal year 

After the year we had in 2020, I began 2021 hoping for a more “normal” year.

However, it quickly became apparent that it was better to accept and learn to live in a Covid-19 world rather than keep waiting for things to go back to normal.

Looking back at 2021, I can’t help but wonder at how I managed to get through the year in one piece. 2021 tested me. 

I experienced inexplicable grief when I lost my dad. 

I not only pushed myself to new limits career-wise but my work finally helped me fulfil some of my lifelong dream of speaking for the voiceless and empowering women.

I reconnected with some old friends, improved existing relationships and realised I’d made the right decision in severing others.

Going through all this taught me some valuable lessons that I’m carrying with me into 2022:

Give your all to everything that you do

This was a lesson that stood out to me while we eulogised dad. He worked hard, giving his best to his work.

His colleagues, patients, students and friends had nothing but good things to say about him as a person or worker. I vowed to emulate him in this.

To make time for my passions and give my best in everything that I do.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

So often, I’ve found myself getting stressed because of small mishaps: plans didn’t go the way I wanted, a friend didn’t keep an appointment, I didn’t feel as well as I had hoped, etc. This often threw me, leaving me feeling disappointed, anxious and at times hopeless. But then I learned that life has both good times and bad, and even though the bad times might seem huge, we mustn’t allow them to overshadow all the good times. 

To prevent myself from letting the bad put me down, I need to learn to let them roll off my back, not hold onto grudges, use them as learning experiences, and focus on the good.

You can get through more than you imagine

Last year was a test of strength in my personal and professional life. I was forced out of my comfort zone and pushed to new boundaries.

When dad passed away, I couldn’t imagine how I would cope with the grief and what life would be like without him.

But, as time goes by, I have proof that I can do it.

I took a different route professionally and moved into communications. At first, I was really down in the dumps because this was an entirely new field for me.

Any work I did had to be gone through and was often redone. But as the months went by, I learned new skills and perfected others. I even started pitching ideas and knocking off many of the jobs I had been given with excellence.

Come December 2021; I was feeling more confident. I was happier knowing that my career had a new trajectory, one that excites me every day.

While 2022 didn’t start on the high note that previous new years have, I feel more positive about the coming months.

I’ve just now started thinking about my resolutions, and this is giving me more motivation to make each day of this year count, to do my best and live each day to the fullest.

What lessons did you learn in 2021 that you’re taking into 2022?

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Audrey Masitsa is a digital communications specialist and mental health advocate passionate about empowering women. She blogs about life and style, telling stories and sharing tips and tricks. Audrey has been running her blog, Inches To Style for ten years and has been published in various online and print publications. She currently works in communications and as an editor for an upcoming publishing house.