The New Year’s Mindset: Accepting 2020 & Approaching 2021

Sofia Isabella Flores
Dec 30, 2020
5 min read

This time last year, I made a video diary to myself stating the 10 resolutions I had for 2020.

And while in past years most of us measure the success of our resolutions by how many we accomplished or how close we came to accomplishing them, I believe that this year is anything but normal and shouldn’t receive the standard review that we have set in place for previous years.

This blog encompasses two major topics:

1. The evaluation of the resolutions we set in place for a year that was 2020

2. The resolutions we hope to fulfill in the year of 2021.

What To Keep In Mind While Setting Goals For 2021

There is absolutely nothing wrong with reviewing the goals we set in place for the year that has passed. We need to recognize our strong suits and our shortcomings.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having resolutions for 2021. We need to have goals and strive to do better for those around us, the community we live in, the lives that we hope to lead, and the people that we hope to become.

However, in light of everything that 2020 has been, there is also nothing wrong with changing how we evaluate what success is in regards to our resolutions and the goals that were set for 2020.

When we make resolutions for 2021, it is important to recognize what 2020 was and what it changed for all of us.

Many of the resolutions that we set for 2020 were not accomplished, and many of the resolutions that we want to set for 2021 will reflect this.

You are not a failure for not accomplishing something in the past 12 months. You are not at fault for any of the circumstances that were placed before you.

No one saw the events of 2020 coming. We had no clue what we were going to be experiencing until it happened.

This year was undoubtably unlike any other.

That being said, your resolutions may have altered from January to now.

The extent to which you achieve your goals is not the standard by which you should be judging your own value.

You are not simply the reflection of what you accomplish and what you don’t.

It is definitely not the most original thought, and it is probably somewhat corny, but the journey to which you take getting to your accomplishments (or even failing at your accomplishments) genuinely is the most important aspect of that accomplishment and your life as a whole.

Reflecting On 2020

When I made my resolutions for 2020, I mostly had tangible accomplishments listed, meaning that I wanted to read more books, I wanted to watch more movies, I wanted to spend more time with my family, I wanted to get all A’s in my sophomore year of high school, and I wanted to have a fun junior year in high school.

I can already tell you that while I accomplished very few of those goals, I would not alter anything in this year, for it taught me invaluable lessons.

I began 2020 by transferring schools about three times in my sophomore year; I ended up not spending a lot of time reading, mostly out of pure mental fatigue and lack of time left for anything other than schoolwork and panic attacks. I did, however, spend a lot more time with my family, because I had to rely on them to help me navigate what was the most difficult time of my life - even before COVID-19 began raging.

I did get all A’s in my sophomore year, but it was at the cost of my mental health and stability. I would like to say that I have had a fun junior year thus far; although my standards for fun have undoubtably been changed by social distancing and remote learning practices.

I realized very early into quarantine that the resolutions I set in place for this year must be changed. And, in order to come close to reaching any level of success with them, I needed to make the decision whether to limit myself to pining after the notion of returning to “normalcy” and waiting to accomplish my goals once everything went back to “the way it was before,”

OR

If I wanted to alter my way of thinking, accept the situation, grow to be more patient with myself and with the circumstances, and ultimately learn to be content with doing my best as opposed to being the best.

In the simplest of terms, I think it is important to recognize that each year we are given we are presented with numerous choices to make. These choices will go on to affect everything throughout the course of that year.

In January of every year, we often make the choice to outperform our prior selves, to grow and learn from the previous year.

In January of 2021, I am personally making the choice to acknowledge that I did not accomplish many of the goals I had set for 2020. However, I’m also choosing to acknowledge that I am perfectly happy with that.

You are not apathetic or unworthy simply because you did not accomplish what you wanted to or what you thought you could.

The level of expectation that you hold yourself to should not be set in stone. You are ever-changing, and the world around you is as well.

Approaching 2021 With Grace & Acceptance

Living under the restriction of a stubborn or relentless pursuit after goals that were set weeks, months, or years ago is simply irrational.

2021 is bound to be different than 2020; every year is different from it’s predecessor.

Month to month, day to day, minute to minute, you will have new decisions to make. My hope for you is that you choose to make the decisions that work best for you; not for the past you, or for the you that you think other people would like to see. Make decisions and resolutions that have your best interest at heart.

This blog post has a very odd structure, and I suppose that is a perfect symbol and reflection of the same lack of structure in 2020.

In the closing of both this post and this year, I hope that you realize the amount of strength that remains in you for making it through 2020.

Mentally, physically, emotionally, and socially, this year was absolutely indescribable.

Give yourself credit for persevering through every single thing that this year hurled at you.

You deserve to go into this new year with a fulfilled and content mindset.

Set goals, be flexible, be accepting, be kind.

Do not allow the uncertainty and fear that defined 2020 to boggle you down in 2021.

Take each day one at a time. Take each choice one at a time.

You are entirely and wholeheartedly capable of reaching every goal you set your mind to. You must be patient, mindful, and ready to adapt to anything that is thrown your way.

In light & peace,

Sofia F. -

As the sun sets upon us, may I remind you that we make not failures nor mistakes, but new opportunities to reach new heights.