The topic of 2020 is most likely “resilience.” Resilience is an intangible that has varying degrees depending on the pressure and the experience of the person having to draw on its power. Resilience is also a counter to the level of pressure and negative effects one let’s skew their mindset and emotional state. We get hit with a right cross and it hurts, we stumble back shake it off and regain our composure. We think to ourselves, “it can’t get worse” and then blammo, an uppercut hits us square on the chin. Some people stay on their two feet and some go down for the count. However, without question, we can take more punches than we ever thought by staying on our feet and counter-punching.

Think about the people in 2020 that have had to play through adversity or any other unbelievable human tragedy or event in history. The saying, “well, 2020” has taken hold of conversation when something goes wrong and in many ways is a defense mechanism for when things go wrong this year. Life savings being lost as small businesses close forever, people losing their jobs, companies filing for bankruptcy, people losing loved ones to COVID that had more life left (including me here), the psychological drain of being isolated at home and our events/activities that we love cancelled. However, we know in the back of our heads that it will all come back, that after tragedies, we dust ourselves off and move forward. We find the energy, the mental capacity to keep going. For me, I cannot remember a year in my 50 where I’ve dealt with adversity like 2020 yet some of the best things in my life have happened this year. Reflecting back, what seemed like a trough ended up being a peak, what seemed like a downer, ended up being an upper. New experiences, new people, new opportunities, new communities and new energy - in a year that globally is the most adverse in modern history.

I choose to keep fighting, keep innovating, keep breaking status quo and savoring every moment of life even if that particular moment may sting.