A special year is coming to an end. For many it has become a year of grief, of loss, of illness. Above all, I wish these people a much nicer and better 2021. But also for everyone else, I wish a wonderfull, healthy and pleasant 2021 !!
For me, this was not a year of limited freedom, not a year of horrible masks, not a year of bad memories and tough decisions. 2020 was a very valuable year for me. From a business point of view, it was a good year for me with great customers and interesting challenges. For me personally, it was a year of growth, of great developments. Thanks to Corona, there was more time with my wife and children. More time for those things that REALLY matter. More time to think, make choices, and enjoy the people around me who are literally the closest to me – my family!
In 2020 I made choices, made decisions. I have said goodbye to a number of situations. I have said goodbye to certain habits. I have said goodbye to things that consume my energy, and for which I received little or nothing positive in return. For example, I stopped with Social Media phenomenon Facebook, I said goodbye to personal Whatapp groups, I choose not to communicate in a way with people who should literally be close by.
It is the year in which I finally realized that Social Media is A-Social for me. Birthdays that are congratulated via Whatsapp or Facebook. In which important personal developments are announced via Twitter. In which milestones are only shared on LinkedIn. In which every form of personal contact has changed into a digital gathering. Not caused by Corona, but by everyone’s own independent free (!) choice.
Many have labeled this period as a curtailment of our freedoms and experienced a mouthmask as a gag. The lockdown as we know it and have known it in the Netherlands is nothing compared to lockdowns in other countries. They have not curtailed us in anything, they have called on us to make wise choices, and yes, a number of things were / are temporarily no longer allowed. But isn’t freedom much more and much greater than what is currently no longer possible or allowed? Freedom is so much different from what we are (have been) limited in now. And a gag … a face mask? If you call that a gag, then you really are too spoiled in your head. A mouth mask is annoying and it is debatable if it works. But it doesn’t gag anyone at all, at most your ego, but in that case it is about time to do something about it …
See the situation as an opportunity, an opportunity to learn. The opportunity to invest time and energy in yourself and in the people around you. This can be your own family, but also others close by. This is really possible without visitors and without social media and without worrying about Corona.
Stay healthy and look after each other now, in 2021 and beyond ….
