Year in review 2020

What can I say about this year… 2020 in history was an accumulation of multiple variablaes that led to the precipice (breaking) and catharsis (release) of stressors that tested the globe. So, it was tough on everybody. It can be said that this year simultaneously felt fast and slow. However if we look at it from the wide scope of it will just be a small blip.

So many major events happened all within the year where normally these pivotal moments happen once per year.

• A pandemic, looking through history should happen and test our society once per generation
• An economic fallout, once per 5-10 years
• Civil unrest, also once per generation
• the US Presidential elections, every 4 years

All of this exacerbates a shift in societal norms

All made very transparent and visible on the internet, affecting everyone’s overal psyche.

How did I deal with all this? Work wise I am very thankful to be in the software space. Particularly in the telecommunications industry, where the technology we provide is critical in facilitating the majority of office and knowledge work to be remote. I have never lost an hour of work, the transition to be forced to stay at home was a minor nuisance. Even before this role I worked remotely ofcourse of my own volition. So in a sense I was used to the circumstance.

In the beginning, I sensed a collective unity that this virus brought out of the human existence. It could have very well been an existential threat that finally brought us all together. At first I let the anxiety and uncertainy get to me but stuck to this hope and faith that humanity will come out stronger. That resilience has been tested so many times throughout the year.

In these tough times I am reminded that this is why I practice Stoicism. To prepare me for the worst. A couple weeks and months go by and for the most part my family and I have adapted.

We adopted more sanitary protocols, limited our individual movements, developed emergency practices such as food prepping, extra savings and basic maintenance, established new healthy routines and gotten to enjoy a slower paced life.

Actually, my lifestyle has gotten better in the WFH era, while knowing that this virus has exposed so many chinks in western societies ‘armour’.

Currently I’m still in the stage of life where I am developing myself. Nevertheless I’m coming to terms that I only have influence and control over myself and the best thing that I can do for others is living by example.

I got into a decent groove in this pandemic that I became comfortable and coasted. Now because of the nature of this situation it wouldn’t be bad to stick with some sense of normal but given my personality and how ‘coasting’ can go I know I would get into a stagnate mode that I would be uncomfortable with accepting. I really had to figure out how to spark from motivation and drive to get out of my rut. Within the context of my career I took on many hobby projects in hopes for something to stick. In hindsight for myself tacking on multiple projects is ineffective over finding one or two things and putting all my effort and attention to it. Ultimately those endeavors fizzled out. Only now by the end of the year I’m honing in on what really matters.

Contrasting activites to keep me ‘occupied’ we’ve got to mention about the quiet period, the down time. There is value in doing nothing, absolutely nothing and appreciating the negative space. Just like what Naval said, we can’t quite sit still in our own head. This whole year was a test on that. Even as a practicing stoic journaller and practicing meditator I think I’ll always have troubles fighting my monkey mind. What I am really trying to work towards is not to be happy, happiness fades and wanes. What we really mean by happy is to be peaceful, that is a more desired stable state. To be peaceful requires some mental presencing.

This year I have not skipped a day of journaling or meditation. THat is I at least journalled once in the morning, documenting how I felt and what I desired to do for the day. Once at night reviewing over the day. I kept to meditating at least 10-15 minutes a day with a variety of styles and methods. The happiness and peace that I desire requires work, patience and discipline. I won’t ease up in the new year, or ever.

In the latter half of the year I got back into consuming all sorts of current events and culture war information. That was definitely unhealthy of me.

I want to stress this point: When I want to support some cause I want to be fully informed of the matter.

To an extent I have a solid basis of my beliefs but I could feel visceral disgust and contempt for people that hold the opposite views from me. Partially I blame the internet polarization but partially I am to blame for letting myself get limbically hijacked. Instead of irrationally reacting I want to ask questions to understand how others things and how they’ve come to their conclusions. This year especially we see how polarized western society can get. I would like to do my part in bringing people and their ideas together. At least trying to use my freedom of speech before it gets lost, remind myself of my empathy and test my tolerance.

You’ll be grateful to hear that I’ve calmed down since the middle of this year but I’m a bit jaded now from the information warfare.

Sorry for the preamble of my emotional, mental state and viewpoints of the year. Let’s get onto the tangibles of my 2020.

At least within my career I received a tangible level up and raise. It was due time considering the ringer I was put through in my special team. At the same time I am grateful to have even gotten a raise in this Corona pandemic K-shaped recession. Now I just need to look to further develop my skill set and even take on side projects that can expose me to different opportunities. I have to remind myself that I shouln’t limit my career to only one path. You see here that I’ve migrated from my WP blog and merged that with my previous dev blog this is all self-hosted and self made. That is an example that I can create websites and apps that look elegant and simple without the extra bloat of frameworks. For 2021 I can certainly take on freelance work.

Finance update: Before this situation I was already saving 50% of my take home income having followed the FIRE and minimalism lifestyles. In this pandemic I the savings rate increased further, while this wasalso the first year I seriously tracked my income sources and spending behaviour. I won’t get into the details but it is reassuring seeing the numbers steadily go up! In fact I’ve started to spread out investments over as to not keep it all under one basket. My next step is to continue this savings rate while diversifying my portfolio well through and throughout this pandemic while increasing my income.

Fortunately another tangible thing is getting my 2nd dan black belt. Even throughout this period I could continue my martial arts training with some special restrictions. I did not want 2020 to be some gap year/ dead period in history. I wanted to end off it off accomplishing something worthwhile. Zooming out, if we get a handle on this in 2021 I have to broaden my martial arts skills. I have been saying that I will get into BJJ for years now and I have to hold my feet to the fire. When allowed I must start asap.

On a last note, of all the circles that I have delved into: Stoicism, meditation, health/fitness, FIRE, minimalism almost seems too appropriate for this period we are going through. It’s serendipitous and I appreciate how these different life styles has shaped the way that I think and act. If it weren’t for these life perspectives I would have been swept away in the cluster fuck that is 2020.

As a bookend I’m still doing well but remain a pragmatic, prepared rationalist. I would wish everyone to be in my fortunate situation but it is unrealistic. I’m sorry if you were hit hard by 2020 but I want my example to be a template on what can be done to mitigate negative impact and unnecessary risks. We still have long ways to go, let’s welcome 2021 with our resilience and fortitude.

I definitely wanted to close this review on a high/positive note as positive as things can be.