It’s that time when the countdown for a brand new year has begun. There’s a sense of new beginnings and possibilities. Folks are furiously jotting down their new year resolutions.

Soon, 2019 will be just another year on the calendar. It will be consigned to a remote corner of the mind, forgotten and categorised as the ‘past’.

Indeed, time has a tendency of catching you off-guard. The relentless assault of the days, weeks, months doesn’t always register. You’re busy firefighting. From one urgency to another. Soon, the months turn into a quarter, and the quarter becomes half a year.

Before you know it, yet another year is just round the corner.

The media are putting out their yearly round-up pieces. Every industry expert is penning 10,000-word analyses offering a sneak peek into the world in 2020. Change truly is unforgiving.

While there’s rapid change on the outside, inside a voice whispers, “Too fast, slow down.”

But before the 2020 new year resolution…

2019 has been a momentous year for me, personally. So, it’s only fair that I gave it a proper send-off. Instead of just turning the page quickly, and moving on.

So I thought about it a lot and wrote down the 5 major lessons 2019 has taught me. I played back each significant moment in my mind. I wondered about the deep meaning that moment held in itself for me. It truly became an exercise in reflective living.

Maybe, that’s what the inner voice had wanted all along: To slow down.

So here’s the end-result of my deep-dive.

5 Lessons from 2019 I’m Thankful For

1. Folks (including yourself) will let you down, when it matters the most

I have seen a lot of let-downs this year. Sometimes, even family’s fallen short of expectations. Usually, in moments that were crucial. The worst part is, in retrospect, even I have let myself down with my actions (or the lack of them).

I have moped about these instances for months. Played those moments back in the mind countless times. Every time, I’ve wondered how it would look if things had taken a different turn.

But what’s done is done. Living with the consequences is an art. Forgiving takes time, sometimes forever. Forgetting gets easier with time. Some raw spots remain. That’s the nature of the beast.

The key is to accept that there will be let-downs. Even by you.

2. Keep expectations low (even from yourself)

Where there are expectations, there is attachment. Where there’s attachment there’s bound to be sorrow. Sound monk-ish enough? 😊

But ain’t that the essential, beautiful truth?2019 has taught me to expect nothing. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.

I’ve also learnt to be easy on myself. 100% effort. ZERO expectations.

3. Embrace inner silence and listen to it

2019 taught me that there’s too much noise in the mind. There is a cacophony of people’s opinions, expectations, and manipulated negative self-talk.

So quietening the mind is essential.

The answers will come.

Embracing inner silence can seem intimidating. But when you remove the noise, you receive the signal.

4. For REAL change, strip life down to priorities

I wrote about it recently, but this message can’t be emphasized enough: Life is not short, but life is finite.

So we need to channelise our finite energies into things that are priorities.

The trouble is that often, these priorities are buried six feet deep under trivial stuff.

Real magic needs some space

5. Consistency is very under-rated

Look around. Look at popular culture. There’s tall talk about dazzling genius. There’s too much noise about talent.

There’s not enough mentions about consistency. Consistency needs more attention. Showing up needs to be given greater emphasis.

With consistency, the most adamantine walls of adversity can be broken. That’s what 2019 taught me.

Conclusion

So what do you do with the lessons learnt in a year? You take them to the next, apply them, and see how it goes for you.

Are you thankful to 2019? Why?