Nothing about 2020 has been normal – that we all know. But there is some good we can all get out of it. Hopefully 2020 helped us realize there are a few habits we don’t currently have. Here are the five habits you need to take with you into 2021.
Habit 1: Concern for Others’ Well-Being
I have heard more stories about people bring their neighbors groceries, sending cards to everyone they know, calling someone every day to check up on them and more since the pandemic started than I ever have before. If anything, I think being alone in quarantine made us realize how involved we were with the people in our lives and how much of an impact they make. I personally called someone new every day for almost a month at the beginning of the pandemic. Honestly – it’s a habit I should have kept up with. There are so many ways we can show someone we’re thinking about them and that we genuinely care about how they’re doing.
Habit 2: Invest in your health
If you don’t know how to properly wash your hands by now, I don’t know that I can help you. However, you’ve heard about how much sleep is recommended for your age, how to cover your mouth when you sneeze, or what foods are nourishing for your body. I bet you’ve even heard about some of the great ways you can holistically support your health!
While some of the health advice that’s out there may not be a good fit for your and your family, some of it is. And I hope that you listen to it. This year has been a great reminder about what a gift our health and mobility is and I hope we can all do better in giving both the time and attention they need.
Habit 3: Take stock of what’s important
Have you realized you need to make more time for friends and family? Have you realized your job wasn’t what you thought it was and you may need to make a career change? Was your schedule too packed and a pandemic helped you clear your plate? Whatever your current situation in life, I encourage you to take stock and take action. Where do you want to be and how can you make it happen?
Truly hear me when I saw this – don’t let these realizations pass you by. Act on them and make a change!
Habit 4: Secure your financial future
I heard about the physical health and saw the data about people in my county and surrounding counties daily. Second to that, I heard about the impact on finances across the country. Select industries, select households, how to rebound and more were all topics of almost daily discussion. We are so, so fortunate to be in a position where we were not impacted financially, but I know others who were. And now, more than ever, I’m hearing more discussions about how to budget or manage money better.
If you’re in those discussions, I encourage you to stick with it. When my husband and I were pursuing our debt free goals, that was what we struggled with the most. We knew pay day was coming, but we didn’t realize we were stealing from ourselves by practicing some of our less-than-desirable money habits.
If you’re considering your financial future because of the pandemic, I encourage you to put them where you can see them and remind yourself of why you created them in the first place. If you’re looking for more information about how to make changes to your finances, I encourage you to check out Dave Ramsey and all of the resources he provides, many of them for free, on his website.
Habit 5: Just make time
If your part of the world has opened up again, what was the first thing you did? How can you make that a priority in your life moving forward into 2021?
My husband and I hear, often, that our friends and family “just don’t have the time.” What I think we fail to realize, though, is that time is something we can control. We get to tell our time where to go. We get to determine how we spend it. And there’s no exchanging it. There’s no refunding it. We need to be diligent with the time that we have.
So going into 2021, what are you going to prioritize? How are you going to make 2021 the best year yet? I would love to hear about your plans on Facebook and Instagram. You can also email me your plans at thelearninglifeblog@gmail.com.
Are you struggling with starting your New Year off right? Check out this blog post about how to set goals for the New Year.
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