There is a lesson in everything, we have learned to walk by falling, we learned to talk by making meaningless sounds as children. Somehow along the way, it became not so cool to fall and learn and mumble things, not sure why.

I tend to find a learning, a lesson in everything, I guess that is the entrepreneur in me. I think when I connect a positive learning to a negative outcome or a failure, I become more courageous to try again, move forward. That applies to everything, relationships, business, personal growth, or even things that are out of my control like COVID.

There is no need for me to say how and why my life has turned inside out, you have been through a version of it, the whole world has been through a version of it. But here are some concepts I have learned from my experience which may be different from yours.

Having the right mindset is gold

The right mindset gets you further than you ever imagined, and the wrong mindset freezes you where you are or even moves you backward and downward. The lesson here is that it is easy to fall for the wrong mindset, the mindset of lack, weakness and victimhood. Having the right mindset, on the other hand, takes courage and work. I learned to consciously choose the right mindset and move forward.

Never surrender, always fight back

Sometimes the circumstances will catch you off guard which stops you in your tracks, that is the exact moment to ask yourself: Are you going to surrender or fight back? When COVID hit, I had about 48 hours of shock and shot down and then asked myself the hard question: Am I going to throw the towel and give up or pivot and come up with something that works for the time being? I learned something a while back, when I was a travel agent, there is always a way out, always an exception to the rule, you just must be brave enough to fight for it.

Find joy in the little things

Maybe this is the most important lesson of the year, to find joy in the little things in life. As a family, we did not do any of the regular activities that always brought us joy. I did not host the Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve dinner and yet we managed to get by and enjoy our time with the family virtually. I learned to enjoy all the little things in life, like a cup of coffee on a cold, quiet morning, and be grateful for experiencing that moment.

These are my top three lessons I am taking with me to 2021.

Which are yours? Please share in the comments.

Stay tuned for my New Year’s Reset System on the next blog post.