Who Steals My Year 2020?

How many of you are like me? Made big plans and new year resolutions at the end of 2019. Starting shaky but still good for the first two months, getting some work and travel done. In the meantime, I was talking with family in China and expressing concerns over the COVID outbreak there but did not realize this is gonna be a global disaster. When March hits the U.S. everything changed. What is interesting is that the general public has been hearing about this virus but did not take it seriously until the stock market crashed. Well, needless to say, myself included, we are kind of f**ked in our own way. Money seems to take a higher priority than health in a sense. In this case, COVID taught us a big lesson and schooled us well. Many have been complaining and saying that 2020 is lost and it has been stolen. However, is it the case?

As my mentor, Victor Cheng mentioned this pandemic is more like a pressure test for us to re-evaluate our life and check how we prioritize things in our life. Habits are hard to change but normally a traumatic event will trigger that change long needed. It is a great time and for many of us, we can finally sit down and look at our life in a microscope. What have we been busy with like a headless chicken in the past, what should we focus on and who did and will I give my year 2020 to. Those are the questions I went through during my spare time during shelter-in-place.

Covid-19

It is the reason we need to stay at home and keep a social distance. It is the reason many shops have to close to smooth the curve. It is the reason that many of our plans and travels have to be postponed indefinitely. However, it should not be the reason that we stop living our life. There are many ways to carry on and there could be a better way. I refuse to give my year 2020 to Covid-19. You came to our life as an unwelcomed guest and refuse to leave, which is disturbing. But I have a mission to live the life to the fullest and you are welcome to watch on the frontline. Not like certain leaders, I choose to respect you and acknowledge your existence and influence. What I also choose is to make peace with you and move forward.

Stock Market

As a newbie in stock investing, the stockmarket’s performance during this pandemic is really disturbing and intriguing. Lack of expertise, I chose to do long-term investing and buy stocks of companies that I believe and hold them starting four years ago. It was a good strategy back then but it cannot handle the black swan attack during this global pandemic. That is when I started to pick up some skills in trading such as short-term trading, day trading, options, leverage, short, index fund, watching K-line, crypto_currency… It was a great experience but like gambling, I win some and lose some. Among those new things, I could not figure out a winning combo which is frustrating. But it helps me realize the minimal impact as an individual investor and accept that I should do investment instead of speculation. with that said, investing is still very important to develop a good financial sense and you need to take care of your own finance and financial planning.

Black Life Matters

Another huge breakout during this time is the George Floyd case which spirals into the Black Life Matters Movement. Discrimination issue has always been there and needless to say, we are all discriminate in our own f**ked-up way. But when shits keep happening unfairly and go up to the matter of life or death, it went too far. I am not an activist but on this matter, I have to stand together with our brothers and sisters and be united against the unfairness and injustice. 2020 is the year the man in power took things too far and it is the year we should fight back. Revolution needs good disruption.

With all these happening, many people have been complaining and claiming that the year 2020 will be the lost year. On the contrary, I think this year will be well remembered if you do it right.

2020 is the year with a global pandemic, stock market crash and rebound, Black Life Matters Revolution. It is the year with so many historical events that will go into the textbook happened.

2020 is the year people realize what is truly important in their life and start to cherish or value even more about their health, relationship, family and friends. It is the year we have a ton of epiphany long before we are on our death bed.

2020 is the year you re-develop yourself by taking online classes and learning new skills. It is the year you remodel yourself both from inside and outside. You work out more and lose weight, take care of your body and sleep more. You learn that cooking is not hard at all and from now on you have some great dishes ready up in your sleeve to impress your guests. You learn a new language and ready to explore new territories. You learn new tech and business skills and aim for that promotion or new job you are longing for so long. You have time to catch up on the readings you have been delaying with all kinds of excuses… There are so so many we can do. 2020 is never gonna be the lost year. Instead, it is the year we all gonna remember. When we get out of our place later, let the world eat the cake and embrace you 2.0. No one steals my year 2020. I give it to self_improvement, I give it to make a positive impact and I give it to people and things I love.