For the Survivors
Thankfully, 2020 is winding down. While it has been a challenging year, without a doubt, over the next few days, social media will be flooded with personal reflections of the year. Magically those reflections will be stories of unmitigated success. People will recount how they lost 50 pounds, earned 10 million dollars, and cured cancer all while safe at home. We’ll be subjected to countless accounts of “thriving” this year despite “challenges.”
Here’s what I want to say as the year closes out: Surviving this year, and any other year, is a badge of honor.
We need a new mindset about surviving; survival is not shameful. A survival year is not a failure. There is immense strength in holding on to hope and fighting for better. If you are in survival season, you should have a vision of your blooming season. Can you specifically identify what happiness looks like for you? If yes, keep working towards those goals. If no, it’s time to reflect, set goals, and interrogate mindsets.
The older I get, and the more I experience I have with the highs and lows of life, the more I discern the toxicity of the survive vs. thrive dichotomy. As I get wiser, the more I see the seasons of life; they all have a purpose. In spring and summer, we grow and flourish in the sun. In fall and winter, we slow down, and things can appear bleak. We need time for our soil to rest, we need to allow seeds to sprout, we need water and sunshine, and we need time to bloom. Some plants remain dormant for years, but that does not mean there is no more bloom.
Watching others celebrate themselves, and their success over the next few days might be frustrating. But we can’t all be in our summer seasons at the same time. It might feel distant, but your summer is coming.
This New Year’s Eve, I’m toasting to all the survivors out there. In the future, when the end of the year rolls around, and you are happily blossoming and reflecting on your success, I hope you’ll toast to the survivors too.
