The end of 2020 is in sight, and I think it’s safe to say that, for most of us, this year will be one we won’t soon forget but not necessarily for reasons most would prefer. For me, 2020 was one of the most unusual years of my life. Nothing was as it should have been, yet strangely, by the end of it, so much was how it needed to be.
We have a tendency to negatively view change in routine or lifestyle, and there is an inherent uncomfortableness that accompanies the unexpected. What 2020 taught me is that the uncomfortableness is where growth happens.
In the past, my way of dealing with the seeds of uncertainty was to bury those feelings or self-doubt, which leads to being uncomfortable. If you have total confidence in your ability to handle a situation, it’s much less uncomfortable.
Do you know what happens with seeds when you bury them? They grow into something even bigger. This year was such a rolling thunder of change that I didn’t have time to bury anything. I had to face it, deal with it and learn to trust myself. In the process, I realized that I didn’t want to grow self-doubt. I wanted to grow and reap the rewards of belief in myself.
Heading into the holidays, it is becoming even more apparent to me that things are more as they need to be. I’m seeing the sprouts of the seeds of self-confidence that I planted earlier in the year.
As you experience the holidays and head into the New Year, I encourage you to take a look at what seeds you are planting, as well as how much focus you put on them—that will be what you harvest later.
Writer and podcast host Natalie Webster specializes in experiences that often push her outside of her comfort zone and helps others expand their boundaries, too.
