My Biggest Lessons and Favourite Things from 2020

I turned 50 in 2020, and it will certainly not be a year I forget- I think its humbled us all. I went for a Covid test this morning, due to the second spike happening in SA- I’m almost sure it will come back negative, but it may not? Watching the stats in the USA and Europe every day is humbling- the US is having the equivalent deaths of 9/11 every day!

A few weeks before Covid officially hit SA, I facilitated one of my last in-person Mindfulness workshops, to an exco team of mainly men over the age of 45. None of them were sleeping well, one of them had just experienced what he thought was a heart attack, which in fact turned out to be a panic attack. He was mortified and surprised by this diagnosis- I wasn’t, as he was one of many I’d seen in 2019/2020.

Our bodies were sending us red flashing lights of warning on our dashboards!

My favourite meme of 2020 was the one where the world has sent us humans to the naughty corner to reflect on our bad behavior. If we go back to living exactly as we did pre-Covid, I think we will have missed the re-set opportunity that 2020 has brought.

I believe the way we work has changed forever- and whenever you find yourself thinking “When things go back to normal” stop and reflect- as its unlikely to happen. It’s not just the way we work- the way we learn, how we consume, which political party you support, how we educate our children, where you want to live, who and what’s important, and most importantly our perception of how finite it all is has changed forever!

Here are my 4 biggest lessons:

1. Pre-existing conditions came home to roost

We know that people with pre-existing medical conditions eg. Diabetes and obesity were more susceptible to Covid. I don’t think it was just medical conditions- Covid has surfaced all pre-existing conditions. If your marriage was in trouble pre-covid then you may be part of the 20% increase in divorces this year, if there were family tensions pre-covid then everything has come out into the open, if you had a staff/team member that was problematic early in 2020, then they have probably left, or in some performance management process. There was nowhere to hide this year- if a business had cracks in it, then it’s probably either closed or hopefully radically innovating. We all knew that Edgars wasn’t a competitive business- Covid was just the catalyst in its downgrade.  

1. VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity)isn’t what we thought it was!

I’m lucky enough to sit in on many of the finest Futurist presentations in the world, regularly through our work. We all thought that the future involved self-driving cars and robots taking over our jobs. Automation and tech are still key drivers of change, but Covid has taught me AGILITY in real-time, real-life scenarios.

We digitized our entire business in 6 weeks- we’ve been a face-to-face leadership development consultancy with an increased digital presence for the past 15 years. In 6 weeks to take all our programmes virtual, and one of our clients commented on how the smaller training companies were much more agile than the bigger organisations or business schools.

1. Mindfulness and Resilience is more precious than ever

Anyone who’s attended my Mindfulness presentations will know that I’ve had a close shave with death and burnout a few years ago. It was my wake up call! Most people who adopt Mindfulness practices have had a near-death health experience.

If we’re not present in our lives we miss out, by being constantly engaged with technology or on our phones. When we aren’t mindful it’s the equivalent of living in a black and white movie.  Mindfulness brings us presence and joy in the small things- we notice and are more grateful- it’s like moving to an HD technicolor TV, compared to the black and white movie. How do you do that?

I have a digital detox on a Saturday- so does Adrian Gore, CEO of Discovery (I asked him how he manages his stress at a presentation last year, and he said a digital detox once a week was essential). Once a week leave your phone in a drawer and don’t touch it until later on in the day. Notice how hard it is, and how dependent we are on the likes and dopamine rushes that accompany each ping.

1. Buy Local

I’ve changed my skincare range to a local SA brand- Skin Creamery www.skincreamery.co.za  with amazing results. I order fashion online- my new discovery is Leigh Schubert- I just love her clothes. www.leighschubert.com.

My favourite fiction books of 2020

1. Sin of Omission by Marguerite Poland

SA writer- who I’ve never read before- how is this possible? I’ve now ordered all her books. This book affected me deeply- it reminded me of Cry The Beloved Country and took a long time to get into it. It was worth it! Stephen Mzamane will stay in my heart forever!

1. Have you seen Louis Valez by Catherine Hyde Smith- Audible

When I have a facial I listen to audiobooks and my facialist was equally gripped with this story, and asked for an update about Louis Valez at my next appointment. It’s a shining beacon hope in humanity story!

1. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

I read this in paperback but have heard it’s much better on Audible, as its read by the author who actually sings. It’s a triumphant story of a little girl with big dreams who was never going to be deterred! Just loved it!

1. The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follet-

“Pillars of the Earth” remains one of my Top 10 favourite books, but I felt Ken Follett became very formulaic after Pillars. He’s back on form, and I devoured this book- quite a tome at 700 pages, but so worth it!

                My favourite business books- 2020!

1. Traction by Gino Whitman- I read the book, listened to it on audible. If you’re an entrepreneur buy this bible immediately!
2. The One Thing by Gary Keller- I bought this book ages ago, and re-read it often. A woodpecker can’t make a hole in a tree if they move from tree-to-tree, they only are successful when they focus on making a hole in one tree. You will make your biggest contribution and impact on the world- when you find out what your one thing is that you are genius at, and do more of that.
3.  Stillness is the Key by Ryan Holiday- there is such wisdom in this book, especially during these anxiety filled times. So useful!
4. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez- my friend Niven Postma recommended that I read this- you will be astounded, angered and realise we still have a lot of work to do in advancing the cause of women!
5. Always Day one by Alex Kantrowitz- The author interviews tech titans to find out how they stay at the top of their game. Jeff Bezos has created a culture at Amazon, where “It’s Always Day One” he says “ Day two is stasis, followed by irrelevance, followed by an excruciating, painful decline, followed by death” I’ve found the ideas in this book extremely useful in driving innovation at TNCO (The Networking Company’s) culture

       My favourite Podcasts - 2020!

1. The Tim Ferris Show- best interviewer of interesting people ever!
2. Lvl up- Our newly launched podcast- we’re a little biased but we think it’s fab! Find us on Spotify here
3. Work Life by Adam Grant
4. Unlocking us by Brené Brown

My quote for 2020 “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage”- Anais Nin

Wishing you gutsy love and a great rest over the festive season. Here’s to a calmer, more mindful 2021!

Big Love Helen xxx