Why 2020 is such a bad year, and what to do about it

Believe it or not, there have been worse years than this one for some people on the globe. It has a lot to do with where you live, after all. Imagine having lived through the Gaza bombardment of 2014, for instance. I’m pretty sure you would rank that year as worse!

Still, the general mood is created by consensus. Based on that, 2020 stands out as the year that has been bad for the largest number of people simultaneously. That’s why there are a lot of memes circulating about how bad this year has been.

Corona

Most of this bad feeling about this year has something to do with the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect it has had on the whole world has been nothing short of dramatic. People have lost their jobs, their ability to travel, their sense of security, and that’s just scratching the surface.

But it’s actually worse: this is a year without positive developments. You dread to turn on the news channel even more than you usually do. What shocking and terrible news am I about to hear if I flip to that channel? What’s going to make my eyes roll this time?

Bad all over

Try naming a good thing that happened this year. Aside of certain personal successes or strokes of luck, I’m pretty sure that for most of us, this is going to be pretty much impossible. If we look at world events, there isn’t any positive one, and there is an abundance of negative ones. It barely even matters ‘whose side you’re on’. For instance: whether you are for against Trump, you still probably think this year sucks!

That’s the weird thing about this year. Those who are actively messing up the world, aren’t happier than those who are suffering that same mess. It’s a year that underlines how the forces of greed and opportunism emerge victorious – without even relishing their victories. That’s what happens when those who benefit from immoral decisions, are such a tiny minority among the population. Who cares if the “one-percenters” are having a great time? I mean, aren’t they always, regardless?

What to do?

So, what can we do? Crying about it isn’t really going to help, is it? I think the first response is to find peace within ourselves, without changing who we are. So, if you think I’m saying if you can’t beat them, join them, you are totally missing my point. Let me make myself clearer, then.

There are things that are outside of your control. Is it helpful to anyone, including yourself, to allow yourself to be upset about those? I guess the answer is obvious. Things you can’t change, you must learn how to deal with. This doesn’t mean that you have to accept things that you consider to be morally wrong. In fact, you should never accept those. If you do, it means you surrender, and if you surrender, you stop being in touch with who you really are.

New reality

So no, it’s not about acceptance, and it’s not about surrender. It’s about redefining how you deal with new realities, not about redefining how you feel about them. Think about it. Ask yourself: how has 2020 affected me the most? It can be financially, it can be emotionally, it can be physically. Ask yourself that question, and then refrain from doing what people tend to do as a knee-jerk reflex: get upset about it.

No. Don’t. Don’t get upset about it. It is useless. Try to skip that step. This is your new reality. Focus all your energy on coping strategies. Spend some time thinking: what’s the best way to deal with this new reality? How can I make the best of the new situation, without wasting time being upset about the changes? Survival is adaptation. There is a new world now, introduced by this crazy year 2020. Make the necessary adaptations that ensure that you are able to live in it.

Whatever your rational thinking process leads you to believe must be changed: change it. It may be drastic. It may mean looking for a new activity, or a new way to perform the same activity. Perhaps for you, it even means changing what you do for a living. This will be different for every person.

Twenty Twenty: the new world

I’ve had some shocks to process as well. I don’t wish to elaborate on them, but I can show you how I channeled these shocks into something positive. You probably can’t translate that directly to your own situation, but sometimes seeing an example can open up an idea.

I hope that it does that for you! Music has its own mysterious ways. So, check out my song, but check it out the way that it was meant to be checked out. While you listen, focus on the positive beat, and the indirectly positive message of the lyrics. Perhaps, if you listen intently, you may even feel or understand what I am singing about. You could guess, but it doesn’t matter, I won’t tell.

That’s not the effect on you that I am looking for. What I want you to feel, when you listen to this song (and hopefully dance to it!) is how it turns the negative into something positive. And as a song is not an article, it may just have the ability to enter into your brain waves. It may actually find some of those switchboards in there, and turn some negative ones into positive ones!

Try it!

Stop reading, I am pretty sure you have understood what I am trying to tell you here. It’s time to release the negative, despite all the nastiness around us, and embrace the positive. Dive into my song Twenty Twenty, and see if it does that for you!

Check out Twenty Twenty on Spotify, Soundcloud, and Apple Music, if that’s where you usually listen to songs!

Is that it?

No, I am not saying that my song is the only way to cure your 2020 ailments. What I am saying is: it might. And if it doesn’t, reading this has hopefully given you the incentive to look for something similar. A similar approach, something you can do to change things around on the inside!

Bottom line is: sulking gets us nowhere. We can’t carry the world upon our shoulders (Hey Jude!). We have to pick up ourselves, allow wounds to heal, and reinvent our life strategies. That’s how ‘they’ don’t win!

Good luck, wish you all the best, and feel free to drop me a comment !

Check out these ultra-short videos below, if you think you’re not ready to hear a whole song. And you might just change your mind!