On Jan 1st, 2020, I was on holiday in Portugal, serenely looking out over the Atlantic Ocean, so hopeful for the year ahead. 2020 had a nice ring to it I thought.

Little did I know that ring was actually a noose … And what a sucker punch this year would be… For everyone.

And while I’m sure most of us would love to put this year behind us… maybe we shouldn’t be in such a rush to write it off.

Maybe we should take stock of what this year has taught us…

That we should be paying more attention to the continual decimation of our planet and not be so caught up in our super busy lives at the expense of a sustainable life.

That we don’t need much to be happy.

That what we missed most during the lockdown was seeing friends and family… Not the fancy brunches, dinners or shopping sprees.

To never take a hug for granted.

That real superheroes don’t wear capes, or their underwear outside their trousers for that matter… They don masks and surgical scrubs and work tirelessly to keep everyone safe while putting themselves at risk.

That maybe we’ve allowed ourselves to be ‘influenced’ by the wrong sort of people about the wrong sort of things.

That maybe more entrepreneurs and research scientists should be role models for our kids, instead of just actors, music artists and supermodels.

That the sun continues to shine… Even if we are not at work

That we are more than just resilient, we are what the scholar and mathematical statistician Nassim Taleb calls ‘Anti Fragile’. We are better, stronger and wiser because of what happened.

We might feel bruised and battered but we are so much stronger than we imagined.

So here’s to the rest of 2020…bring it on!