2021: your most joyful year yet?

When the clock struck midnight on December 31, 2019, we had no idea the new year would turn out to be a smouldering dumpster fire. You don’t need me to list the reasons 2020 has been unlike any other year in recent history, but let’s just say—a lot of us won’t miss it.

That said, as the year begins to draw to a close—you can practically smell the renewed optimism in the air. It seems better times are right around the corner.

Optimism is all well and good, but just hoping things will get better probably won’t cut it. After this year, I’m not taking any risks. 2021 has to be an improvement. We can’t have another year like this for a good while. Not in my lifetime, at least, thank you very much.

So I’m claiming 2021 and all subsequent years for joy and that’s that.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over

Have you ever lost a set of keys and looked for them in your coat pocket a hundred times, only to find them sitting on the kitchen table? As humans, we love to repeat our actions, even when they come up negative, time and time again.

It’s because we believe in familiarity and comfort above all else. Familiarity allows us control. Ultimately, there aren’t any surprises when you have a routine. Even if you have bad habits, at least you know they’re habitual and will always be that way.

2020 has been so dire that many of us have felt content to wallow in its mire. But pandemics, political campaigns and natural disasters aside—we have full control over breaking its hex once and for all. The power is literally in our hands.

Taking power back

How much of our anxiety about this year has come from the devices in our pockets? The overwhelming mass of pandemic updates, political clickbait and distressing news from abroad has been incessant. How about when we invited work into our bedroom or living room?

As great as video calls have been for keeping us connected to loved ones during these isolated times, it’s hard to think of a point where we’ve been more reliant on technology. In 2020, it’s been near impossible to create any limits on our usage.

Along with everything else, recent findings that being near your smartphone reduces cognitive capacity is just one more reason I’m looking forward to reestablishing those all important boundaries when things start to return to normal in the new year.

Get a jump on 2021

But why wait until then? Let’s begin building our future now. Start with these three steps to make 2021 the year of joy.

• Start making boundaries: It’s challenging to get away from our devices this year, but not impossible. Take advantage of all the downtime you get by putting them away when you can. Start to wean yourself off your tech so that you’re ready to take advantage of being present next year.

• Ask yourself, “what if?”: If you can imagine the joyous year you want next year, you can start to manifest it. Make the space and time you need to dream of the year you want to see next year.

• Join Navigate: Stick to your resolutions with Navigate—the monthly tune-up for your digital life that I created to keep us all on track. 

Onwards and upwards, friends. Oh, and, 2020, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.