When the entire world was ready to welcome the new decade of 2020 with open arms and people were eager to proceed with their plans, we all got a shock by the invasion of Coronavirus in our lives. Covid-19 has affected many lives all over the world. The world was not ready for the uninvited guest and had no backup plan. But 2020 has made us realize, how important it is to have a backup plan.
Covid-19 has claimed millions of lives and many people lost their jobs as numerous industries suffered financial loss. A lot has changed in the past few months and it seems like going back to normal might take some time.
Due to the deadly pandemic, the world has been under lockdown and it became the new normal over time. Being quarantined at home and staying under lockdown has affected people in many ways and caused a huge loss to many small and big-level businesses.
However, we have almost survived the entire year fighting this deadly disease. 2020 has not only been a year of hardship, trauma, and grief. But it is also a year full of lessons. Undoubtedly, this pandemic has taught each of us many important life lessons. We are not just learning to appreciate what we have but also focusing on resetting our priorities.
What 2020 teaches us? That’s a question, everyone should ask themselves. This year has taught us so many things in the past few months and is still teaching us. 2020 has been an exceptionally tough year and we are halfway through it. The disruption caused by the pandemic has changed our situation completely.
On one hand, our house corners have turned into conference rooms and schools and colleges turned into online studies. The new normal has turned our lives upside down. Some are coping with the changes and some are happily embracing the new normal.
2020 has taught us a lot along with the realization of having a robust backup plan. Without a good backup plan, things fall apart.
As we reflect on the year, there are some key lessons that we have learned from this pandemic.
Always Have A Backup Plan
Life is unpredictable and unexpected things happen all the time. We plan out our lives and everything looks great, but suddenly unexpected situations can arise. We might not know what is coming our way, but we can always be ready for the unexpected. Having a backup plan is very important. Covid-19 has taught us many meaningful life lessons but most of all what it has taught us is to have a backup plan. Always! Always have a backup plan.
When the pandemic hit suddenly, the world fell to its knees and financial losses nearly sunk the economy of many countries. Industries were closed down for months due to the lockdown and manufacturing sectors were affected the most. People lost their jobs and financial stress surrounded the world.
In situations like this, when you are on the verge of losing your job or business, it is extremely important to have a backup plan so you can survive in the toughest times too. Financial stability is very important whether the economical condition is good or bad, and it works as an essential backup plan in different scenarios. Instead of relying on just one source of income, you can widen the possibilities of your earnings.
Having a good and strong backup plan, whether it is about your career or financial stability, is going to help you every time.
Emergency Fund Is A Must
Any adverse situation can come in life without advance notice. All we need to do is stay prepared so we do not stumble. An emergency fund is an essential part of our lives that we usually overlook. Having an emergency fund is a different kind of financial and mental strength.
Emergencies can knock at our doorsteps anytime and fetching funds from savings in adverse situations can dig a big hole in your savings pocket. The best way to keep safe your future savings is to have an emergency fund. This fund can be helpful in any kind of medical, legal or educational emergency.
Saving a huge amount of money isn’t an easy task. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and time. Instead of just an active income, one should also have a passive income that will help you stay put in adverse situations.
An active income is your regular job or business whereas passive income is the second or extra income that you earn from doing other jobs besides the primary one. Primary income can help you to get financially strong. A strong backup plan will not only keep you going but will also help you to cope in the bad times.
An emergency fund is nothing but a backup plan for you and your family.
Health and Wellness are the priority
It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver
– Mahatma Gandhi
These words by the great person Mahatma Gandhi are not just true but also very practical. This is the ultimate truth that good health is extremely important and it should be our priority over anything.
As the Coronavirus hit the world, many people lost their lives and people lost their loved ones suddenly. A pandemic that has been the reason for millions of deaths around the globe has not only awakened us to the fact that health is more precious than anything, but has also taught us an important lesson about wellness and cleanliness.
Those who have suffered from the grave disease and fought it are still facing the consequences and side effects of Covid-19. This has taught us the most valuable lesson of keeping our health a priority. Everything is directly proportional to health after all.
A healthy body is very important for a healthy mind. You can always have a backup plan by spending or investing in health insurance and other heal related policies. After all, health is our priority.
Prioritizing Relationships
This lockdown has been tough for many of us. On one hand, where people were working from home, some were stuck away from their families in different cities. We have learnt another important lesson in the lockdown. No matter what, family and friends are important and they play a vital role in our life and mental health.
The times were difficult and still, we have to face a lot, but the pandemic has taught us how crucial it is to have friends and family. It has also strengthened relationships. People who have been working from home gets to spend time with their family. They get time to have breakfast and lunch with their families without any hurry of arriving office on time.
Even though we are maintaining social distancing to fight the pandemic, people have been connecting in the lockdown through calls, video calls and all other possible resources; thanks to technology. They cared for each other and want to know the well-being of one another. This year has taught us to value our relationships with our friends and family.
Mental Health Is Important
Mental health is one of the most important aspects of our life. Good mental strength is directly proportional to physical health. In 2020, many people were in distress due to everything that has been going around. People lost their loved ones, their jobs, businesses etc.
Not just this but the news of millions of deaths globally has also affected us in one way or other. Due to job losses, many people suffered from distress, depression, and anxiety. Many people attempt to end their lives and many did, due to the challenging situations this pandemic has brought in front of us.
2020 has awakened us to recognize mental health and take it seriously. It is really important to address mental health and help people who are suffering from distress. Good mental health is vital for good physical health and a good life.
Do We Need To Spend So Much?
One important lesson, that 2020 has taught us is to re-evaluate our priorities. Do we really need to spend so much on certain things? No, we don’t. During the pandemic and lockdown, all we needed was support, a little money for food, to pay rent, and water. We were back to square one in 2020.
Human life’s essential and basic needs are food, shelter, water, and clothing. When the pandemic hit us, we weren’t concerned about expensive watches, luxury cars or fancy clothes. All we needed was good health, a roof over our heads, food, and clean water. That’s it.
2020 has made us re-evaluate our needs and helped us understand how we can live without spending so much on things that aren’t that useful. Instead of eating out or ordering food online, we choose to cook by ourselves. Instead of buying stuff, many of us choose to save money.
Spending money is a great stress reliever but saving money is more fun. You don’t really miss out on anything if you aren’t spending money. Even though we miss hanging out with our friends and as much as we want to do it all over again, who doesn’t like a few more bucks in their savings? The importance of money is one thing that we have learnt the hard way in 2020.
Not spending on unnecessary things contributes to your backup plan and helps you keep going.
Teachers Are Gems
In adverse times, when people are working from home, one of the most difficult jobs to do, sitting at home is handling and managing hundreds of children at a time. This is what teachers all around the globe have been doing ever since the lockdown started.
Why it is a big deal? The job of teachers is not easy and they spend most of their time teaching and checking notes. Their job doesn’t end at the end of the day. Even after their shift is over at school or college, they require to bring materials like students’ notes, sheets etc for checking, which they do at home.
Not just this, but they are required to set exam question papers and other confidential paperwork. This situation has never allowed teachers to learn more due to the time limit. As the pandemic hit, everything became online, whether it is work from home or online study. Managing students while giving online lectures is not a piece of cake.
It takes so much effort and time. Many teachers who are quite aged and have minimal knowledge of technology have faced many technical issues while trying to understand how it all works. There are many complaints of teachers being harassed by their students during online classes.
The spirit of our teachers is admirable. We need to understand their importance and respect them. At the same time, understand that they have been saving the whole year of millions of students by providing them with education in these tough times too.
Our Planet Is Our Only Home
We may have backup plans for numerous things in the world but we need to remember that there is no backup planet. Even though the world talks about landing spaceships on Mars and building colonies on the Moon, we still have just one planet to live on.
After the lockdown, not only industries were shut down, but the roads, schools, colleges, and offices were empty too. People started working from home and nobody travelled for a while. This has minimized the level of carbon dioxide and other harmful gases in the environment.
The atmosphere became cleaner and it was easier to breathe with all the fresh and clean air around. On the other hand, pollution decreased as industries were closed down. Not just the air but water pollution was also minimized. So, 2020 has given us one good thing for sure; a clean environment.
So, no matter what, you can always have a backup plan for everything, but not for the natural resources and something as essential as planet Earth.
Conclusion
In this blog, we have discussed what 2020 has taught us and why you should always have a backup plan. To conclude, I would add that no matter what you do, keep in mind to focus on your priorities which are your health, your relationship with people, your job, and your savings. Having a backup plan will always help you to cope with bad situations. Investing your time, money, and talents in working on your backup plan will always have great advantages.
13+ Yrs Experienced Career Counsellor & Skill Development Trainer | Educator | Digital & Content Strategist. Helping freshers and graduates make sound career choices through practical consultation. Guest faculty and Digital Marketing trainer working on building a skill development brand in Softspace Solutions. A passionate writer in core technical topics related to career growth.
