2020 Year in Review
Challenging but Amazing Year
Can you remember a year more life-changing than 2020? Me neither. But with each significant challenge comes plenty of room for change and thus growth. The year 2020 was a box full of surprises (and sometimes shit). Looking back at how many things have happened in the last 12 months, it looks like I’ve lived 5 years in a time span of just one.
But no matter what, 2020 was an amazing year for me. Even when the world was burning, many people lost their jobs, and the pandemic took over the world, I can’t say anything bad about 2020. I can just be more grateful than I already am. I see 2020 as another year of personal, social, and professional growth. From exploring my personal tastes and preferences to acquiring new skills, and stepping out of my comfort zone.
I am well aware that for some of you this year has been really challenging, but I am sure that we have all learned a lot from it. I also had my challenges, more than one, but now that I look back on them, they have only helped me grow, and thanks to them, I think I am a better man today.
10 Things I Learned This Year
- The more I work, and the less I talk (about what I want to do), the more success I have.
- It is better to focus on one or two really important things every single day than to do 100 things of no meaning to your goals. More doesn’t always mean more, sometimes less is more. Don’t multitask – focus.
- The first hour of the day is the most important one if you want to be productive and have long-term changes and success.
- Appreciate every little thing, no matter how small it is. Appreciate a new day and a new opportunity to be better. Appreciate the sun, wind, rain, snow. Appreciate the beauty of the flower and the chirping of the birds. Appreciate the food you eat, and the water you drink. Appreciate life. Appreciate people. Appreciate everything you have been given.
- Be grateful for everything, good and bad. We often grow more when bad things happen to us.
- The more people you help achieve their best versions of themselves, the more you grow as a person, and more people will help you grow even more. It’s a beautiful circle.
- Saying NO is harder than we think, thus more important.
- Change is easier when life is simple. Simplify your life and eliminate all the clutter, toxic people, and unimportant tasks and goals from it.
- Stop, smile, and breathe.
- You only have one life. Spend it well.
I’m writing this year in a review to remember both the good and the bad parts of 2020, to appreciate everything that happened, reflect on my choices, and analyze all the outcomes. I hope my learnings can inspire and help at least one person to change his life because taking a moment to reflect on your year is a great way to tie up any loose ends in your mind and get closure to the year.
Without further ado;
March
I Bought My First House.
After many challenges with the market, lawyers, and the COVID-19 pandemic, at the end of March, I bought my first house. And there is no better house in Croatia than this one. I won’t go into too many personal details, but let’s just say this house has a lot of sentimental value to me. I don’t intend to live here in the long run, but it is good to know that is finally mine.
April
We Moved into A House on April 1st, and thanks to a few weeks of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I didn’t need to go to the job, therefore we had more than enough time to tackle major renovations in the house. It was a painful and long process that took us almost 4 months. But today, as I am writing this, sitting in a cozy chair in my house, I can only smile, and be grateful because everything is like I wanted it to be. 
August
I Married An Angel.
On August 28th, I married the most wonderful, intelligent, kind, and beautiful woman on Earth. True angel. Despite many challenges (she is from other side of the world) we finally found a way for her to come to Croatia. But, also thanks to the challenges posed by COVID-19 (canceled flights, Europe in a lockdown, logistic problems, etc.), our life together is so much better and our marriage stronger.
When the other person lives almost 11,000 km away, you learn to communicate – something many people never do. I know people who are married for 30+ years and don’t know how to communicate properly.
…
I Quit A Job because it didn’t align with my values anymore.
I had an amazing job with a nice title, but it was only that. It was a job. It was not my true passion, and it didn’t align with my values. So, I quit. Many people said that this was a crazy idea considering the pandemic, but sometimes you need to follow your heart and jump without knowing where you will land. I am grateful that I did it because it gave me so much more in return.
November
I Started My Own Little Business. Something that has been my life goal for many, many years. Together, my wife and I are a team in everything; we fight every day with new challenges, but we also grow and learn a lot from them. I truly believe that this little thing can grow big and take us somewhere we don’t expect yet.
March to October
I Did Some Heavy Investing in Stocks, and the whole market this year, and I can see big returns today. Sometimes, to see significant results, we have to risk more than we are willing to. This year has helped me increase my investment portfolio more than the previous 7 combined. Finally, all those hours spent reading and learning about investing and the market have yielded great results.
December 31st, 2020
I can proudly say that I have achieved almost all the goals I set for myself this year. The larger goals you have already read and the small ones are below.
- I minimized my life by an additional 25%. This one was hard as hell because I already live a pretty minimal lifestyle minimal lifestyle compared to other people, but I have to admit that now I feel lighter on my toes, my mind is clearer, and my surroundings are uncluttered. I still have a long way to go. My ultimate goal is to have 100 things and be able to fit everything in one suitcase and one backpack, but I also know that minimalism is a never-ending journey, so I have to appreciate the process.
- I read 58 books. I am quite pleased with the number of books I have read this year. Every morning I read for an hour, and somehow that did the trick. Over the next year, I hope to be able to crush this number. Every passing year I read more and more, so the number of hours and the number of completed books is constantly increasing.
- This year my focus was finally to get from 15.5% body fat, down to 10%. In the process, I lost almost 10 kilos, and now I weigh 73 kilos. I would like to go back to 83kg in the next 2 years but attain the same body fat percentage as now. This way my physique will be more defined and more muscular.
- According to the Zero app (fasting app I use), I fasted over 4800 hours this year. I am quite impressed with this information.
Failures
But not everything was rainbows and ponies.
I failed some of my biggest goals due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The biggest one is that my wife and I couldn’t have a church wedding (we moved it into the future, and this year we only had a civil one) and we didn’t move to another country as we had planned back in 2019.
Other things I failed in 2020
I failed to:
- Stay in touch with family and friends
- Set clear priorities
- Accept people as they are
- Focus on the right things
- Be in the moment
- Manage time better
- Maintain a balanced lifestyle
- Be less serious about life
- Say NO more often
I failed a lot. But hey, life goes on. Right?
Final Words
What an amazing year! So many achievements accomplished!
A lot of unimaginable things have happened this year. I know that life is very difficult most of the time, but I truly believe that with the right combination of effort and attitude everything is possible. With that mindset, I’ve managed to accomplish great things. It was not easy, but it was totally worth it.
Finally, I want to thank everyone – my family, my wife, friends, enemies, mentors, co-workers, everyone who stood before, with, and against me. Although life is mostly a single-player game, I know that I am standing on the shoulders of giants. I owe everything to those who helped me get this far. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
How was 2020 for you?
Let me know in the comments below.
Cheers!
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