When we look back at 2020, a lot of people's reaction will be ugh.

Ugh sums it pretty nicely.

You could also describe 2020 as unpredictable, stressful, or a pure wild card.

My fear is we will look back at 2020 and see it as a waste.

We may say that 2020 happened TO us, but there are ways that 2020 happened FOR us.

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Here are 6 ways 2020 happened for us.

We got creative.

2020 showed us things didn't have to be a certain way in order for them to be good.

For a long time, we've been stuck in our same old routines, but 2020 has made us look at everything we do from a new angle.

How can we work from home? How can we still stay in shape without going to the gym? How can we continue to connect with others when we are locked up in our houses? How can I take advantage of this extra time I have?

Maybe it's possible that you like the new way of doing things even more.

We didn't make so many plans.

2020 was not the year of the plan; we all know that.

We make plans so we feel like we have control, can plan ahead, and worry less that things won't work out.

2020 showed us that life is not about having everything perfectly planned out. It is about being adaptable enough to enjoy and live in the present moment.

Life has changed every day. We don't have to wrestle with deciding or planning right now.

2020 showed us that we can take things day by day and trust ourselves to plan when the time comes.

We saw that people on social media are real too.

During the early lockdowns in March and April, we saw a lot less perfect and a lot more real popping up on social media.

We saw our social media idols without make-up, what their life looks like at home and not in the spotlight, and that they were going through this hard time too, despite the money or fame they had.

2020 gave us a reminder that the people behind the screens aren't perfect and their lives aren't something we need to compare ours to. They're trying to get through the hard times too.

We were reminded that everyone is going through something.

A lot of times we don't think other people understand. We don't think they understand the boat we are in.

We won't ever completely understand everyone, but 2020 showed us that we are in a similar boat and everyone is going through something.

Whether that was unemployment, fear about getting the virus, anxiety about giving it to others, frustration that we can't go out places and see people, or loss of hope of when this will be over.

Everyone is struggling with something. Maybe that means we can give ourselves and others a little more grace.

We learned how to pause.

A lot of us were running around tending to our full schedules before the virus hit.

2020 showed us how to pause.

How to take a moment to reflect. How to take a moment to relax. How to take time to re-evaluate how life looks for us. How to be thankful for the things and people we once took for granted.

2020 taught us that it is ok to take a breather, and sometimes that might be the best thing we can do for ourselves.

We learned how to keep moving forward.

2020 was a tough year. It challenged if, when, and how to move forward.

Even though we were in a moment a pause, 2020 showed us that we can still move forward in the tough times.

We can move forward right now and we don't need to wait for everything to be back to normal. Because as we've seen, what if things don't go back to normal for a while?

We may need to move forward in a way we never have before, but we can do it. It's just up to us to choose if we are going to.

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Sometimes we don't know what we need. I have a strong feeling that a lot of us didn't know we needed these lessons this year.

2020 had some aspects that we definitely want to leave in the past, but it also prepared us for the future.

It’s up to us to decide what we are going to take or leave in 2020. Take the good and leave the bad.

It's up to us what we are going to do with what we learned.

2020 was not a waste, but a stepping stone for the better things to come.