So here comes the new year as we begin to say our goodbyes to the 2010’s. The optimists with a sense of humor like to say the year 2020 will be a brilliant one for all because we will have the perfect vision for whatever we decide to do this year (i.e. 20/20 vision, get the joke?).
Talking to our optometrists aside, we only seem to associate the 20/20 vision with our hindsight – things that we only become aware of after the fact. When looking back at our decisions and behavior, we often said to ourselves “Gosh I did this again”, or “I wish I had taken the other path – look how the other person took the other path and succeeded”. Then we slowly let our feelings of regret, resentment, and envy, eat up our motivations and energies.
Before we get too harsh to ourselves, ask ourselves – would we really have done things differently, given the circumstance and what we knew at that exact moment? More often than not – the answer is no. Additional knowledge and experience only come with time, and we have not gotten that time at that time.
We are only able to gain hindsight after we have truly understood what went right, what went wrong, and learnt our lessons. Only by then, we will be able to use our hindsight to help us recognize opportunities, avoid traps, and make the right decision.
So let us start this special new year by first taking stock of our lives – accept the unique path that got us to where we are right now. Forgive ourselves for the mistakes that we have made and take pride of the achievements that we have accomplished so far, then apply this “20/20 vision” when charting our next steps forward.
May this New Year bring you an abundance of amazing opportunities, beautiful moments, and joyful experiences.