Ep 70: 3 Powerful Practices To Review 2020

Of course 2020 is a special year. If you are very well prepared already, you had all your finances sorted, your savings, you had your investments, you had your budget to double down, you had your like, very strong rigor at work. Then you probably have benefited in some ways. But of course, some people win, some people lose. If you didn’t do so well this year, I think what is important to know is that it is kind of like a stress test, right? Most of us are pretty young. I think our listeners are about 30 — 20s, 30s. So it’s a stress test this year that, you know, if it doesn’t go so well for you, then, hey, let’s kind of figure out what’s going on and how do we make it better. Reality is, what has happened has happened. If we continue to wallow in the whole shit, ain’t no shit’s going to happen. So why not let’s just move on and better prepare for next year. 

And in light of how 2020 is an anomaly that, you know, it is a odd ball, for lack of better way to put it. If you find any comfort, any solace, right, I just want you to know that it is a crazy year. It’s not something that most people plan for, economists failed, professionals failed, government failed, you know, things went nuts. So don’t be too hard on yourself if things, didn’t go your way, but of course, if you managed to capitalize on it, cool stuff. 

But if you have not, then let’s see how to move forward. And I’m going to start, you know, the first very powerful practice to review 2020: gratitude journaling. And so what is gratitude journaling? Essentially, it is a practice of writing down what you’re grateful for, and it is a very established practice in the whole mental health space. And I felt like it is something that more people should do whether or not you are struggling with mental health or you are depressed or whatnot. Because a lot of times it is prescribed for like “patients” la, they really think you’re struggling with mental health, then it’s a practice to recommend. But I feel like everybody should do it, you know, especially if you’re doing well, you probably should do it more. It’s a good way to kind of check in and review your life. And so how do I do it? Essentially, you can take your favorite notebook, or you can just take a random notebook, like what I do, or whatever piece of paper. You find a space that is absent of jarring distractions, that means you want to be in a place where you are comfortable to connect with yourself. So you don’t need to talk to other people, you don’t to care about what other people say, you just need to care about yourself, right? So you want to go into that flow state. That’s why I feel like you need to find a space that is absent of jarring distractions.

 And then you start every line with. “I am grateful for…” something, something, something, right. So for me, it’s like, I’m grateful for running a very successful podcast. I am grateful for all the compliments that you guys have given me. And I’m grateful that I survived this year, or something like that. 

And the most importantly, this is something that you see for yourself. No one is going to see it. So you don’t need to care about what other people say. You just need to write whatever you’re grateful for. You can be grateful for the strawberry cheesecake in front of you, and it is okay. Because whatever it is, this is your life. And I think more people should do this because it helps us to get centered. It helps us recognize that, okay, we’re doing this little bit to make our lives better. And we’re learning all these things. We’re trying to do all these to, you know, essentially shape the life that we love and why not be grateful for it. 

And also, if you don’t have anything else to write, then, okay, then, you can stop la. There’s no target. You don’t need to write a lot, but the whole idea is to let your hands flow so that, you know, your mind can flow through your hand and keep writing. I’m grateful for something, something, I’m grateful for something, something, I’m grateful for, something, something, right. So that you can go deep. You can recognize what you’re grateful for. And sometimes you may get some insights as to how to plan for next year. Because all these things, they may be embedded within your mind, will be embedded within your life. But because we don’t sit down and review all the time, this is the best time for everything to come out in a visual ground and you can kind of see what you’re actually enjoying, what you actually like.

And I won’t further elaborate, but actually there are a lot of resources online. You just go and search “gratitude journal,” you know, tons and tons of resources. Some people have a very guided way to do it. I feel like it is just really about letting yourself flow. So hope you do your gratitude journal, especially for 2020, because you know, it was a crazy year la. This thing is going to go down in history and I thought, yeah, let’s do some gratitude journaling to help us, you know, get more grounded. 

Which brings me to point number two, that is: to write three things that you have done well in 2020 and post on your social media. Like I said, in the beginning of the podcast, if you are just kind of looking at review as like a checklist, right. Which is like, I got hit, I never hit, I hit, I never hit. Then there’s only so much that you really get out of reviewing your year. And it tends to be that we are critical with ourselves. So at least for me, I think I tend to be pretty critical with myself. It’s very easy to just kinda look at what I failed or look at what I can do better, but sometimes I don’t really look at what I’ve done well, so I feel like, okay, yeah, maybe we all should spend some time to actually think about, you know, some of these things that we have done well, and of course you were asked how well is well? And that’s for you to decide. The goal is not to, you know, meet some objective standards, but the goal is to review and recognize that you’ve actually done some stuff, and  appreciate that you did that, right. It doesn’t matter what other people think, it is about you. 

So one of the things that I think I’ve personally, I feel I’ve done well this year was that I became a circuit baker. So I managed to bake some goods and a lot of my friends actually liked it.So for me,  it’s like, eh, I actually can bake now. So to me, there’s something that I think I have done really well because I picked up a whole new thing and I believe there are many circuit bakers out there. So if you feel like that is something that you’ve done well, write it down and post it.

So I want to see you post it online and if just so happened, you actually post it, hey, tag us at The Financial Coconut. We’ll be happy to be part of your shout out for your year end review. So write these three things and post it on social. Of course you can go like, eh, why need to post on social? Why not just write? And that’s it. So, truth is, you can write and just that’s it. But I think there’s some sort of power in sharing. So social media content sometimes a bit like toxic la huh, but more importantly, if you do that, it’s affirmation to yourself because you’re telling the world, hey, this is what I’ve done great. And there are other people that will resonate with you. And then, you know, everybody can just kind of go through this process of, you know, just wrapping up the year in a great way. And it’s an affirmation to self, a proclamation to the world. And I think it is something that I do a lot, and I feel that you probably should do it so that you kind of resonate with people around and see who is like-minded and you know, who  also picked up something similar and just have some fun.

And ultimately the goal is not to be blind that you’ve made mistakes. The goal is not to, you know, be blind that there’s certain things that maybe you didn’t do so well, didn’t handle the situation as well. And all those  things, I think it’s pretty easy for a lot of people to go through. So if it’s difficult, then you also write down some things that you feel you can do better.

But I feel that, it is about dedicating that bandwidth, dedicating that time to review the things you’ve done well — three things. Just think very right, write these three things and then post online and thank the world for 2020. 

And on the journey of thanking the world, right, which brings me to point number three.

Point number three is: I hope that you can text three friends and let them know exactly what they did for you in 2020 that you appreciate and remember, very specific ah. Not just thank them and say, “Thank you for 2020” okay? Tell them what they did that you appreciate and remember. 

Remember, last week we talked about creating, deep relationships that you feel safe. And so one of the ways to go about doing this right, is to tell people what they do good for you and tell people what they do that you don’t really appreciate. So this is the idea of drawing boundaries. Also very established idea. If you have no idea about this, just Google search, “what is a boundary.”  Learn to draw boundaries. So this is a way of training people around you also, right? And if you tell them that, “Hey, this is what I appreciate of you and hope you can do more of it,” you know, eh, that’s a good way, right? Because you, you let them know what you actually like.

And, you know, humans are humans. They want to continue to do better for you also, if they feel that they appreciate your thoughts. So I feel this is a good way to go about recognizing the people around you, letting them know how to be a better friend. And also when you say that, right, usually they’ll reply you what they appreciate also. You can learn to be a better friend that way. All in all, people appreciate that you remember, people appreciate that you recognize them. And in the process of recognizing them, you also have to review some of these good memories. And hey, it’s a great way to end the year reviewing all these good memories.

Especially for this year, right. When there’s so much struggles, I’m sure a lot of people have done special things that you’ve not thought off. You never thought they would do it. And, yeah, just let them know they’ve done a good job and they matter, end in that process, enjoy and review it.

Ultimately it’s about achieving better friendships, and also recognizing that you don’t live solo on this world, that everybody does something for you and you do something for others. And we’re all kind of connected in many, many levels. So, yes, there are many ways to review your year. If you have something else, definitely drop onto the Telegram group and just kind of share with me how you will review your life, right. And review 2020 specifically.  

So to sum up today, I’m going to recap these three powerful practices to review 2020. Number one is gratitude journaling. Essentially is to write down what you are grateful for. “I am grateful for something,” and this is important because it helps you recognize that, okay, all these things is actually, what you enjoy, what you’re grateful for, and also helps you get centered and just kind of appreciate what has happened. 

And number two is write down three things that you’ve done well in 2020 and publish on social media. Because, um, like I said, it’s very easy to be critical of yourself. I think more people are like that rather than being ignorant, like “Oh, everything very good mah”, no, more people are very critical about themselves. So I want you to dedicate special bandwidth to write down the things that you have done well, and to me, I’ve done well because I became a circuit baker. So as simple as that, does not have to be like, I changed the world, I got promoted. nah, it’s fine. Just do something that you feel you’ve done that you’re proud of and that you’re willing to share. Um, and if you’re going to do that, tag us at The Financial Coconut. 

And number three is to text three friends and let them know exactly what they, did for you in 2020 that you appreciate and remember. The idea is to recognize your friends, let them be better friends and let yourself be a better friend. And of course, you know, spread some love and appreciate that they did all these good stuff for you. Of course, three is a reference number, you don’t need to stay at three. If you want to send to more people, good stuff. Kudos, go ahead. Spread some love. 

So ultimately I think this year has been wild, I hope you give yourself a pat on the back because whatever happened has happened and I hope you learned something useful today, see ya.

Hey, I hope you learned something useful today and truly appreciate that you took time off to better your life with the Financial Coconut. Knowledge is that much more powerful, interesting when shared, debated, and discussed. I hope you would share what you’ve gained with people you love, and I want to hear from you. Give me some questions and help me along with building a community of financially savvy coconuts. I hope together we can fulfill a curious mind and a desire for clarity. Join our community Telegram group, reach out to us on Facebook and Instagram, sign up for our weekly newsletter–everything is in the description below. If you enjoyed the podcast and if you want to keep us growing and stay independent, do buy us a kopi at ko-fi.com. With that, have a great day ahead, stayed tuned next week, and always remember: personal finance can be chill, clear, and sustainable for all.

Test test. Okay, that was good. I loved it, in the sense that I really enjoyed doing that episode because uh… I have to practice all these things also, right. [Laughs] So when I’m practicing them, I appreciate it. It helps me to kind of see the world for what it is, the situation for what it is, and be more centered and be more ready for next year.

So I hope these practices are some stuff that you can do. And just to wrap up the year, next year, we will have a lot, a lot more content. We’re going to double content on the feed. So you will hear my monologues every Tuesday. And you’ll hear our interviews with different people every Thursday. And I hope it’s going to help you further empower your life.

Of course, you may not enjoy every topic, but if you enjoy certain topics, hey, let us know so that we can do more for you. And of course, if you feel that you have some interesting things to share, definitely reach out to us, email to us@financialcoconut.com, hello@thefinancialcoconut.com. So then we can discuss and see how to have you come on the show and talk about different aspects of personal finance and different aspects of life.

Ultimately, I want you to know that I appreciate you guys, and I appreciate that you tune in every week. And of course, for a lot of listeners that have met up, hey, it was real fun meeting you guys this year. And next year, okay, as things get more settled down, let’s try to organize some meetups so everybody can have fun, you know, and just kind of physically interact and be in the same space and just kind of talk about life and talk about personal finance.

Okay, see ya next year!