I belong to an online socio/political group of 200,000+ women, and Monday morning, a member posted a question her friend had asked: “Please brag to me about a thing you did in 2020 that you’re proud of.”

At around 8:30 am, there were under 100 responses. By 10 am, there were over 600.

The answers were as diverse as the members. There were women who had made and donated masks, front line workers fighting the pandemic, families who had adopted pets, some who had opened their homes to children in foster care. Some were COVID survivors. There was a woman who’d finished her first book, one who had innovated strategies to keep a women’s shelter open, some who had bought and begun remodeling homes. One 56-year-old single mom had finished college as her daughter finished eighth grade. Some had dealt with job or family loss, some with cancer or mental health issues. Others had run for political office or voted  for the first time. Some were educators who learned to teach online, others who launched successful pandemic-era businesses. Many donated time, money or food to those in need. Some were proud they had lost weight, begun reading more, started exercising or given birth (wearing a mask!). All were testaments to the fact that every person has had to find a core of strength to deal with 2020 in his or her own unique way.

The media tends to focus on fires rather than those working to put them out. Through the eyes of the 6 pm news, it’s very easy to see 2020 as a complete and total  “Dumpster fire.” And I will not dispute that it was.

But out of the ashes, a phoenix often arises. If you shift your perspective slightly, and think about how more people came out to vote than ever before in spite of the pandemic, that a vaccine was developed in record time, that a civil rights movement emerged shedding a light on racial inequity and financial disparity, that neighbors and friends stepped in to help each other, or what YOU personally have done this year in the midst of a pandemic (I’m betting you have lots to be proud of, so I challenge you to record your accomplishments for posterity), it has been a year of achievement amidst adversity.

While few will be sorry to see the end of 2020, let us leverage our achievements of giving, creating, voting, and innovating to carry them forward into 2021 and beyond, building on the strengths we have found this year.

I wish you and yours a bright and joyful New Year, and an empowering 2021.

Written for the December 31 issue of the free weekly newsletter from Beyond the Nest.