As internet “humble-brag” memes go, it can be a little hard to take.
The latest social media trend?
Preparing for the year 2020 by publicly listing all your big wins from the last decade.
“Got married, had two wonderful kids, climbed Annapurna single-handed, developed a success gene therapy for a deadly disease, won three pageants and home-cared for over 200 abandoned Shih Tzus at my non-profit refuge.”
OK, we made that one up. But there are plenty out there that, in additional to being life-affirming to their authors, can have the opposite effect on readers.
“Found a career that makes me feel fulfilled. Met my husband and bought a beautiful home together and a new car. Lived my dream of being a cast member at Walt Disney World, which changed my life forever.”
Or this: “If you asked me a decade ago if I’d be running my own business before the age of 30, I would have laughed at you. Fast forward to 2019: I’m in my third year of freelance consulting & writing and it’s been my BEST year yet. See some accomplishments here ==>” (List of accomplishments removed for brevity’s sake.)
Congratulations, of course, to those who have achieved many successes.
Others have a more practical, experiential take on the whole concept: “Instead of tweeting out my accomplishments of the decade, I’ll remember some of the best things I ate this decade: Oaxacan mole negro, Chiles rellenos from a market in Coyoacan, Salvadoran tamales de elote tostado, Chicken soup from that one soup stand in Cusco, Peru.”
Still others saw the opportunity to poke a little fun at the whole concept: “Married the love of my life. Had a son that I love so much. Quit tobacco. Framed several people for murder and started a large money laundering scheme. Bought a home.”
But maybe you don’t feel like being part of the self-praise and affirmation parade. Maybe you’re not in a position to make a super-list all your own. There are plenty of people who are with you, to the point of making their own lists, where they point out that the fundamental win of the last 10 years was simply making it through the time any way they could.
Maybe you fought your way through the last decade. Maybe you made hard decisions and struggled for small wins. And maybe seeing endless lists of the big accomplishments of others makes you feel small or insignificant.
Don’t let it.
The nice thing about the way we look at the New Year is that it offers, at least in a small way, a clean slate, a place to at least have hope.
2020 begins at midnight.
Look up, up, and ahead.
Draw your future next year, and forget about writing down your past.