Sha Nacino Life is beautiful and life keeps getting better and better each year. I know 2020 was such a challenging year for many of us because of the pandemic. I know you’ll agree with me that no matter how challenging 2020 was because of the global Covid-19 pandemic, it was still a beautiful year.
At the end of every year, I look back at the year that was and write down my top lessons and my my blessings and breakthroughs. In other words, this is my 2020 Year In Review Gratitude List.
I did the same for
Gratitude. I live and breathe gratitude. I do my gratitude journal everyday wherein I write down 5 things I’m grateful for each day. That means 1,825 written blessings in one year! Aside from that, I also give thanks all throughout the day.
Imagine how many thousands of blessings those were in 2020!
For this blog, I will share my top 20 blessings and breakthrough in 2020.
Blessing #1: My relationship with God deepened.
I have a beautiful relationship with God even prior to the pandemic but it grew even deeper in 2020.
Because of the pandemic, I rarely went out especially starting March until December. I was mostly home.
Since I didn’t have any place to go to and there’s no need to hurry to get dressed and go places, I felt I had more time.
So I made a habit of spending the first 2-3 hours of my day doing my Morning Routine. My Morning Routine mostly includes spending time with God, reading the scriptures, journaling, meditating, tending to my plants and birds, hearing Mass online, and exercising.
In the evening, I would also usually spend one hour before going to sleep just to be in God’s presence.
All throughout the day, I would also to God. I live in the condo by myself, so I felt like God and I were having a grand date everyday. I had the liberty to speak with God aloud as if I was talking to a real human being. Hehe!
Blessing #2: I felt happier, healthier, and stronger in 2020!
I was consistent with my exercise. I worked out at least 5 times a week. My workout was mostly Walking & Zumba…thanks to YouTube. I also slept an average of 8 hours each night plus 30-45 minutes nap after lunch. Plus, I learned how to meditate daily. I use the apps called Hallow and Headspace.
Blessing #3: I enjoyed loving myself and being kind to myself.
My self love journey only started in January 2019. Prior to that, I always put myself last and sacrificed my own needs for the sake of other people. This year, I made self love a top priority. I also now know how to set boundaries and how to honor my boundaries. In 2020, I really, really enjoyed loving myself and making the child in me happy. Because of that, I felt I became even more loving to other people.
Blessing #4: I started playing the Piano again.
Guess what?! I now know how to play ‘Baby Shark!’ Hahaha! This is so elementary but I am so happy and proud of it because I got to play it for my toddler God-daughters and they loved it. My God-daughter Z asked her Mom to play the piano piece and danced to it over and over again. She loved it!
With permission to post from Z’s mom 🙂
Blessing #5: Beautiful & healthy relationship with my family and close friends.
I am so grateful for my family and for the kind of relationship we have. My brother and I took turns hosting each other for lunch every Sunday. We had regular video calls with our family in the province. My Papa and I texted each other everyday and we said ‘I love you’ to each other everyday.
Some of my friendships also deepened. For a time, I had weekly Zoom dates with my friends. I am grateful to God for giving me friends who continue to influence me to deepen my relationship with Him. Most of my friends are also into learning and personal development and most of them are either authors, speakers, trainers, or entrepreneurs. Sometimes when we have conversations, you would feel as if you were in a seminar or workshop. We learn and grow together.
Blessing #6: The lockdown unlocked the plant lover and homemaker in me.
I grew up seeing my Mama enjoy taking care of different plants. The lockdown unlocked the plant lover in me. Like my Mama, I discovered, I also have a green thumb. I started buying indoor plants in March 2020. As of December 2020, I have 200+ indoor and balcony plants. My tallest indoor plants are 7-8 feet high. I also have pet birds.
I made my home so beautiful and clean, at least in my eyes! 🙂 For a time, I binge watched YouTube channels on home cleaning and gardening. One of my favorites is Emily Norris’ YT channel.
Every month, I also hired a professional cleaner to clean my home. Sometimes, I stand in awe at how beautiful, clean, and refreshing my home is and I feel a deep sense of gratitude each time. I’ve also learned to cook 80% of the time from March – December.
Blessing #7: My business thrived in 2020.
I am grateful to God for His financial provision which allowed me to continue employing my team and hiring one more team member during the pandemic. What a beautiful blessing it is to do what you love to do and work with people you enjoy working with.
Blessing #8: B2B Speaking Engagements
I started the year giving a B2B keynote on The Power of Gratitude for a global brand and ended the year giving another keynote on gratitude to another global brand. I also gave talks all throughout the year. I am so grateful that I get to talk about my favorite topic and bring this message to global brands… and getting paid for it. Wow!
Blessing #9: We launched two books.
In 2020, I curated and co-wrote the book “To The First Woman Who Loved Me” with Bo Sanchez and 42 authors. I also co-wrote a book called COVID with 18 other global speakers.
Here are the links where to get the books:
http://www.bit.ly/WriteUniversityShop
https://writeuniversity.net/p/to-the-first-woman-who-loved-me-ebook-plus-bonuses1
Blessing #10: We launched two podcasts.
In March 2020, we launched The Author’s Voice Podcast and in December 2020, we launched the Joy and Peace Podcast for Catholic Singles.
You can listen to them via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and other major podcast directories.
Blessing #11: I spoke at the Asia Professional Speakers Convention 2020!
Normally, speakers apply to speak in this convention. I am grateful, happy, and honored that even if I didn’t apply to speak this 2020, the organizers invited me to speak and share. I talked about Podcasting and how you can launch your podcast in 30 days!
Blessing #12: I spoke in different B2C online summits and conferences.
Some of the summits I’ve spoken at included Freedom Summit, Summit Talks, Jesus-Centered Life Conference, etc.
Blessing #13: We launched Write a Book Summit!
This was the video version of the Global Authors Summit 2019, a live, in-person event that took place in Manila, Philippines. It was attended by 400+ authors and aspiring authors globally. Yes, my team and I organized it.
Blessing #14: Manila International Book Fair
Our brand, Write University, participated at the Manilla International Book Fair online wherein 10 graduates of The 90-Day Book Writing Challenge got to launch their books.
Blessing #15: HR Summit Global 2020 and World Gratitude Summit 2020
In the midst of the pandemic, my team and I launched two free online summits — the HR Summit Global with 10,000+ participants from 32 countries and the World Gratitude Summit with 15,000+ participants from 49 countries.
Here’s the video highlights from the World Gratitude Summit:
Blessing #16: Father’s Day Concert
For fun and to celebrate fathers, we hosted a Father’s Day Virtual concert.
Blessing #17: Thrive University
We launched my first ever online membership platform for entrepreneurs and professionals called Thrive University.
You can check it out at http://thriveuniversity.club/
Blessing #18: I listened to lots of audio books, I attended online summits, and I invested in coaching programs and online courses.
The fun online events I attended include the Catholic Marriage Summit and National Catholic Singles Conference.
Blessing #19: I started Vlogging on YouTube again.
We put up my YouTube channel in 2017 and its main purpose was for me and my team to have a place where we can save our important videos online.
During the latter part of 2020, I decided to put more videos as a way to serve and reach more people. This is on top of our podcasts, email newsletters, blogs, and social media posts.
You can subscribe to it at bit.ly/SubscribetoShaNacinoTV
Please do and make the child in me happy??? Thank you, my dear!
Blessing #20: Traveled to our hometown for the holidays.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, I used to fly home to our province once a month. Back then, it was so easy to travel. I book a flight, take the plane, and an hour later, I’m in my hometown.
The pandemic made traveling quite challenging. My brother and I applied for our travel pass, then we drove for 14 hours and stopped at several checkpoints, until we reached our hometown. Then when we reached our hometown, we were subjected to anti-gen swab test. Thank God, we tested negative. Still, our hometown’s protocol required us to go on a 14-day quarantine. In other words, my brother and I spent Christmas and New Year in a quarantine facility.
Still, I am so grateful we were able to come home and I am also so grateful that my hometown has a very strict health protocols to protect the health and safety of its residents. This gives me peace of mind for my family’s and our hometown’s health and safety.
I am grateful to God for all His blessings. I love gratitude and I love being grateful. I really believe that gratitude is the key to be happy.
I am so grateful to my team at Write University! So grateful to my friend Marj who volunteered to take care of my pet birds and 200+ plants while I’m away. To have a friend like that is such a beautiful gift!
How about you? What are your top blessings in 2020? Please feel free to share in the comments.
I wish you love, joy, and peace today and everyday!
Cheers,
Sha Nacino
Gratitude Speaker
Host, Joy & Peace Podcast for Catholic Singles
Let’s connect:
IG : https://instagram.com/sha_nacino
YT: https://bit.ly/SubscribetoShaNacinoTV
Email : info@shanacino.com
Website: http://shanacino.com/
Want to be part of my inner circle and hang out with me live every month? Join the fun and learning at http://thriveuniversity.club/
P.S. If you are reading this, congratulations! You survived a challenging 2020! You are amazing! You are beautiful. You are enough. You have everything you need to be happy. Let’s make 2021 and beyond awesome, okay? Take care!
