How Will You Survive In The Year 2020?

Jack Ma says the year 2020 is not the year to build dreams and aspirations. The year 2020 is the time to think of how to stay alive. So if you asked me how I will survive the year 2020, then I probably have to go back in time to when I first discovered Childhoodspeech or even earlier when I delivered my baby to get me motivated again.

My mission is to impact, inspire and ignite the hearts of the great achievers.

– Hanifa K. Cook

Let me speak a little about the history of Childhoodspeech(r) so you may understand why I now choose to come back to blogging again.

I started Childhoodspeech in 2008 thinking I could perhaps challenge myself to discover the internet. As I traveled into the world of the unknown, I went from not knowing what blogging is all about to actually creating my own websites and spending hours tweaking blogs using WordPress and Cpanel. Well, I have learned a lot over the years. And thoroughly enjoyed the journey.

Stopped Blogging In 2017

I decided to try something different in 2017 and stopped blogging. I decided to focus on social media and started to socialise on Facebook. At that time, I was also the newly appointed President of the SCCCI Mandarin Toastmasters Club. This position had given me the opportunity to expand my skills in media communications.

Three years have passed and many things have happened since then. There is so much to talk about what I have discovered about myself, , the people I have worked with and the new friends I have made. But it will not be possible to write all these in just one blog. So I shall just give you the highlights of what I have achieved. Perhaps, this may paint a picture of what I have been doing all these while.

I shall begin from the end of 2019 and work backward to 2017, the year when I stopped writing on this blog. Then I will come back to 2020.

Looking Back From 2019 to 2017

My mum passed away on Dec 29, 2019. She fell seriously ill in October 2018 and was later diagnosed with chronic heart disease by the doctors.

Earlier that year, I attended a course in Taiwan for the first time ever. I also created my own programme called Speak and Standout (#sow) and SpeechUp Ready (#sur), coaching and training others to speak in front of an audience.

My term as President of the SCCCI MTM ended in mid-2018. I accomplished several milestones during my term and received several awards. Click here to read more.

And earlier in 2017, my daughter had graduated from secondary school and joined Laselle School of Arts. She is now on school holiday and will return to school, hopefully, to complete her third year and graduate with a diploma in music in 2021.

In the last two years, every event in my life has been of such great significance that I can remember the details of what has happened and how I get there. And I can write and tell stories about them and draw lessons from these stories in order to teach about goal setting, realising dreams, leadership and building relationships. These are life lessons that I, as a lifelong learner, have committed to set a good example for my daughter and young people.

Look Forward To Basic Living

At the present moment, I am staying home due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I promise myself not to use this term but obviously, it is now part of everyone’s history.

Staying home is just normal for bloggers. However, we do realise that the conditions aren’t normal. For example, we do not leave the house to take a break, go for exercise, dine out with friends or go for an appointment. When we leave the house, we have to put on a mask.

The biggest challenge for anyone is to discover what to do when you stay home. We can watch Netflix, read a book, browse the internet, get on social media, bake cakes, cook, paint the house (that we can’t do as the paint shops are closed), clean the house (that has to be done anyway), do the laundry, etc. When you list down all that we can do as we stay home, we realise that these tasks are actually essential to our survival. And that can be quite a challenge because we are not used to this.

What To Tell Our Kids At Home

Kids love to play with other kids. So be a kid again. Take out those board games that you have kept away since last Christmas or when they were little. Use the skipping ropes for your exercises, do arts and crafts, play music, sing or dance. Whatever you do now that helps you and your kids go through 2020 will build the life you want to live in 2021 and beyond.

Keep a list of friends who you can talk to on the phone. You still need to have some private time alone to yourself. Do remember to turn off your phone and stay focus when you have private time with yourself.

Kids love to do these: repeat a task, stay silent, work, observe every detail in every conversation and movement, listen. And I have stated in my book all these. So feel free to grab a digital copy. You can refer to them at any time.

To know the purpose of one’s existence on this planet earth may be the last thing to cross our mind now, especially during these difficult times. The only thought that comes to mind is how to survive the Covid-19 pandemic and get through year 2020. And that should be in everyone’s mind right at this moment.

Stay safe and always love yourself first, so you may do more for others.