By Maxwell Chalkin, Chief Digital Officer and Senior Project Manager

Looking back to the start of 2020, we had no idea what this year would bring. (And, boy, was it a doozy!)

Strangely enough, way back on New Year’s Day, 2020, we published a blog that proved to be eerily prescient and foreboding. The blog was filled with reflections on how to think beyond short-lived new year’s resolutions and identify a clear “20/20” vision for living and working more mindfully.

Some of the reflections we included were suggestions to:

• Quietly meditate and designate time to think or to clear your mind.
• Simplify by eliminating stuff—i.e. donate clothes and clean up and clear out old belongings.
• Focus on strengthening relationships with colleagues, friends and family members.
• Be present in the moment and find gratitude in present circumstances.

We also articulated our 20/20 vision for our company, committing to be a true partner to our clients, to share wisdom and experience with them, and to listen more, ask questions and be proactive and openminded. We pledged to redouble our efforts to collaborate effectively with our MKP colleagues: “The MKP team is more powerful,” we wrote, “when we work together throughout the process of defining and achieving our vision.”

While we had no idea what 2020 would bring, the introspection included in our 2020 Vision proved to be more prophetic, and more pragmatic, than we could ever have imagined. Our hometown became the early “ground zero” of an all-consuming national pandemic emergency, anti-racist protests swept across our country at a scale never before seen and, as the year draws to a close, the dire consequences of COVID-19 continue to ravage our public health and our economy.

The vision we shared—a vision in which our company and clients partnered and collaborated better—was crucial and allowed us to meet the moment. A new working-from-home reality meant we needed to be even more attentive to our clients’ needs and challenges, and we had to learn to communicate differently and more effectively than ever.

Then there were our musings to “Take the time to clear your mind and just think about yourself [and] your feelings”—a plea for calm and contemplation that came in handy during a time when even the most mundane tasks could be overwhelming. Our suggestions to “clear away ‘stuff’” and “eliminate distractions” also proved to be helpful during a time in which so many of us were living, working and spending an unprecedented amount of time at home among our “stuff.” We also wrote, “Be a good friend. Reach out, connect, listen, be supportive, and offer advice”: recommendations that ultimately proved to be sorely needed in a year like 2020.

Perhaps the most prophetic excerpt of the blog we published on that first day of 2020 was this one: “Seek joy wherever it may come from and be happy for what you have. Try not to dwell on ‘if only’ or ‘poor me.’ Always find your glass half full.” Looking back—and looking ahead to our collective recovery from this supremely challenging year—perhaps this is the most important lesson 2020 had to teach us: Whatever is going on around us, may we always be grateful for the good in our lives and in the world, and may that goodness inspire us to ever greater heights.

From the MKP team to you and yours, we send our warmest wishes for a happier and healthier 2021.

MKP communications inc. is a New York City-based communications company specializing in financial services marketing and merger/change communication.