Not to sound cliche but 2021 has been my best year so far, in as much as within the year I wouldn’t have said so cause quite a lot happened this year. From breakfast served in bed to accident and sickness and robbery but what stood out for me was the smile I saw on faces of family and friends, testimonies and moments I shared with loved ones.
WORK
My life has always been wrapped with work, I guess cause I found a different perspective to live from work and people I work with. I switched jobs this year and at first, I didn’t like how things turned out but down the line, I understood why things had to happen that way. Staying at a specific place for a while might help nurture imposter syndrome and other thoughts that make you feel more complacent to the job or people you find around you and you might consider yourself the best or the worst until you step out to a different environment.
I found out I had a lot to learn after switching jobs and at the same time understood how smart I was cause I found an environment to test all the growth I’ve had at my previous job.
I started setting standards for my performance and strife to become better daily.
GOD
I must confess I’m not the most serious person with almost anything in my life. I guess I just have a nonchalant approach to most things cause I know everything works together at the very end. I learnt this lesson earlier on, at some point in life I just wanted to go with the flow but I soon realized that God had a lot in stock for me. I was able to have a more meaningful relationship with God due to the tribe and friends I found around me. God became someone I can talk to not the over serious father our parents or childhood church painted him to be. Although it has been a very rocky ride I hope to do better next year.
FAMILY
I made some promises to myself when I was about 14; to take care of my family and friends in any capacity I can, I haven’t started fulfilling that yet but I started taking steps towards it. Spending time with family can be frustrating, fun and edifying. I learnt a lot about myself and my family and I built a more meaningful relationship with them.
FRIENDS
I have a gift from friends. This is a realization I Have come to accept, every step of my life has been fortified with the kinds of friends I have. From primary school; friends that wanted me to take my life more serious ( I still didn’t) to secondary; friends helped me to have a plan for the future and take measurable steps to achieve it. In my tertiary school days, it has been double the blessings of friends in very few numbers. I appreciate how much influence my friends have helped shape my life and how I see it.
MENTORS
I finally found a new definition of this word. Previously I considered a mentor to be someone I have a one-on-one meeting with to discuss things I need advice on or more understanding about. But now I think a mentor is someone I consistently learn from and the person doesn’t necessarily have to know me personally. Not to say I don’t have a mentor I talk to physically but I have more virtually and even some don’t know they are my mentor.
LESSONS
Trust is a two-way street, I learnt this a hard way and I wish I didn’t cause it was too late when I knew this. I heard a lot of people complain about not having friends or not being able to trust friends especially girls and I’m still trying to comprehend why this is a growing problem in society and I won’t deny that social media has played a role in fertilizing the problem. I believe God wants us to be in relationships with people and we can’t do that if we are not friends with them or trust them.
BOOKS
Kazeem 5 years ago would be laughing and me right now cause I can’t remember reading for anything until 2019 and it has been a wonderful ride ever since then. I now love to read books and it is a very enlightening practice that helps me make sense of a lot of things ( Although I didn’t read a lot this year)
Dear Kazeem, I hope you build on this momentum for the future.
I would be dropping an audio version of this on my podcast. You can check it out here
