Thanks 2022, 2023 Let’s Do This!
1. Put Yourself First
Choosing yourself isn’t selfish.
Instead, it allows you to build yourself and be whole and grounded to have enough energy — physically & psychologically — to navigate fulfilling expectations from yourself and others. But if you don’t, you’ll forget about yourself, and one day when you lift your head from the sand, you’ll feel lost, you’ll realize you’ve been living for others and have no idea who you are, and you’ll have to start from square 1 to find yourself.
But only when you’re full can you have the capacity and abundance to help yourself and others.
As Oprah rightly puts it, “You need something that gives back and nourishes you; your №1 job is to fill your cup and make yourself whole. You’ll be full, so your cup runneth over, and have enough to give yourself and to other people. If you don’t fill your cup, you’ll end up empty, dried up, tired & exhausted, without enough to give, and resentful every time someone asks you because your cup is empty and now they want some of yours.”
2. Sometimes “no” Is a Complete Sentence.
3. The Power of the Compounding Effect
It’s the small mundane steps that culminate in success.
To build one million, you need a million 1s. You can’t start at a million; you start at zero, then 1, then 2, and so forth.
In the same breath, success isn’t a one-night thing, but a culmination of several hours and efforts invested each day, several one steps. Therefore, whatever action you feel is too little is enormous and contributes towards the ultimate goal. All you need to do is concentrate on the most important thing you need to get done now, the next, and so forth. And eventually, they’ll stack up and bring your ultimate goal into being.
Eddie Pinero states, “one day you’ll be an overnight success, and people will wonder, ‘wow, that was so easy. That was fast!’ But it’s hundreds of hours spent behind closed doors while others were enjoying the outdoors. And when people marvel at how easy it was, you’ll smile inwardly, knowing it was worth the effort.” And you’ll tell your story of the sweat and blood it took.
4. One Step at a Time
Building on the compounding effect’s power is “one foot in front of the other.” Reaching the mountaintop takes one step at a time. In the same way, the mountain is made up of several rocks or mounds of earth and not just one big piece of mud.
5. The Power of Consistency
You gotta keep going and never stop.
Only when you stop do you stop making progress.
But if you keep going, you create tiny milestones culminating in the end goal. Like in fitness, your desired weight, physique, or muscle gain only comes to life with consistency. It’s the impact of every single move, rep, and every single healthy bite that teaches your system to adapt and slowly build your desired results.
The alternative is to sprint shortly, take a break, and sprint again. While this makes sense in HIIT, it’s insensible metaphorically. It would be like being consistent only to take an extended break because you think you deserve a break, or my country’s infamous “apologizing to your body.” But then, all you need is a short break, a breather to clear your mind and review your steps, not a long break that stops your efforts. All the long break will do is take you backward and revert your system to its old self. And what will you need to do when you resume? Start training your mind and body from scratch, which can be more exhausting.
But consistency makes your system adapt to the changes. And in no time, it becomes your second nature, and things start to flow effortlessly, sometimes by themselves, because you took the time to set them in motion.
Think of building a Youtube channel; if you post consistently for a month, you earn followers and engagements. But if you stop, your followers stop getting fresh content, forcing them to return to the old and eventually leave due to monotony. And when you return, you won’t start from where you left, but a few steps back.
And in the same way, it’s challenging to continue building a business/progress/personal development/relationships from where you left off. Because you abandoned it and now trust is lost, so you gotta start by winning it back before you resume.
6. Success Is Not Rocket Science
It’s merely an accumulation of mundane daily actions, consistently done, with a focus on the goal and staying true to the plan.
7. The power of Affirmations and Meditation
There’s something about being grounded that affirmations and meditation yield. It aligns you with the universe and your innermost being, enabling you to tap into your purpose and call things into being. They yield vibrations that draw you toward your ultimate goal and what the universe means for you to be.
8. It’s OK Not to be OK
Don’t run away from it…
Instead, accept and feel it; only then can you self-reflect and work on it.
Don’t dwell…
But feel it,
So you’ll know the difference when it’s over,
And appreciate being OK in hindsight.
And most importantly, you can acknowledge and accept that you’re not OK, work on it, get over it, and be free to move on.
9. Money is Not Everything
Well, it buys luxuries, holidays, flight tickets, running shoes, and seafood…but there’s more to life.
For the last slightly over a year, I’ve been out of work, I don’t have the luxuries I had, and at some point, I panicked.
But the simple life is incredible.
Makes me…
Look at life differently.
Realize that hoarding isn’t necessary for many things I have,
Love the minimalist life; I shed a lot of stuff and gave out a lot,
I feel lighter, with less pressure and more content.
This is not to say don’t chase money. But instead, I do it with the realization of the many other valuable things that life offers. I appreciate the value that money gives instead of everything and anything that may eventually even bog me down.
And when you discover value, you’ll learn to appreciate and truly enjoy what your money gives you. You’ll find many other things that yield happiness that have nothing to do with money. Think of rich people that aren’t happy.
A Kenyan song says, ‘would you rather cry on a Range Rover or laugh in a public transport bicycle?” A Range Rover sounds better, but riding in it in tears is no life. Looking at it metaphorically, this is not to discourage luxury. However, you can learn to appreciate the many other things in life such that you’re happy and can still afford to laugh when you’re in the RR. And sometimes, it takes leaving the RR and taking a bike ride to enjoy the outdoors and fresh air.
10. The Voices in Your Head Don’t Go Away
Those doubtful voices…
Shouting voices,
Saying you can’t make it, that you’re useless or not enough, that it won’t work, that you’re a failure, that you shouldn’t take that first step because it’s crazy out there…
They’ll never go away.
But how you react to them is vital, whether you choose to listen to them or not. You have the power to silence them.
So, listen to them, then have a conversation with them and tell them, “Yeah, I hear you, but that’s not the case. So shut up and let me be what I’m meant to be, what I can be, what I believed in before you appeared; the best that there could ever be.” So you’ll learn to silence them, ignore them, filter through them to pick the positive ones, or replace them with others. That way, you won’t struggle to fight or eliminate them; they’ll stay, but you’ll learn to live with them on your own terms.
11. There’s so Much Beauty and Magic Everywhere
If you could just open your eyes to it and see, you’ll be amazed.
We’re often lost in the destination, our thoughts, or distractions. But if you pause for a moment, breathe, and take in your surroundings — you’ll notice so much beauty:
The greenery,
the hush of the wind whispering with the leaves,
the beautiful flower by the road you’ve been passing every day,
the blue sky,
or the grey, gloomy one that holds the promise of a productive storm to come,
the bird perched on the tree,
your breath or the sound of it; the way it fills up your lungs with the often ignored invaluable oxygen to deliver life and the promise of existence…
These things have the magic to warm your heart and make you appreciate life in a way you never do when you’re engrossed in life’s autopilot tasks. They make you realize there’s much more to life and remind you that you’re lucky and alive. You move on with a level of positivity and appreciation that renews everything in you.
Bonus Lessons:
a) “Don’t be afraid of losing people. Be afraid of losing yourself by trying to please everyone.”~Unknown
b) Don’t let your past define you. It’s a lesson, not a death sentence. Instead, extract from it teachings that help you achieve your true potential.
c) Don’t keep putting yourself in uncomfortable situations to make others feel comfortable at the expense of your sanity.
d) At the end of the day, sanity is the ultimate richness and state of being.
It’s never too late to say: Here’s to a successful, fulfilling, consistent, rich, and beautiful 2023. One that you’ll live with a renewed hope and gratification that drives you to be more. And to more life-changing lessons
