Did It Count?

Oh yes, it's that time of the year again, where we have to evaluate if that gym membership we paid for in January was fully utilized, or if it was just another investment gone to waste. We set resolutions at the start of this year, and the time to account has come. Did you buy the thing you wanted, or did you spend all the money on masks?🤭

First off, if you're reading this, pose for a second and thank God that you're alive. Many haven't made it and some are still fighting for their lives. Today, more than ever before, we need to be grateful for life, good health, family and for the 'little' things in life. At least the past two years have taught us this.

At the start of the year, I intentionally set out to grow my capacity in order to lead better and be of greater value in the few areas I was placed. Little did I know I would be called to lead in more areas than ever before. This proved to be my greatest challenge of the year. In some of the roles I took on, I underestimated the workload, only to get in and feel the weight. In one of the roles, I only offered to support the leaders, but your guess is as good as mine, it was beyond what I imagined.

Leading in these areas meant; building structures, creating systems and building the capacity of the people I work with on these different projects and assignments. I can confidently say that more than once, I felt like quitting, but I never did. I remember rehearsing the exit conversation with the person that had appointed me to one of the roles, fortunately, I never got to have that conversation. Looking back now and seeing some of the fruits of the hard work and commitment that my team and I put in, I'm grateful for having persevered through it all. It also wasn't just about struggle and toiling, I had some pretty good times, met some amazing people and learned a whole lot.

One of the skills I wanted to nurture this year, was writing. I set a goal to write at least one article a month. Guess how many I wrote. Yes, you're right, NONE, at least not before this one. One month became two, two became three and the trend continued for eleven months, luckily, eleven months have not become twelve.

If I'm being honest with myself, I wasn't intentional and never followed through on this. Amidst all the seemingly, and indeed more important deliverables, writing always took a back seat. I vividly remember sending it to the bottom of my to-do list every single month.

My writing workflow and structure is also greatly influenced by my perfectionism. Because of the need to produce a perfect piece, I find myself cross-checking every detail and overthinking even the smallest things, talk about analysis-paralysis 🙈. I therefore often experience writers' block. This is something I'm learning to address, though. I will surely be and do better starting now, and I hope I can be held accountable for this.

It's no doubt that every year comes with its challenges and 2021 wasn't short of these. Even with such shortcomings, I remain grateful for the lessons, the people I met, the things I created, the moments I created, the life I lived and the impact it had on everyone I crossed paths with this year.

My hope and prayer is that you'll remain alive to your shortcomings, but even more, be grateful for the wins and live each moment without regret, working to be a better version of yourself today, tomorrow and for as long as you live.

Blessings.