2019 has come to an end and just like everybody else, I experienced it all. I laughed, I cried. I had the ups and downs. I had cause for celebration and otherwise. I had victories and I also failed. I made great decisions and I made mistakes. I am grateful for the great times this year; I am aware of the fact that there are many who envy my life, so I do not take it for granted. I am also grateful for the mistakes and the times I failed because I learnt from them. I made them into teachable moments for next year. However, I also figured someone could also learn from the lessons I learnt, that is why I am penning them now.

Relationships Are Important: I am someone that can rightly be described as a loner. I am an introvert and although I believe many introverts can relate, I feel like my case is worse. I have some of my best moments when I am alone and get uncomfortable being around people for too long. Due to this, I find it hard to keep relationships. I think the reason I have my family in my life is that they are a constant in my life. I have lost great friendships because I just prefer being alone and I have realised that really, no man is an island. We need each other. I still believe loyalty and trustworthiness are the most important part of any friendship and my few friends will always enjoy that from me. But going the extra mile to being around them and showing them their presence matters seem to touch their heart. To be honest, I still have a long way to go in implementing this but I can admit that I have started making changes. And most importantly, I am now aware.

Let Go Of What You Cannot Change: According to a popular saying, “life is 20 percent what happens to us and 80 percent how we react to it.” Basically, this means that our reaction to life is even more important than what actually happens to us, and that is what makes up our life experiences. We cannot control a lot of things. Life always throws its curveballs at different times and the people around us can also be a source of pain. But we cannot afford to let them get the best of us. The best way we can deal with this is to remember that the only person we are responsible for and can control, is ourselves. We can either be defeated or develop a positive outlook, let it go and let life take care of it. It will pass.

Don’t Let Fear Stop You From Going After Your Dreams: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

I heard the quote first in the movie, Akeelah and the Bee but it didn’t quite resonate until recently. Most of the time, it is not fear of not achieving our dream that stops us but fear of actually achieving and even surpassing it. We wonder if we can handle it and decide to stay where it is comfortable. But I have decided that I have wasted enough time playing around. Whatever seed I need to sow into my dreams, I am sowing it. If it becomes a tree, fine and if it becomes a forest, so be it. I am ready to be great, I was born to be great. I don’t know about you. I see many people living their dreams and though I started late this year, I resolved in my heart to not shy away from any opportunity or any work that will move me closer to my dream. I am fine with wherever it takes me. I am ready to be more intentional about my life. I had to take the time to figure out what I learnt this year because next year is another opportunity to start over and implement changes. I wanted to start next year ready to take it on and doing this is part of being more intentional about my life. You can do the same, what are your lessons for the year that you will want to implement next year?