Happy New Month, precious ladies. Whew! Can you believe it’s November already? I know it’s somewhat cliché to express surprise but as our people will say, na 2021 don pass like this? Omo!!
Okay, let’s talk serious. Where are my fellow hyper-performance babes? Are you feeling the heat? Are your eyes bleeding from looking at the Calendar speed past? Lol. For real though, the end of the year comes with serious pressure. As per, even your pressure starts to feel pressure. We begin to check our new year’s resolution: what have we achieved? How many of our goals did we tick off etc. See, I am here to tell you, as someone who has recently experienced that achievement spiral: release yourself from that pressure.
I am not saying you should ignore your goals, or that you should not follow through on your plans, no. Fam! Me sef, I’m a compulsive planner so the last thing I’ll do is to ask you to just go with the flow. Also because, it’s great to me accountable. However, if at the end of the day, after all your goal setting and efforts, you could not meet those goals, rather than feel sad or frustrated, why not do a critical assessment to learn why things didn’t go as planned.
My dear, the opposite of success is not laziness. The outstanding things on your to-do list is not a sign of failure. You are more than a 2021 milestone. Life is happening, to the best of us, to all of us. And sometimes it has nothing to do with all the good work you’ve done. Take me for instance, in the last week of October, (yes, just a few days ago) the end of year pressure got to me. But before I gave into the temptation of self pity, I took time to reflect with the following questions:
1.
Could I have done better or put more work into my new year’s resolution? My answer: I have been working on a huge project since 2019. In January this year, I was confident I’d be done with it by December, but I haven’t even gone one-quarter of the way! It made me feel a bit sad, but while reflecting, I realized I did everything within my power. I tried. All I have to do is continue trying.
2.
Could I point at something that hindered my performance or output this year? It could be external and internal factors. Is there something you can do about it going forward? I have a habit of feeling sorry for myself and soaking in sadness when I am overwhelmed. It’s okay to take breaks and acknowledge your bad feelings but stew in it? That’s a no from me. You could feel your feelings but then rest intentionally. That way, when you get up, you’ll feel refreshed. What changes can you make if it is an external factor to take that obstacle away from your path?
3.
Lastly, am I aware that my life is more than meeting goals and achievements? Yes, that feeling of having achieved your goals is sweet, but there will always be something you will want. That project I talked about, once I am done with it, something else is already lined up. Also, this year has been heavy for Nigerians- our economy is in shambles, and insecurity has hit the roof, yet we made it through. So, you see? Appreciate your day-day- your health, friends, family, job, and all that brings you joy.
I wish you a soft and pleasant November!