The ten-year challenge has been one of the most interesting trends on the internet this year. It was both hilarious and enlightening; taking us down people’s past to see what was and what isn’t anymore. Or in the case of the ‘vampires’ what was and still is. Lol. #blackdontcrack.
Still in that mood; I’ve shared a few things I learned from the challenge.
The Glow Up
I feared growing up because I didn’t want to look old. I really believed those were my best-looking days. Now I cringe looking at my pictures from ten years ago. Despite tough times, the good, the bad and the ugly, I look way better now, and it seems the same for other people too. So, ladies, the glow up is real and I’m confident that in the next ten years, no matter what life throws our way, we will come out slaying.
Times Flies
Use your time wisely. Whatever you want to do, do it now. We hear this all the time and sometimes you just need a reality check to make those words more real to you. This ten-year challenge was that reality check. I looked at pictures going down memory lane and all the things that had happened in that time frame. All the things I had procrastinated doing and the others I had given up on too soon. Ten years seems like a long time until it doesn’t. Don’t hesitate, apply for that job. Propose to that girl. Start a business. Write that book. Apply to that school. Start investing. You will never know the outcome or impact of anything until you just do it. Don’t let another decade meet you making the same excuses.
Life is Unpredictable
Life doesn’t always turn out as planned, but that is fine. If anyone had told me ten years after I graduated in the UK that I would be living in Nigeria without my family, sweating in Lagos traffic every morning and still single 🙂 I would’ve burst out laughing. Yet here I am. Life can be a rollercoaster, with many unexpected turns and you may have a plan A to plan D and all may fall through. You’ll still be fine. So, you may have a ten-year vision for the next decade but if it doesn’t work out as planned, that’s fine, enjoy the journey. It’s more about the journey than the destination anyway.
Evolve/Grow
One of the funniest and ironic pictures from the ten-year challenge was the one that depicted PHCN/NEPA. The two images placed side by side were the same, dark! Meaning we’re still suffering the same lack of electricity as a nation after ten years— no improvements. Thankfully, this does not have to be you. Let it not be said of you that you didn’t evolve or grow, or there was little or no improvement; still the same hot-tempered, uncouth, stubborn, lazy etc., person. Can you look at your pictures side by side and proudly say the person in the 2019 picture has grown and intends to grow even more in the next ten years? Have you learnt something new that you applied to your life to make it better?
I wouldn’t change a thing about these past ten years because these experiences made me wiser and stronger. They made me what I am today. I look back with no regrets and you shouldn’t either. Cheers to the next ten years! *raises champagne glass*