Let me share with you some thoughts and facts about my year 2016.
The Single Best Thing that Happened
Since 2012 or so, my friend Kevin has been calling me “Uncle Oki”. But in 2016, I officially became an uncle with the birth of my younger sisters first birth. My new nephew, who happened to be my namesake, was my parents’ first grandchild.
The Single Most Challenging Thing that Happened
I did not have a lot of challenges in 2016. But I think the biggest challenge was more financial than anything else. I already knew how much I was going to spend, and so I knew how much I had to earn. The problem was, I had not mapped out a system for how to earn that much. So I was not able to do everything that I planned to.
Nevertheless, I was able to manage myself well with finance. This year or next, I intend to launch a course on how to get more out of the money you already have. This concept will not make you richer, no. But it will help you get more of what is important to you, with the money you already have. So watch out for my money management course coming soon!
An Unexpected Joy
I think this was travelling to India. It was not a planned or expected trip, but it was a chance to leave the country. Since returning to Nigeria, I made it a personal goal to leave Nigeria at least once each year. So going to India (see photos here) meant that I left the country once in 2016. I spent a total of three weeks in India last year: the last two weeks of March and the first week of April. I also left once in 2015, when I went to buy my car from Cotonou in Benin Republic.
An Unexpected Obstacle
I do not remember if there were any unexpected obstacles to tackle in the year 2016. Besides my loss of motivation, I did not encounter anything that I can consider an obstacle. And I am grateful for this.
3 Words that Describe My 2016
1. Chaos: I had no focus in 2016, so things were pretty chaotic for me (most of the time). I tried to do too many things at the same time, and for many people.
2. Drained: I was drained emotionally and mentally. As a result, I lacked motivation for work for the most of 2016.
3. Lessons: I learned a lot in 2016, a lot about myself, people and life in general.
Related Post: 7 Things I Learned in 2016
3 Words My Closest Friend Would Use to Describe My 2016
- Authentic
- Intelligent
- Interactive
Who My Most Valuable Relationships Were With
- Rita Okolie: Rita is the closest thing to a “best friend” that I have right now. The best thing about this woman is that she always listens, NO MATTER what I have to say! We always have interesting and enlightening discussions. We talk about important and even mundane or trivial stuff. Perhaps I never said this, but I love her lots!
- Lara Kudayisi-Emerald: From the founder of The Complete Singles’ Club, she became my friend and even more. She gave me a wake up call on my birthday, to sit my ass up and get my shit together. Thanks Lara!
- Solomon Ejiro-Oghene Ruth: This woman gave the most heartfelt birthday gift I have received in recent times. I will probably never forget how she warmed my heart that day.
- Adeola Oshinaike: More than a few times, Adeola was a voice of reasoning for me. I appreciate her blunt and honest words.
My Biggest Personal Change
The most obvious personal change last year was in the way I dress. I think my dressing improved by 120%. When compared to 2015 and previous years… I dress a lot better now and look a lot better these days.
How I Grew
In the last few years, I have not heard the “voice of God” as often as I used to. It used to be a source of knowledge of the future, or specific instructions. Thus I pray more these days for guidance on certain matters. 2016 had experiences that taught me to always trust what God says, even with no clear reasons. Never doubt what God tells you.
I also painstakingly had to realized that I lacked focus. I wanted to do too many things at the same time, and failing to do so only affected me psychologically. This was a sad reality that I had to accept towards the end of the year. I am just glad that I came to that realization.
The Most Enjoyable Part of My Work
I had no motivation for work for the most parts of 2016, as I remember. So there was not much of it that I enjoyed, unfortunately.
The Most Challenging Part of My Work
The greatest challenge in my work life in 2016, was finding motivation! For several months, I just moved through my days without zeal. Month after month, I worked without motivation and without interest in anything called “work”. I felt like I was in limbo. I felt like I was just existing through my days. It felt like I was just floating and doing nothing tangible. The worst part is that I did not feel bad about it. But the logical side of my brain did not fail to remind me of the consequences of my inaction.
Thankfully, I got some motivation around the time I started working with ChowHub. ChowHub is an online food discovery and food ordering platform based in Abuja. Since then, motivation picked up a bit, but dipped again towards the end of the year. Yet I am convinced that my lack of adequate sleep is responsible for my lack of motivation. That is why I have to fix my sleeping habit in 2017, getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep at night.
The Single Biggest Time Waster
I would say social media was the single biggest time waster of 2016. And that includes Facebook and Instagram. Instagram is just flipping through photos and liking. 2017 will be different because I will audit the people I follow so that I see only things that actually add value. I hope this will result in less time wasted. If not, I might just have to do without Instagram for good. After all, I have been without Instagram for about two weeks now, and I have not missed or lost much.
Facebook also drained me because of the almost never ending notifications. I had to be smart about using Facebook though. If not, it could have been worse. Right now, I do not have the Facebook app installed on my mobile phone and I do not think I will have it there again. Just like my emails, I will check Facebook only on my computer, or when trying to kill time (like on a queue). I also have to declutter my Facebook to reduce quantity and increase the quality of what I see. This will in turn increase the value I get from Facebook.
The Best Way I Used My Time
I did not use my time will, I believe. I did do a lot; a lot of unplanned stuff. I also did some planned stuff too, but I do not feel like I used my time well. So the best way I used my time was probably in helping others. And by that, I mean sharing valuable information, especially via social media.
Since I joined a few Facebook groups, I have shared a lot of information from what I have learned over the years. A good number of people have expressed gratitude for what I shared and I believe I made good impact.
The Biggest Lesson I Learned
As many as the things I would like to do with my life, I will only be successful if I focused on one major project at a time. Okay one or two. lol. This was hard for me to grasp because I believe that I could do many things at the same time. So the biggest lesson I learned was FOCUS!
2016 was a year of learning for me. Let us see what 2017 holds for me.
What about you? What can you tell us about your year 2016?
Please share in the comments section below. Thanks!