4,192 things worth reminiscing this year - 2024 Reflections
And 2,035 things worth remembering...
For some days now, I’ve been swimming in an overwhelming mix of anxiety and excitement. Just yesterday, I sat quietly in the dark, and I began to scare myself, then I pleaded with my mind not to dare myself. Then I dared myself. After which I needed to soothe myself, pacify myself.
So I ended up in the garden trying to cool myself and touch grass, as they say. Luckily, I have plenty of grass to touch, even though there’s dog poop on it.
The excitement? Ha! That comes from painting the picture of the year to come, 2025. And the anxiety? Ha! That comes from knowing the mountain of work it’ll take to bring that picture to life.
But let’s leave 2025 and reflect on 2024 because we can’t have a newborn and suddenly forget the existing child.
Normally, I’d have written a 2024 reflection days ago, but time hasn’t been my friend. Writing takes mental effort, and these days, I seem to have none to spare. But I’ve forced myself to sit down and write this on New Year’s Eve, as I believe reflecting on the year gone by is a powerful way to reminisce, and appreciate the wins and the lessons.
So here we go… 6,227 things worth mentioning in 2024.
2024 started with big plans. My wife and I sat down and came up with all these big 2024 moves. But life had other plans, and we didn’t even count more than a few sunsets before all the plans became wishes and dreams.
A bundle of joy…
The year came with a bundle of joy that gave me a reason to slow down and ten reasons to go faster. An entity that gave me a reason to soften up and ten reasons to go harder. Someone so small yet so powerful, she gave me the definition of the purest form of love, responsibility, and motivation.
At times, I’d be lost in work, pissed off, then suddenly remember that I have a little girl, and smile at myself… like I’ve just found $2billion on an old bookshelf… like I just discovered a secret no one could tell… like I just heard a melody played on heavenly bell… Like I asked God for a dozen, and he gave me twelve… See… it’s like 2024 whispered to me, “Hey, fella… all is well. But here’s your true wealth”.
Not me rhyming again; I just can’t help it!
This year, I realized that pregnancy and childbirth are grossly underrated endeavours. For those who say they don’t want kids, I now get it, to an extent.
And yet, this year, I realized that nothing beats the joy of having your little one smile at you… especially when they look like you, the love will grow with everything they do... their giggles will make you think the sky is blue... and make you want to sit back thinking that your dreams have come true…. then you realise it's just a start, something you never knew... But you're inspired and highly motivated to become the best version of you.
Oh no! Am I rhyming again? These rap songs I’m currently listening to keep putting me in the rap god mode.
I digress.
Books, audiobooks and audible…
This year I read some books. I believe my ideas are limited by what I know, and what I know is dictated by what I read, what I watch and where I go. I prefer to watch for entertainment or secondary activities, and going to places happens to be one of the things I love to hate. So, I found reading to be an introverted way to unlock new perspectives. My standout read of the year was Pregnancy for Men by Mark Woods. Thanks to Mr Johnson for gifting it to me.
Still on reading, this year, I realised I could read more books by using audiobooks, which made “reading” so much easier.
It would have been difficult to create uninterrupted time to sit down and carry a physical book, which may seem like walking miles for water when there’s a tap right next to me—effortful but ultimately inefficient.
With audiobooks audible, I could listen to a strange voice read me some books all day, making multitasking meaningful. I only had to reduce my consumption of Afro Beats a little and replace it with some audiobook. Despite, I still jammed Asake for 8,237 minutes (according to Spotify).
Another book that left a mark on me was The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength by Jennifer Kahnweiler. In fact, it inspired me to someday write a book, and probably title it “The Confessions of an Introverted Bad Guy”,
or “The Baddest Introverted Guy - Silent Moves, Big Doings”,
or “Introvert - For Dummies”,
or “Talk Less, Earn More - For Introverts”
or “Why You Should NOT Be An Introvert”.
I’m still thinking about the title, and then I’ll think of the idea.
A good boy, and a piece of shit…
This year, I made a lot of people happy… because I’m a good boy.
And this year, I pissed off a lot of people, because I’m a piece of shit. Yeah, it be like that sometimes. What’s life without balance?
Dudu Osun for the win…
This year, I concluded that corporate beauty products are just pure scams. All those fancy Sephora products that you have to layer three times before you sleep? Useless. I switched back to my local Dudu Osun soap for every part of my body; no difference. Then I realised our bodies are designed to thrive without all the extra complications.
Taking it easy…
This year I concluded that life is easier in short sleeves and work is easier if I make it feel like a short leave. I realised my stress faded away when I learned to trust the process and believe, and that since I’m not the main character in an action movie, not everything needs to be achieved. I realised that sometimes, it’s okay to reprieve, to catch a breath and let oneself grieve. I realised that even the easiest goals can deceive, so it’s alright to take a pause, look at peace of mind on the tab of life and press "receive".
Not my problem…
This year, I doubled down on delegation, which is something I used to struggle with - finding it difficult to leave problems for others to solve. Thanks to a quick therapy that flipped the script. And now, when people tell me about a problem, I just ask them, “Ha!!!! So what’s your proposed solution?”. I call it uno reverse, gbam!
It’s a wrap…
And as I sit here, listening to Thank You - By Emtee, while drinking cold garri with salmon fish. I reflect on a year that was both overwhelming and fulfilling, and in this moment, I’m satisfied with my situation, and I’m only filled with gratitude to God.
Although the year did come with its challenges, that’s fine, because life is designed to suck, and each year will make you cry, or attempt to, but I’ll survive and tell the story at the end of it, the question is, will you?
Tomorrow is a new day. And it’s day one.