BIRTHDAY REFLECTION: 5 Nuggets I picked up within the last 365 days

1.  You don't have to be perfect to start, you start to be perfect: This is something that I am learning afresh every day, especially with the fact I am the type of person who likes to get it to seat properly in my head before I feel ready. As a tutor, I am now understanding that it's not every time you feel ready and prepared, in fact, most of the time you have to do things because you've got to get things done and because you've made a commitment to be here and show up. So you never feel perfect before you start, you know when the perfect feeling comes, when you've defied the odds and smashed your goals, now that feeling is perfect, priceless!

2. Stepping up to responsibility is not for the weak: I find that it is quite easy to just sit down and just complain about all the wrong things going on with you and your job, pointing out the slip-ups and mess-ups is the easy part. But the power comes when you decide that you know what, I know this is going on and this has happened, but I am not going to let it put me down. I agree with the fact that life is a composition of what happens to you but it's more of how you react to what happens to you. Complaining is the easy part, standing up and taking responsibility is where the work lies.

3. We are wired to love others more than we love ourselves: This is something I have observed to be true. I have noticed that when I make a promise to someone I try hard to fulfill that promise, in fact, sometimes I go the extra mile just to show that I'll always keep my word but thinking about it do I keep the promises I make to myself? When people are not able to meet up with certain things they said they would do due to issues that come up, I extend grace to them but do I do that for myself? You check on your friends from time to time, how many times do you really check on yourself to see how you're really doing? When people are sick in your team, you make sure they are fine and take compulsory breaks to get back on their feet, how many times do you do that for yourself, superwoman will still go to work even if she knows she is not doing well.

4. Never say Never: The trajectory of your life can change in a moment with just one single event, you never saw this coming but then, boom! It hits you so bad. One thing I have learned about stilling this kind of ship is not to wail over how much your life has changed, ask yourself if there are positives in this equation no matter how little focus on that. Just like I said, it is easy to just roll over and cry about all the wrongs in your life but I promise you if you learn to see the positives, it just helps you react better to whatever life throws at you.

5. You get what you demand: We need to understand that we all have options and choices, you could be great or small, your choice, you could be a go-getter or not, you could ask for that raise or not, you could pursue that next opportunity or not you could work on yourself so you stand a better chance for greater things or not. These choices have a price, it's comfortable to stay safe and pick the being small because the choice of being great comes with showing up discipline, and grit even on days when you don't want to be disciplined, at the end we all have a choice to make.