2018: THE YEAR OF STRESSING LESS
I have spent the first month of 2018, mapping out my thoughts and putting things in perspective for the year. Not just in my personal life, but also in relationships, work, money, TAC, family, etc etc. As I shared in my 2017 review here, there was a big shift in my personal life that forced me to take a step back, re-calibrate and really think about what was important to me, moving forward. For those reasons, TAC suffered hugely and had to be on the back burner for a lot longer than I had anticipated. But we’re back in business now.
In addition to getting a full time job (which has absolutely nothing to do with fashion or content creation), I had to figure out a way to handle what seemed like a regular occurrence of mental fatigue and breakdown. For this reason, I took a somewhat impromptu trip to Lagos, (watch vlog here), as I had quickly realised that living so far away from loved ones contributed to the feeling of neglect, loneliness and unwantedness I had been battling.
2018 has started on such a great and high note! I turned 25yrs a few weeks ago & didn’t freak out, reconnected with friends & even got a sweet promotion at work. Almost like, I was given a clean slate to start over without the factor of anxiety and worry. For this reason, I have decided to not make any concrete plans for 2018. Are there things I’d like to achieve? Definitely. But will I worry myself into another unhealthy mental state? No.
This year, I’m ditching the belief that to be successful, I have to plan months ahead, have a defined vision board, achieve a million things and be in a million places at the same time. I have come to realize that my definition of success doesn’t involve sleepless nights, missing important milestones in my loved ones lives or worrying over things I have no control over. Yes, setting concrete goals ahead with timelines is great, but the the feeling of unfulfillment I’ve found myself battling when I don’t achieve said things in a certain time frame is not worth it to me.
I simply want to live life & enjoy every moment that comes with it, I want to travel more & experience other cultures, I want to be better at my job (as opposed to hating it because I’d rather be a travelling nomad), I want to be a better sibling, friend & daughter. I am not disputing the fact that there will be challenges along the way, but I never want to be the girl that just exists, for the purpose of chasing the next idea of happiness/goals. Not anymore.
Seeing as we are already one month into the year, I figured to ask without the pressure of “new year resolutions”, what are some of your goals for 2018?
Till next time,
A.R.E
xx
Nenz
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See your gorgeous face. I stan!
My new year goals can be summarized in 2 hashtags. #Choplife2018 and #Livefree2018.
A large part of Live Free means that I own my life choices and I unlearn shame. I realized that I have been walking around with so much shame. I have decided to drop the shame, simply for the reason that it is heavy.
Alma
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Girl!! Growing up in Nigeria really makes us grow up with so much unwarranted shame, it’s ridiculous. I can’t wait to see you blossom this year beyond your imagination!
xx
T.W
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Well said.
Looking forward to witnessing your growth this year.
Some of my goals this year include being patient with my family and friends, pushing my creative boundaries and having a lot more financial responsibility.
Thanks for putting this out! Here’s to 2018.
Alma
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Thank you for reading! I can’t wait to share my growth too. That’s a really good goal, I generally don’t have a lot of patience so maybe I should take a page out your book.
Hope to see you on TAC again..
xx
Ijeoma
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Girl you are the realest! All the hullabaloo abou new year, goal setting, resolutions can be overwhelming. Last year thought me that even if you have plans for your the year, remember the year also has plans for you. So as long as you know yourself, take your chances and choose happiness, the dots will connect in your favour.
Looking forward to a great year for us all. Congratulations on your promotion too.
Cheers
http://www.ijefinelivin.com
Alma
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Perfectly said!! Thank you for reading..xx
Oyindamola
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Thank you so much for this! This is literally my life at the moment and I just needed to hear this from someone and know that I am not the only one feeling this way and I am not a crazy person. Thank you Alma!
Vanessa
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Congratulations on your promotion….. I feel the same way about writing all these things and thinking that you need to do 101 things at the same time. This year I’m living my best life. I’m taking each day as it comes without loosing focus on what is important to me/makes me happy.
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[…] away, letting my hair down and living carefreely ignites my soul. In accordance with my motto of stressing less in 2018, I took my first trip of the year to mark the end of the first quarter and reflect on all I had […]
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