What a year it has been! As we come close to the end of the year, I have taken some time to reflect on how it all panned out for me. I must say, I went through so many ups and downs.
The year started on a good note for me, my career gained so much momentum. I was in the driving seat for crucial aspects of the projects I was engaged in. At the big bank I was working for, my professional growth was meteoric. I was also privileged to have managed to attract loved ones around me in the same time period.
Unfortunately, I lost so much of that in the space of a day. I was jobless with many bills to pay and no regular income. At the same time I had also commenced a very costly project for my personal advancement. Everything was on the verge of collapse and I just didn’t have the financial muscle anymore.
As if this was not enough, I lost a large portion of my savings to poor investments. The worst heartbreak was when my laptop got stolen at the airport; it was a huge blow as this was one of the last few things that were keeping my sanity intact. My data, memories, freelance projects were all gone (yes I know, I should have backed it all up).
I dealt with this heartbreak and embarked on a recovery path. Of course, this was not done the perfect way. There were many casualties along the way, notably my mental wellness. I was mentally wrecked, obliviously. I thought I was fine, but in essence I was not. I damaged so much and many dear relationships along the way. I was imploding, depression is a slippery slope!
One thing though, I didn’t lose hope. I owned up my mistakes and with lots of grace from those I damaged, I was granted forgiveness and a fresh chance to start over. Professionally, I also didn’t throw in the towel, I kept on improving myself. I took the sabbatical as a chance to study and push myself to be the best I could be for my next professional assignment. It was when I was in the abyss that I managed to build an e-commerce platform for a firm that is now reaping massive profits from utilising that platform. I find so much satisfaction in this achievement. Talk about celebrating small victories!
As you can see, it really wasn’t an ideal year. It was full of so many challenges, heartbreaks and surprises. I did not, however, see all this as failure, but as total gain. I managed to discover new strengths that drove me forward.
Embrace your challenges and reach within yourself, you will find the strength to take you forward!
Clive
