What I (think) I Know For Sure

On 31 December 2019, I decided to spend my New Year’s Eve inside, usually, I go out and celebrate entering the new year with friends but I was urging for something different. I ran myself a bubble bath, popped prosecco at midnight and danced into 2020 to classic lovers rock via Facetime. Entering the New Year I was happy, I was content but most importantly for myself, I was at peace.

If anyone was to ask me what my plans for 2020 were I would’ve told you about my travel plans first, with New Orleans (for Mardi Gras) followed by Houston on the list first followed by Miami and LA for my incredible bank holiday summer girls trip with aims for spontaneous trips to follow in proceeding months. I was ready to delve back into my travel bag and life my best carefree mid-20s life. Yet, like everyone else around the world, many of my travel plans were cancelled due to coronavirus. Here’s something that I now know for sure, life as I knew it was about to change.

Finding a balance between home workouts, working from home, cooking multiple meals a day I finally figured out a routine that worked for me to keep and it included one of my favourite pastimes – reading. One of my many lockdowns reads included: Oprah Winfrey’s book What I Know For Sure, a gift I received for my birthday from a friend. Usually, I race to finish books but this one was a special pocket-sized book of affirmations to me. As I took my time reading the book there were many things, I began to realise about myself, from my own personality traits to traits and opportunities I have prayed for and still am actively seeking to be the best version of myself.

Here are some things I (think) I know for sure:

  • Labels are just fancy nouns, don’t feel restricted to be just one thing. I’ve accepted that I’m slightly more introverted than I would’ve previously admitted. Lockdown tested me mentally, physically and emotionally and I quickly learnt how to adapt my lifestyle to readjust my needs best suited to myself. Once realising many extrovert traits and activities were things I didn’t necessarily miss as much as I thought I would, things became slightly easier. The main thing I struggled with was quality time. Though now I’d probably refer to myself as an ambivert to keep the scales at some form of balance.
  • Family and friends mean a lot so why not utilise them more? It seems like one of those cliché things people say to me but catching up with friends and family, reminiscing with those who genuinely share similar interests to you and the chance to recall personal memories is something I won’t keep taking advantage of. People close to me have always meant a lot to me and the people around you will help form parts of your character. They’ll always be the ones who kept me laughing on days I didn’t know how and reassured me through stressful and testing times.
  • Life is a balance of compromise and sticking to your guns. If you have a vision for something the only person stopping you is you.
  • Treat others how you would like to be treated has never been more valuable as a parable even in 2020. It’s really important to communicate effectively with people and be clear about how you wish to be communicated with.
  • Don’t feel guilty for not doing what others are doing, from TikTok trends and constant content creation to starting a new business. Finding your lane and perfecting your craft is most important.
  • Some articles and headlines may trigger you into thinking you’re not doing enough, but as long as you’re following your own blueprint and doing things with an authentic heart then you’ll be fine. Remember the tortoise won the race!
Follow:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *