Personal Lessons from 2014

I can't believe the year is almost over! 2014 has been a really eventful year that got me thinking so much and sorting out the essence of life and the way forward. It has been full of highs and lows, but there have been many eureka moments.  I thought I would share a few life lessons I am so happy to have learnt during the course of the year, and which I suppose have helped make it such a memorable year.

Life is worth living! You can't believe it but I doubted this statement on so many occasions during the year. My firm conclusion is that there is so much to live for. And I mean really living, not merely existing. However, discovering for myself what living life to the fullest meant or should mean to me was the big inquest. It was worth it. In the end, I was struggling to manage my calendar with my newly found interests and plans.


What is good for the goose is not always good for the gander. Judging your life by what the society or others expect can be difficult. We are all different and very often our lives take different paths. I think I have managed to gradually accept that there is no right way. What works or has worked for others may not work for me. Researching and going out and meeting a wide variety of people has taught me that there are no standards to live by. Just find what works for you and stick to it. 

Being yourself can be a battle. Very often in a time of doubt, people advise you to just be yourself. However, I have come to discover that this can be one of the most difficult things to achieve. We are all conditioned and expected to behave in certain ways, and we often meet with strong opposition whenever we want to be original. It is however something worth fighting for. What is the point living your whole life being who you are not or want to be? The secret I have discovered is to create the space to be myself whatever it takes.It requires bravery!

You can apply project management to your life. People make things happen. There was a time I waited, wished, prayed and hoped certain things happened. I have learnt it doesn't work that way. And that includes having fun especially. I have learned to plan my week and month just as you would plan a project. This involved setting the ultimate life objective and selectively populating it with activities that lead to the achievement of the set goals. It also entailed tracking the key milestone. It is really amazing to admire a written life plan and see that I am not just a wanderer.Someone said the best way to predict the future is to create it.

Network is the new community. The community is there as a support us. No man is an island.  In the modern world, however, the community is hardly geographical nor in your locality. It is the network of people who help you meet your needs. The needs can be anything from emotional to informational. You just need to go find them wherever they are. There was a time I thought the way you make friends is just find whoever is around and look for common interest. The reality of our modern world is that physical proximity is not the what matters. Someone a WhatsApp message away may be more useful than your next door neighbour. Finding my network groups has made a huge difference.

Opening your mind can set you free. During the year, I had time to reflect and question everything I was made to believe or just believed on my own. Asking questions and seeking answers are two things that really make life exciting. It is especially amazing to recognise that it is precisely inquisitiveness that brought human civilisation so far in term of science and technology. There is so much out there to learn, and they open your eyes and mild to see and imagine the world differently.

Remind yourself of the things that made you feel good. It's so easy to forget what we have spent our lives doing. However, we have all had great moments. Memorabilia in the form of pictures of people, places, and other reminders of achievements can be wonderful. I was amazed when I had to come up with a ten-page essay on what I have been up to professionally for the past five years. 

There is so much more I could have added here, but I will leave it here. I wish you joy and happiness throughout these festive season and afterwards.  Feel free to leave your comments below.