Hey! How are you? I know! It has been a minute, and I know you probably had forgotten that your girl Njoki still writes. Heck, I was tempted to forget too at some point, but I’d be lying if I said I did. I have been stressing about why I cannot be consistent with my blogging, until stressing was the only thing I could do- instead of taking my PC, expressing my thoughts and sharing it with you guys, but guess what? Here I am now! The last time you heard from me was around 9 months ago, and in case you’re wondering why I decided to take this up again, here’s the thing. It is normal for most of us to be quite introspective as the year draws to a close- how am I doing? Am I taking care of myself? Am I loving my people as I should? Am I working on my weaknesses and insecurities? Have I achieved even a half of my year’s resolutions that I so thoughtfully set at the beginning of the year? You know what the answer to the last question is? Best believe it’s a HELL NO! Sad, right?

I was to work out for 30 minutes every day, and I did for 4 days in a row sometime in January, and then later, almost only twice every month, after pushing myself, ‘Seriously Njoki, you have been eating a lot of mandazi and chapatti lately. Move your body a little, cos the only walk you take is to the hotel, to get chapatti, and mandazi…’ (I don’t know why my auto-correct is suggesting chapatti* instead of chapatti; makes it look like a cool Italian meal, aye, so chapatti!). I couldn’t stand the pain on my limbs after doing the donkey kicks, planks and squats, so I quit working out, and I managed to convince myself that it is never that serious anyway. I wrote a few articles at the beginning of the year, then later got so many excuses to not write. ‘I will write after finishing the Ascent program I am part of (story for another day) because it requires a lot of my time and effort.’ Then exams came and I said I’d write once I’m done. Holiday came and I thought the industrial attachment was too much for a girl- and here we are! Excuses for the last 9 months. How many newborns have been brought to the world since? I could go on and on, telling you how I have failed myself, but I will not, lest you judge me, and I cry at the realization of how much time I have wasted.

I don’t know about you. Are you satisfied with what you have been able to achieve for yourself? Yes? I respect you for that, I do! No? You are not alone.

I may not have done most of the things I wanted to, but I am very glad I got to read the book ‘Girl, Stop Apologizing’ by Rachel Hollis, and I would tell the whole world that it is the best book for anyone trying to set and achieve goals. I doubt any Homo sapien sapien belonging in the male species would want to read the book, and I understand, because, the title! Thou shouldst worry not, Everyday 24:7. I wrote brief notes for you. You are welcome!

Excuses To Let Go Of

• I am not a goal-oriented person; be a goal-digger.
• I don’t have time; don’t scroll through your Instagram feed for 3 hours a day. Reconfigure the time you have, plan a weekly schedule, dedicate at least an hour a day for working towards your dream, and treat the time as sacred. When something is sacred, you protect it!
• I am not enough to succeed; the feeling of not being good enough will prevent you from proving to yourself that you are actually really good.
• I am terrified of failure; be afraid of never achieving anything.
• It’s been done before; YOU have never done it before.
• What will they think; it does not matter. Just do it!

Behaviors To Adopt

• Stop asking permission; be really you.
• Choose one dream and go all in; focus on dream at a time, to be really exceptional at it.
• Embrace your ambition; ambition is not a dirty word.
• Ask for help; you will need it.
• Build foundations for success; eat well and hydrate, practice gratitude daily, wake up early (this is the catch).
• Stop allowing them to talk you out of it- you know what achieving your dreams would mean to you.
• Learn to say no; if it isn’t a hell yes, then it’s a no!

Skills To Acquire

• Planning; have a starting point, mile-markers to act as guide-posts and a finish line. What would you really want to accomplish?
• Confidence; how you look, how you act, who you hang out with. It all generally affects how you feel about yourself. Agree?
• Persistence; it doesn’t matter how long it takes, provided you’re doing your best.
• Effectiveness; actually do the work. Replace your to-do-list with a results list, create your own productive environment, know what distracts you and avoid that thing and do a personal efficiency audit to figure out where you need to tighten up and shift your focus.
• Positivity; believe in your capable self!

Those nuggets, in that big nutshell, should be weapons in your arsenal. The reason why we start and stop is because our ‘why’ is not strong enough. Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to start drinking 2 liters of water a day? Why do you want to hit the gym? Why do you want better grades? Why do you want to pursue a better relationship with your parents? With your boyfriend? A strong ‘why’ will keep you in check, and it will be the reason quitting will never be an option even when pursuing your dreams seems hard. I will write one article every week because it gives me some sense of satisfaction. It is gratifying to express myself in writing. I will work out and eat healthier because I love my body, and I need to give it love so it can keep loving me back. Also, who knows? We might do enough planks and have a body like J-Lo’s. The possibilities are endless!

I am excited for 2020, and before your pastor tells you this, let me do it. ‘2020 is your year! Say these words after me- 2020 is my year, and no! Not because I will pray the year away and wait for miracles, but because I am going to work, I will be practical, positive and productive and efficient, and I will set realistic goals for myself and reward myself when I should. Amen!’

My friend likes to say, ‘Go big or go home,’ and I am not going home. You too have been home long enough. So go big, or go big! I wish you well, and please spread your love and light in whatever spaces you find yourself in.

Sincerely from my heart to yours. Be well!

This was supposed to be a surprise, but let me spoil it for you. This is the last article I’m writing solo. I now have a writing buddy, who’ll double up as my accountability partner, and I’m here for that. Watch out for poetry, educative lessons and stories, book reviews and everything else awesome. Shall we?