It’s the end of the year for me – Growvember 27!

2020 has been challenging for everyone – Coronavirus came visiting, anarchy and arson almost became the order of the day with the Endsars protest, but somehow, we pulled through.

Beyond this, I have lots of things to be grateful for, lots of wins to celebrate, and a lot of people to appreciate and tell “Thank you” for believing in me, even when I still had self-doubts.

This time last year, I came across The ad copy for the Rise Summit I attended, and it was transformational and still is.

I had to do a lot of unlearning, learning, and relearning. I embarked on a journey of self-development to better myself in areas where I was lacking. While I’m not there yet, I’ve moved from the point where I was then to where I’m now, Alhamdulillah.

LATIFAT A.

I can’t count the number of small wins and big wins I had this year, and yes, they came with their baggage of tests that almost threw me off my trajectory.

• Is it the goals I made around this time last year that I’ve smashed?
• Or the beautiful relationships birthed from sincere love, collaborations, and partnerships?
• Or the ability to be able to give value to people?
• Or the small home office that I was able to set up?
• Or the fact that I’m alive, and well, and healthy, Alhamdulillah?

These may not mean much to you, but they mean everything to me! Because they’re indications and testaments to my journey of growth and transformation… Alhamdulillah.

I’ll tell you this,

• Invest in yourself if you have the means to because you are your best asset. Whatever value you add to you remains with you for life.
• Never stop learning. There’s always something to learn about, even in things you very well know before. This is the age of digital advancement, and what you know can quickly become obsolete – never get tired of unlearning what you know and relearning what’s new.
• Always plan – know your goals and write them down. The human mind gets distracted by so many things. Even if you desire something so badly that you want to achieve it, if it’s not staring you in the face somewhere or you don’t have a reminder somewhere showing it to you, it will just become like the very many new year resolutions you make but never act on.
• Believe your dreams and goals are valid and achievable (provided you’ve put them through the smart test and are realistic). Elon Musk comes to mind here, google him and what he’s up to.
• Action – work – get started on what you want to achieve, what you believe in. It will get tough from time to time. By all means, take the break you need, breaks sometimes. Reassess what you’re doing and how it’s working out so far, measure what’s working and what’s not, go back to the drawing table if necessary, and jump right back in when you’re ready to get going.
• Give back – See, giving back is a channel for growth, giving back is part of positioning, giving back is part of branding, giving back is Sadaqah (charity). Share and give value when you can, inspire people to action in your area and field. Talk about what you’re good at and how it’s valuable – you may be providing clear direction and value to someone who is probably very confused about where they need to be in their life.

These are the lessons 2020 taught me that I believe you’ll find valuable.

Latifat Abifarin.

November 27, 2020.