Àrólé

It’s 3:30am.
My aunt is on the couch in front of me snoring. On the other couch, my other aunt’s driver is gently snoring.
I bet they are both probably glad that I am awake now because I am pretty sure I snore louder than them.
I’m sleeping on a mattress on the floor for the night and I feel so at peace.
There is a Christmas tree to the right of me leaning on a standing fan.
There’s no light in the house right now because Nigeria but it doesn’t matter.
There’s a ton of food left from the party earlier and lots of love around every corner of this home. That is golden.

As I reflect on the year – and it’s been a hell of a year, all I can say is “Thank God”.
2022 was a year I would describe as simply – restless determination.
Before the year began, I was committed to arresting certain areas of my life. I decided that 2022 would be the year that positioned me for the rest of my life.
I had been doing the work in different areas but this was the year that I wanted to properly channel the same energy in all areas of my life.
I became obsessed with building the forever life I wanted – today.

In this year’s review – I’ll talk about certain areas of my life like I did last year (you can read the 2021 review here), how I did in 2022 while sharing the expected scores of 2023. I want to make it clear, I give myself scores because I am incredibly critical of myself but most importantly, I love to document progress and growth.
It was even while reading last year’s post that I realized that I had done really well for myself and had a great year.
I also will be writing a letter to my Future self for the first time this year. I hope to document what that looks like next year too.

So here we go, my 2022 for you.

2022 Goals for Big Daddy Adewus + How I Did

1. Pray More – (I did this)
   2. Touch more lives (I believe I did this)
      3. Be kind to me (Definitely flunked at this!)
         4. Enjoy life (I chopped life last year sha)
            5. Argue less, resist the urge to defend yourself (Kinda sorta did this but more can be done here)

Faith:
I am still not convinced that my Pastor is the man to lead me at my church. I love church because of the communion and worship space it provides me but I am not sure I am deeply convinced in the depth of the Pastor as a spiritual leader.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great man. Really nice guy.
But something feels off – I find myself zoning out when he preaches. I also think that the fact that he somehow works in “tithe paying” in to EVERY sermon is a huge turn off for me.
It makes me feel like he’s not speaking from a deep place of fellowship with God. How are you preaching about loving your brother and somehow tithe becomes the focus?

All that being said, I enjoyed my growth with God last year. I feel a bit wiser and stronger in him.
I still deeply love worship and I joined a worship collective with some other worship leaders in my local community.
We meet once a month to sing and fellowship together.
I also think that my daily sessions with God while working out have been life changing.
I always feel him near and I communicate directly.
It’s so odd to have a personal communion with God in such a public place but I ain’t mad at it. Where do you hear God the most and the clearest?This year, I want to intentionally pray more. Much of my praying comes from worship – which I guess is not bad but people always make it seem like if you are not a prayer warrior like the MFM church, you are doing it wrong.
I also want God to use me more this year. Amplify my impact in the most amazing ways.
Last but not least, I want my life to reflect that I serve a living God. You may also hear me on one or two projects this year. So stay tuned!

2022 Expected Score: B+
2022 Final Score: B+
2023 Expected Score: A

Fitness:
WOW.
If you read the entry from last year, I was just at the beginning of my fitness journey.
Amazingly, I crushed it.
I think I wanted to go down. My fitness journey because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.
I lost a lot of weight in 2013-2014 because I was depressed and heartbroken from a relationship.
But this time around, I didn’t just want to lose weight.
I wanted to change my life – starting with my body. I never went on any fad diets or used supplements. Everything you see is me grinding hard through every rep and pushing myself to the limit.
I lost almost 54lbs last year.
While most of the progress looked like it came from the gym, I can tell you confidently that I won first in the kitchen. Cutting out unnecessary sugars and fatty things was essential for me.
I am not yet at my final form but I am certainly on my way.
Here’s to an even more ridiculous fitness year. Let me know if you want to come on the ride as well!

2022 Expected Score: B+
2022 Final Score: A++
2023 Expected Score: Keep that sameeee energy fam!

Creativity:
Why are we so critical of ourselves?
I was talking to a friend on the phone yesterday as I went through each segment. When I got to this segment, I wanted to give myself a C but then the person added more color to my perspective and changed it.

Last year we had the first video taped episodes of my podcast.
I started my speaking videos on Instagram and TikTok.
I started my food page and while I stopped posting as frequently because of my dieting, I actually did it.
Also 2022 was probably my most active year on my blog since maybe 2019 or 2018.
Plus TheRantsShow did its thing and the annual giveback was another success, so there you go Sanmi.
It was a good year. It can get even better.

I want to make TheRantsShow the most impactful podcast and show with Nigerian hosts and roots this year.
Watch this space.

2022 Expected Score: A
2022 Final Score: B-
2023 Expected Score: B+

Finances:
I didn’t always stick to my budget in 2022.
I spent a lot on trips, travel and time with my friends but I still hit my savings goals.
Part of my goal this year will be to save and keep the money saved. I may need to move things to a separate SEPARATE account. But our goals must be achieved this year.
I mentioned last year that I have big goals and I still do – so diligence this year will be key in all that we do.

2022 Expected Score: A+
2022 Final Score: B
2023 Expected Score: B+

Relationships:
As you get wiser, you discover more of who you are, who you want to be and everything in between.
In 2022, I prioritized my mental health and my place in friendships.
There were some that I cut completely.
Resurrected a few.
Others that I restructured and some that I restricted.

I am still very thankful for the friendships and relationships I have. I feel like I nurtured the ones that needed water and love.
I also learned that in relationships, you can sometimes over water them.
Sometimes you need to tend to the soil with a till and not muddy the soil.

One thing that came up for me in 2022 was that I realized how much I hadn’t been fought for in my life.
I always felt that friends and partners had usually given up on me.
It’s still a few I loosely carry. So I decided that I would fight for me.
To some, it may seem rash or harsh and even extra sometimes but truth be told, I had to look out for me first.
And I encourage you to do the same. Not at the expense of others or while harming others but truly because you have to learn to put you first.
Inverted or not, it is what you put in front of the mirror that looks back at you.
And if you let life have it’s way, it can drain you off the joy you find in people and in yourself.
So yes, 2022 relationship wise required work. It required communication, patience, kindness, honesty and forgiveness.
It was hard but it was real – just ask the scar on my forehead.

2022 Expected Score: B
2022 Final Score: B-
2023 Expected Score: B+

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You are highly appreciated.

WordsOfWednesday

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