Looking back: through the mirror to the future
By: Johnson Babawale
Tags: New Year, Metaverse, New Year Resolution, Reflections, Resolutions

Photo by Fran on Unsplash

Your past is the key to the next stage in your life -Rendon Noel

It’s been a beauty-full 365-day journey.

Just like yesterday, I was standing under the roof of CAC Oke-Agbara with Prophet Olowere raining prophecies for the year 2021 as we look forward to the year in prayer.

I can’t bring myself to remember the requests in my prayer points for the year, but I know I was excited for what it would bring.

I had just finished NYSC and my academic freelancing gig was starting to make sense after 3 years of helping students scale through final year projects and SIWES reports.

I had just been introduced to some students studying in the UK through a friend, and I’ve been invited to help them scale the walls of MBA. In total, I have 3 students to work with beginning in January.

All my last savings from NYSC was spent on a generator. My brother helped with getting an apartment. A few days into February, I had more than 5 students to help with assignments and other school works.

Fast forward to June, I had more than I could handle. More than 20 assignments and reports were completed for more than 10 students in different universities in the UK and Ireland. Through the journey, I became familiar with many business concepts, tools for personal development and people management. I wasn’t just earning by helping others, I was learning while earning. It was sweet.

Then came September.

It should be said that while I was freelancing my way through 2021, I applied for some jobs and turned down some interviews. Just for the fun of it.😁

However, there is one interview I couldn’t turn down. I was advised by a friend to apply for a role and I got the invitation for the interview at a very “unexpected” time of my year. The interview went somehow crazy and I almost flopped. 🤦‍♂️

Eventually, I got the job.

It’s been an awesome journey as a data analyst so far. I have met a really fantastic set of people and learnt the way of data. My proficiency in Excel and Power BI has skyrocketed.

But that is not even what this article is about…

When you look at the mirror, it is certain you don’t just look in it to sing praises of the awesome body you have, you also want to see what you need to adjust to hit that perfection you’ve always wanted.

Should the eyeliner be thicker?

Is the tie slanting to the wrong side?

Our reflection of yesterday is a way to make the future a little less chaotic as we live through today.

The future is what we make of it today, that’s what I’ve heard a lot of people say. But the future started yesterday.

Maybe you don’t get it.

See, the job I got was not a result of my success at the interview alone. In 2020, I trained a number of students and fresh graduates to analyze business data with Excel. One of them later got a job as a data analyst with a leading brand in Nigeria. He called to appreciate the role the training played in his new career. Some months later, he called to inform me of a vacancy in his workplace and told me to apply.

His recommendation and my performance at the interview, coupled with the grace of God got me that job. But there wouldn’t be any interview if I hadn’t taken that class in 2020.

That’s how this world works. That is what I am trying to tell you with this article. The year 2021 may not have gone as you wanted it, but you might have planted the seed that would be due for harvest in 2022.

Before you make new year resolutions, I want you to look back through the mirror. What were the things you learnt in 2021 that you can build upon in 2022? You don’t have to learn something new every year.

A lot of people like to jump blindly on every new trend. There’s NFT and Web3 ringing all around now. Before you start taking another course about the metaverse just as you did with machine learning and data science with nearly all the courses on Coursera and Udemy only about 20% completed, take a break. Pause.

What I have learnt so far about tech trends is that instead of jumping around through it all, just find how your current skills and competencies can fit into the rapidly changing environments. Are you a writer? Learn about NFTs, the metaverse and web3 enough to write a Pulitzer-worthy article about it. There is no need to want to be a developer or an NFT artist.

The world has so much to offer. The future has a lot to give.

Leverage your past to realign your present for the future. Reposition yourself in 2022. As we enter into the new year, I just want you to reflect on your skills instead of worrying about the skills you don’t have. Then improve where needed, but don’t pressure yourself to acquire every skill. You can’t do everything, forget what your mom said.

And you know what? Your next opportunities are closer than they appear. Look in the mirror.

And have a beautiful year 2022! 🎉✨