 Every year in October, I go through a time of deep reflection on my year and journey so far. The timing coincides with my birthday and the start of a new year in my life. This year I am planning to create more space and take more time off from doing some of the things I do.
2020 has been a year filled with learnings and unexpected experiences for a lot of us. With the year that we have had, I decided to take some weeks off from blogging and making videos. The thought of taking a break excites me even though I have been very busy doing things that I love and enjoy. I have been blogging weekly for almost 3 years and releasing videos for a year and a half. Looking back I am really proud of what I am accomplished. I know that to go to the next level, I need some time to do less and reflect. Knowing myself, I know that I still need a plan for the time that I am taking off. On my break I will be spending time doing the following:
Thank you all for being my companions on this journey so far. I am looking forward to coming back inspired and with new energy for the future. See you all soon!
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 You are unique, amazing and a great person. The more you know yourself, the easier it is to see how amazing you are. Especially at times when you need motivation, being able to remind yourself of your uniqueness helps give you a positive outlook.
In this blog post, we will explore different tools that can help you get to know yourself. Check out previous Her Toolkit posts to help you build your personal and professional development toolkit. Why is it important to get to know yourself?
What has been my experience with getting to know myself? Looking back on my journey, I realized that for the longest time I let other people define who I was. As I went through major transitions, I started to see that I did not really know myself. I did not know what I liked, my strengths or my worth. Spending time discovering myself has helped me find new and exciting things about myself. Getting to know myself and rediscovering myself is the greatest gift that I keep giving myself. What tools can we use? Sharing some of my previous blog posts where I shared very useful tools that helped me Know your worth! - ask for what you want and deserve Know Your Strengths - look at all the things you are good at Celebrate your accomplishments - appreciate the great moments in your life Start your Self-discovery journey - spend time getting to know your awesome self Know what you are afraid of - push past your fears and do great things Great Resources Check out my videos on Learning Self-Acceptance and How to get the value from self-assessments. Call to Action What do you love about yourself? Celebrate yourself  To accomplish the big goals that you have in your life, it is crucial to make continuous learning a priority. There is always a new skill that you can learn that will help amplify your success.
In this blog post, we will explore different tools that can help us continue learning. Check out previous Her Toolkit posts to help you build your personal and professional development toolkit. Why is it important to continuously learn?
What has been my experience with learning? Often when people ask me what has helped me get to where I am today, I often refer to the fact that I am always learning new things. Every day, I acknowledge that to get to where I want to be, I need to keep learning. To ensure that I have time to learn, I include learning goals in my yearly plans and ensure that I reserve time to learn regularly. Some of the different ways I learn include taking formal courses, learning from others, learning on the job and studying available resources. I now know that I enjoy learning and get excited when I look back on all the new things that I have learned over time. What tools can we use? Sharing some of my previous blog posts where I shared very useful tools that helped me
Great Resources Check out my videos on My experience learning to fail and Continuous Learning as a Tool to Build your Career. Call to Action What new things are you planning to learn over the next months? How can learning something new change your life?  Being confident brings out the best in us. When you believe in yourself you are optimistic, achieve much more and have a positive influence on the people around you. Building your confidence is a continuous journey and requires being intentional.
In this blog post, we will explore different tools that can help us build our confidence. Check out previous Her Toolkit posts to help you build your personal and professional development toolkit. What does self-confidence mean?
What has been my experience with building my confidence? I always thought I was confident because of how outspoken I was growing up. As I matured and went through some challenges in life, I began to see areas of my life where I was not as confident as I thought. The first step on my journey to building my confidence was to ask myself why I lacked confidence. Some reasons included things I was told in my childhood, negative experiences I had and the huge fear I had for the unknown. My motivation for making a change was mainly that my lack of confidence was holding me back from achieving my goals. I often felt stuck because I did not believe that I had what it took to face the big challenges in life and succeed. Now looking back, I am incredibly happy that I did not let that hold me back any longer. Getting to know my strengths was one of the most effective techniques that helped me overcome self-doubt and be confident. What tools can we use? Sharing some of my previous blog posts where I shared very useful tools that have helped me Build your self-confidence - leverage techniques that can help you become more confident on your journey The power of believing in yourself - take the first step to being more confident How to overcome Self-doubt - remove the barrier that has been holding you back What to do when you feel Insecure - explore practical tips you can take to face your insecurities Know your worth! - build your confidence by knowing that you have a lot to offer Great Resources Check out my videos on Overcoming imposter syndrome and blog post on How I faced my biggest Insecurity Call to Action How do you build your confidence? Explore new techniques What makes you feel not confident? Know the things that affect your confidence  Sharing your story is a very empowering thing to do. We all have our unique journeys and special stories to tell. When we tell our stories it helps us and the people around us.
In this blog post, we will explore different tools that can help us tell our amazing stories. Check out previous Her Toolkit posts to help you build your personal and professional development toolkit. Why is it important to tell your story?
What has been my experience with telling my story? Writing about my personal and professional journey has been a great part of my life over the past 3 years through my blog. For the longest time, I thought there was nothing special about my story. However, the moment I started sharing, I began to see how my journey was unique. Today I freely share my story because it helps me connect with people, reflect on how far I have come and encourage others to tell their own stories. What tools can we use? Sharing some of my previous blog posts where I shared very useful tools that helped me
Great Resources Check out my videos on My Experience Learning To Fail and How to Be Vulnerable for practical tips on self reflection and telling your story. Call to Action What part of your story would you like to share with people around you? Start telling your story.  Our personal finances are a very crucial part of our lives. On our journeys, we make a lot of financial decisions that can affect our lives in a positive or negative way. I strongly believe that we have the power to take charge of our finances and have positive experiences with money.
In this blog post, we will explore different tools that can help us build strong financial foundations. Check out previous Her Toolkit posts to help you build your personal and professional development toolkit. What does Financial wellbeing mean?
What has been my experience with Financial health and wellbeing? My experience with money has been filled with many tests and lessons learned. A lot of the lessons that I had to learn about finances, I did on my own. Growing up. conversations about money and building wealth, were not a normal occurrence. As I have progressed on my journey, making smart decisions has helped me gain financial independence and live the life I want. One of the greatest lessons that I have learned is that we need to continue learning about ways to achieve and maintain our financial health. The ways I continue my financial education is by talking to other people, reading articles and trying new techniques for growing my money. What tools can we use? Sharing some of my previous blog posts where I shared very useful tools that helped me
Great Resources Check out my videos on How to take charge of your Finances and My Story |Taking Charge of my Finances for practical tips on achieving financial independence. Call to Action What are you going to do this month to take charge of your finances? Commit to taking action.  As you plan for the next phase of your Career, it is important to equip yourself with great tools. I will be sharing some tools that have helped me grow professionally, motivated me to try new strategies and make bold Career moves.
In this blog post, we will explore different tools that can support you on your career journey. Check out previous Her Toolkit posts to help you build your personal and professional development toolkit. What does Career Development mean?
What has been my experience with Career development? On my Career journey so far, I have learned the value of taking an active approach to developing my career and learning from my experiences. Some people have a clear vision of what their careers will look like very early. On my career journey, my path got clearer the more I learned about myself and explored different things. Being intentional and investing in my Career development has helped me gain knowledge that opened new doors in the work I do. To ensure that career development is a priority, I include my professional learning goals in my yearly plan. What tools can we use? Sharing some of my previous blog posts where I shared very useful tools that have helped me
Great Resources Check out my videos on My career journey and Unconventional career advice to discover practical career development tips. Call to Action What is the most unconventional Career advice that you would like to share?  As we embark on the next moths, I will be sharing some principles and tools that have helped me thrive. Building a toolkit is one of the principles that has helped me. Equipping myself with tools that will help simplify my life, continuously improve, learn new skills, grow personally, and provide new perspective has been a lot of fun. Especially at times when we feel like there is a lot that we cannot do, I want to encourage you to take charge and do what you can.
This post kicks off the Her Toolkit series. In this blog post, we will explore the definition of Imposter Syndrome and learn practical tools to overcome it. What is Imposter Syndrome?
What has been my experience with Imposter Syndrome? There are feelings in life that come up in different situations and phases. For me, the feeling that I may not deserve to be where I am or that I am not as smart as everyone around me is one that comes up sometimes. Although I know that I deserve to be here and that I have worked extremely hard to get this far, this is still an ongoing challenge for me. Some of the situations when the feelings come up include when I experience huge success, make a major transition in my life or achieve something I have been working on for long. What tools can we use? Sharing some of my previous blog posts where I shared extremely useful tools that helped me overcome Imposter Syndrome.
Great Resources Check out my blog post on Six Tips to Overcome Imposter syndrome and video titled "How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome". Call To Action Do you feel like you do not deserve to be where you are today? Tell yourself that you do and remember all the work that you have put in.  On August 9th 2001, I boarded a flight with destination Frankfurt Germany to start a new life. At that time, I could never have imagined that I would be where I am today. It's been 19 years of many experiences - some good, bad and ugly. Living in Germany for 14 years and now in the US for 5 years, I have experienced and learned many life-changing lessons.
In this blog post, I will answer five of the most common questions that people ask about my relocation journey. Check out my other "Her Relocation" posts for more of my story. Were you scared to move to Germany so young? I moved to Germany when I was 15 years old. Interestingly, I felt very prepared for the Journey ahead. Although I could never have imagined what life would bring, I was very hopeful and confident that I could face anything. Looking back, my attitude was one reason I was able to survive in the early part of my journey . This set the tone for how I approached challenges throughout my journey. What were some of the challenges you faced? In my first year in Germany, the loneliness from being away from my family was something I was not prepared for. My first Christmas, which was also my first winter was one of the saddest ever. I had been very used to celebrating the holidays with my family in Nigeria. The next set of challenges that I faced living in Germany was feeling that I did not belong. It took me about seven years to start feeling at home. And then another three years until I confidently felt that Germany was my home. After 14 years in Germany, I was thriving and then I decided to make a huge jump by moving to the US. I left my sister, niece and close friends behind. It is still hard sometimes to be far away from them. What lessons have you learned so far on your Journey? I have learned many valuable lessons from my experiences on my journey. My top three lessons are the following:
What has been your favorite part of living abroad? There have been many highlights on my journey so far. Some of which include the following:
Would you move to another country? My answer is simple - absolutely. When the right time comes to move to a new country, I will embrace it fully. The great thing is that this time, I will be moving with my family. I am very grateful for all that I have learned on my journey so far. Moving to new countries has expanded my perspective on life. Final Thoughts The past 19 years have been a very formative phase of my life and I would not trade any of my experiences for anything. Sharing my story will definitely be a part of my journey. Watch this space for more on my journey. I am very excited for my future.  Welcome to a new month! It is time to get excited for everything that we will experience this month. At the start of every month I enjoy thinking about all the amazing things that will happen, the people I will interact with and the amazing milestones that I get to celebrate.
In this blog post, we will explore three tips to help us transition to the next phase and make the best of the upcoming months. Check out part 1, part 2, part 3 , part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8 and part 9 of the transition preparation guide. #1: Think positively and be happy Watching the news and observing things happening around us can easily make us worried and have negative thoughts. Choosing to be happy and positive is one of the very important ways to survive these uncertain times. To maintain your joy, you might also need to cut off people and things that fill you with anxiety and worry. We are responsible for our own happiness and positive state of mind. Being happy makes life more enjoyable. Strategies to consider
#2: Enjoy human interactions Meeting up with family and friends physically might not be possible at the moment depending on where you are. The distance and changes in our social connections definitely affects a lot of us. It takes more effort these days to seek out and enjoy human interactions. This past weekend we had a virtual dinner with friends, something I would never have thought about doing before. Laughing and sharing stories with people you like is always incredibly special. Strategies to consider
#3: Don't compare yourself to others One lesson that would change your life is realizing that we are all on vastly different life journeys. Comparing yourself to others will keep you in a constant state of dissatisfaction. When we look at others’ lives, we tend to see the things we are missing in our lives and then we think they are better than us. Personally, I have learned to appreciate where I am in life and keep working on being better on my journey irrespective of what others around me are doing. Strategies to consider
Final Thoughts Let's wrap up this post with one lesson that I have learned: One thing that has kept me going over the past months is, finding joy in the small good things that I experience. I have been very intentional about enjoying the simple things that make me happy. At the end of each day, I think about the things that happened over the day that I am grateful for. Sometimes my list includes going grocery shopping, talking to my family, getting my work done or eating a great meal. This helps me acknowledge that life is good even with everything happening in the world around me. Call to Action How are you going to celebrate the small wins in your life? Find joy in the little things.  If you are feeling tired and wondering where the energy for the rest of the year will come from, you are not alone. Over the past weeks, I have been observing people around me and noticing the fatigue in their eyes. This year has demanded a lot from us all.
In this blog post, we will explore three tips to help us transition to the next phase and make the best of the upcoming months. Check out part 1, part 2, part 3 , part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 and part 8 of the transition preparation guide. #1: Be kind and patient with yourself With the type of year that we have all had so far, it is important to cut ourselves some slack. We are under a lot of stress and facing new situations that we had no chance to plan or prepare for. How you treat yourself during this time is very important. You may not be meeting all the expectations that you have for yourself and that is ok. Be patient with yourself and acknowledge that you are doing your best with the current situation. Strategies to consider
#2: Set priorities and boundaries There are many things that place demands on your time and attention. To conserve your energy for the most important things in your life, it is essential to set priorities. When you know your priorities, you will be able to dedicate time and energy to them. Ensuring that people around you know your boundaries will make you feel like you are more in control. Setting priorities and boundaries are an effective way to take care of yourself. Strategies to consider
#3: Believe in yourself To thrive over the next months, you will need to be confident in your ability to succeed. You have what is takes to survive and thrive. When you start doubting yourself, remember all the times you were faced with difficult situations and were able to come out on top. What keeps me going is knowing that we will look back on this year and be proud of what we were able to accomplish. Strategies to consider
Final Thoughts Let's wrap up this post with one lesson that I have learned: As a community, we are responsible for caring for one another. With everything going on, we need to look out for each other. I am incredibly grateful to all the people who have been checking on me and have made it a priority to check on other people. Call to Action How have you shown your strength in the past months? Celebrate your inner strength |
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