Last year, I resigned from a job I hated, stayed unemployed for five months, got back into reading and writing, journaled, traveled, found a better job, and slept… A lot.
2022 was a year I prioritized my pace, weariness, and need for healing.
But with all the good things, I also doubted my abilities, regretted life-changing decisions, fell off track with my personal goals, and stressed over new workloads and bosses.
In the process of trying to be a person I am proud of, books remained half-read, responsibilities pushed aside, and blog posts left unpublished—edited and reviewed but forgotten in my OneDrive.
Life is a journey of wins and losses. But even with all the ups and downs, this year was a beginning of a bright chapter that I am still navigating through.
So here is what a year of prioritizing myself looked like
1. Sleep Has Never Felt So Refreshing
Since I was 21 years old, I have been working as a cog in a machine—meeting deadlines and corporate goals that never seemed to end.
And although a young gun, fresh out of college, game to carry burden after burden, my youthful body eventually unlearned running on less than eight hours of sleep and grew tired as the years flew by. I was exhausted to the point when ten hours of sleep a night was too little. Even a week off work and sleeping in led me to Mondays of exhaustion. Nothing seemed enough as years and years of stress weighed heavier and heavier on my shoulders.
I was burnt out.
It took leaving my job and a couple of months off the perpetual treadmill of work for my body to say I have fully recharged from the toll of more than half a decade.
After six years, I can finally say that sleep has never felt so revitalizing and refreshing.
It took me months for my mind and body to heal. Recovering from the compounded years of never-ending stress is no joke.
So here is a reminder to take all the time your mind and body need—just rest.
2. An Ease in Getting Back to Things I Loved
With a better-rested mind and body, I woke up with the energy to face more things in the day. That included squeezing in walks with my dog every morning and afternoon, journaling, reading, and writing.
Doing things I know is better for my mind, soul, and body was no longer a forced effort. Procrastinating about the more pressing things dramatically decreased as a drive to enjoy these things sparked within me.
On top of that, I was able to add exercise to my daily routine—something achievable only after breaking free from the chains of a corporate cubicle and the hours of commute to and from the modern-day prison cell.
Like clockwork, things my heart enjoyed slid back into my life as time freed up and my mind emptied of the deadlines and KPIs.
Sadly, finding another job has affected my journey to return these activities to my daily life. I am still trying to find my balance. There is so much I still want to do aside from my workday. Slowly, I am finding the footing to engage with habits and hobbies that set my soul on fire while holding down a full-time job.
I have high hopes that once I have a better grasp of everything I have to do for work and all the hobbies and activities set for my mind, soul, and body in place, I will walk through the tightrope of this new chapter, chin held high not afraid to get back up if I hit the net.
3. Falling Back in Love with the Beauty of the World and Life
Dealing with people who only cared about themselves, bosses who decided to overlook me, and co-workers who were more immature than primary school children made me hate the world and the people in it.
It was an environment that stirred up competition, gossip, bitterness, and cracks in a person’s self-worth.
The corporate world broke my naivete and brighter disposition in life into one critical and filled with gloom.
Boxed into a cubicle all day and surrounded by the ingenuity of the office small talk kept my pout in place, eyebrows furrowed, and forehead wrinkled.
I admit that the bank has aged me. Not just physically but, in a way, mentally turned me into an old hag who hated and judged everyone.
A dark veil over the world lifted after breaking free. It was no longer so dull and empty. People had more depth than not only caring about themselves and their promotions.
Life is not black and white. The brighter days I see now and the peace I get from sitting and being in nature would not be as peaceful and as calm if not surrounded by the darkness of the busy world we navigate through each day.
So step out, look around you and leave if you have to.
4. No More Guilt in Treating Yourself First
Asserting my needs and wants were foreign to me.
Growing up, I had to be there for my younger sister while my brother lived his own life. I considered myself stuck in the middle of the concerns and accommodations for these distinct individuals. I relished moments when others noticed me validated me or recognized my person.
In the end, I have learned to separate myself from everyone else and learned to accommodate the needs of others above my needs and wants. I made myself smaller so they may take up more space.
Sadly, even with the means to, I refused to treat myself and give myself the attention I wanted.
I could have started writing earlier, got back to dancing earlier, bought a car earlier, and been out of the country more than once in the past six years instead of stashing my money away.
Since I got a new job, I have been trying to change my mindset on my needs, money, and wants. And that goes for purchasing the things I need for work, my passion projects, my health, and my mental well-being.
I am still working on myself. The journey will surely be a long and winding road with the possibility of going overboard.
5. I Can Take it Easy. Positivity, positivity, positivity.
Well rested, back to things I loved, awed in the world, and generous to myself, life did not seem so bad.
Although not everything will go my way—plans messed up, my body succumbed to the weight of the world, and my immunity failed to Covid—there is a reason to stay positive and take things slow and easy.
There are many responsibilities that I pushed aside last year because I decided to focus on myself. To feel better about me.
With the pressure to take these on my shoulder, I can take these one step at a time. There is no rush, no need to dwell on the hurts of the past.
Life is more than what the world throws at us. There is a deeper joy and a wider love than all the shortcomings in this world—especially the shortcomings of the corporate world.
I may have changed chapters in my life, but there are still strings to the past that pull and hurt. Prioritizing myself helped me appreciate the strings that may remain until my last breath.
Focusing on myself has helped me better understand, appreciate and move on. Maybe begin focusing on others, too.
So as this new year rolls on, I am trying to breathe in: positivity, positivity, positivity.
Busyzi 