My initial draft of this piece was a condemnation of my lack of achievement in 2021 (i.e. every one became a crypto millionaire but I am still a nobody), hence the title.
When I reflected about the past year, first thoughts were how disappointing the year was and how I squandered hours, days and months away.
To be fair, and more importantly less dramatic, I decided to list down the good and ugly of 2021.
Let’s begin with the negativities.
- Most of the time, I could not focus; my thoughts were scattered. I kept hopping from one thing to another without completing anything. I couldn’t fathom why this happened. Visualising what I have done in 2021 is still fuzzy.
- My career derailed. I lost my sense of purpose in the work that I do which made me feel unmotivated and incompetent.
- And that led to my insipid passion for creating content. As seen from my lacklustre posting schedule: In 2020, I posted content almost every other day; in 2021, I’ll go missing for months.
- I felt my brain degenerated from inactivity.
It is tough not to beat myself up for the past year. To revivify, I am focusing on making changes and on buckling down for the year ahead.
So let’s talk about what went well last year.
- I continued to invest religiously – in funds, stocks and crypto.
- My portfolio is growing, albeit really slowly – due to heavy allocation in China equities which didn’t perform well last year. This warrants another post about how the stock market is testing my patience.
- In the last quarter, I got myself a 9–6 role (while others leave their jobs to chase their wildest dreams). Aghast, I know. Luck was definitely on my side.
- I unexpectedly join a corporation that perfectly fit what I was looking for. People, culture, job scope. Till date, I have no complaints yet. (Touch wood)
- Also, I never knew it’s possible to love a 9–6.
We often overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what we can achieve in a year.
In 2021, I neglected the small consistent effort that I had to put in to achieve what I desire. Henceforth, may I find renewed strength and prowess in dealing with my languid demeanour.
To all the nobodies out there, time waits for no man. We will be somebody soon — only if you put in small consistent effort.
2022, come what may.