Timelines Differ

Naomi was beautiful. She had the kind of beauty that would make you stop, stare and bless God for the masterpiece art of work He designed.

But her beauty was not all there was to her. By the time she clocked 22, it seemed like she had already risen to her peak and there was little more she needed to achieve. I mean, if it was possible to! She had it all – properties, money, an amazing job, and a man who doted on her.

Every day, Blessing would turn on Naomi’s social media post notification and marvel at the life Naomi had, while she wallowed in an ocean of depression about how her life had turned out. See, she had put in the work but had nothing to show for it. She was 29 and stuck with a job she hated. Try as she could, she just did not see any light at the end of the tunnel.

Lover of all things technology, KC was an IT Specialist who hit gold with his payment platform. He already had several international collaborations under his feather and the road ahead seemed paved. KC was just 26 years and he was living the dream – the kind of dream a lot of his peers would kill to experience.

JB made a post on his Twitter and was soon swamped with over 100,000 retweets and a thousand and one comments on how blessed he was. What people did not know was that “his” mansion belonged to a friend’s uncle, that he had no job, and that he was living from hand to mouth. And no, he wasn’t 23 as he claimed. He turned 31 the previous month.

Recently, social media has been agog with the hashtag #At23 and I have read through tons of posts and comments surrounding this trend. Under this hashtag, trust me, the good, the bad, and the ugly are quite clear to anybody looking. And lest I forget, lies have been thrown in too (like the case of JB), in a bid to belong.

A comment from one Jay was notable to me. According to Jay, he failed to accomplish anything in his 20s. But currently, at age 39, he was at the peak of his career, having made that remarkable ascent through a combination of hard work, determination, and grace.

One key thing that struck me, however, was the resigned comments from a lot of people. Many confessed to feeling like age was no longer on their side, and that they were running out of time to accomplish their dreams. To this set of people, success could almost be compared to a camel passing through the eye of the needle.

So, why did these people choose to ignore comments like Jay’s and instead dine in the other posts that seemed to bury their esteem even deeper in the mud?

Dear you, never allow people to rush you with their timelines unless you have the same genetic makeup, abilities, background, and struggles. And we both know that no two persons have these. While it is commendable to see what some persons have achieved at a certain age, we mustn’t allow this to cause us unnecessary pressure.

It is okay to make mistakes. Everyone makes those. What is essential is that you learn from them and do better next time. It is also okay to not have figured life out; heck, a lot of people are on this table. However, you must make a conscious decision to take one [more] step every day until you achieve your goals.

Eventually, I assure you that you will, with God in your corner, together with an irrefutable decision to see yourself where you dreamed you would be.

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Love,

Diane.