Real Talk: Learning Resilience

My dear readers, 

I bring you greetings from within the confines of my school walls. 

My utmost gratitude will always be to my Father, God for the privilege to see the last month of the year 2023. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier because it means I get to go home in a matter of weeks.

Since the beginning of the year in January up until now, I’ve had to dance everyday  to the unending monotonous rhythm doled out to me in my training to be a medical doctor. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love love to dance even though my leg -hands and body coordination will be the first to call me out when put to test on an actual dance floor of the sincerity and depth of my love for dancing. 

But you’ll have to agree with me that if all you did was to waltz to something as heavenly as jazz or throw in a couple break dance with pop music or better still some dope leg work with Afro beats  all year long non stop, you’re bound to get very worn out knees and heels. If that wouldn’t be the case for you, it was certainly mine because I was as tired as tired was.

The very purpose of this heartfelt letter today is to share with you one of the greatest lessons I’ve learnt (and still learning) during the course of the year- showing up.

For the context I’ll like to discuss the subject matter, I’ll say, Showing up is simply being available in the capacity needed. As beautiful and responsible this seems, on some days it’s not the easiest task.

On days when it’s difficult to be available maybe because of spent energy, sleep deficit or even the overpowering desire to just be, an easy way out will be not to show up at all, settle in comfort and offer an apology if need be. 

But the very lesson I’m learning is not to easily give in to the allure of my comfort or the drains of my tiredness. This means that, if all I had to sincerely give for the day was a 10%, I’ll still give it even if i had to drag myself from bed just to do it. Trust me, it’s hard but it’s one of the ways resilience is learnt.

While giving your 30% on days when you’ve no more to give might seem subpar among the 70%, 90%, 100% givers, do not be discouraged because you’re doing the most you can at the moment and that’s what matters.

Normalize giving your best at whatever capacity you can and If you truly have nothing to give (days like that could come), give yourself a recharge/rest 100% till you can give out again.

All my love,

Ifedolapo❤️