Know thyself!

Jacaranda season 💕💕.

Nairobi is EXHAUSTING,let no one lie to you.Living and working in this city is very,very tiring, early mornings and late nights,now that I live here I don't understand why I wanted so badly to move here, it is a case of thinking what you don't have is better, only for you to realise the village is actually much better than this city. I will gladly move back to the bundus just to have the luxury of a 5 minute walk to work instead of a 3-4 hour commute to work each day.

The happiest of lunch hours-Sharon's videos and mango.

I will be lieing to say the city is all bad things, there is a good side, I go to my home everyday and not every 3 months,I see my family more, I eat more vegetables and fruits,I have access to all natural hair products I want and most importantly I am able to go to school to finish my masters that I started so long ago I am ashamed to even say when.

The peer pressure here though! if you are not careful,you will waste your time and money trying to keep up with the Jonesses. Everyone thinks peer pressure is only for high-schoolers and maybe young adults, but at every stage in your life it is there,just that as adults you are more self-aware and are more likely to avoid it. I have never been one to try and keep up with anyone but Nairobi has gotten me worried because of the sheer amount of peer pressure and people trying to create an illusion of having it all.The other day I was having a random conversation, a friend tells me the way they buy accessories for their phone at a certain fancy mall X, I look at the accessory and I know similar things sell at 20% of the price in Isli,so being the good friend that I am, I tell them of this and what do you know they tell me, Isli is below their class!

I am glad,really glad that I own my struggles,my goals and rarely do anything because of peer pressure,also I am hella scared of wasting Allah's blessings on things I don't need. As much as I am an adult and knows what I want most of the times, sometimes( a lot of times really) I stumble, this has forced me to find ways to be better and to be comfortable in not doing what everyone else is doing.Below is my armour, I hope someone else finds them useful.

Goals

As the saying goes, if you don't know where you are going then every road is the right road.Having clear goals and not those big 1 year goals but them broken down into monthly goals will help you to know why you are doing what you are doing and not to fall into temptations.Having clear goals will instill discipline in you to stay on track even during hard times.

No

Learn to say 'No' when someone asks you to do something you are not comfortable with will save your life.

Accountability partners

Tell a few people or even just one person that you trust about your goals.This will ensure that there are people who know what you are planning to achieve and will occasionally ask you about it.This will ensure you don't forget them and in the event you do you will have people to remind you of them.My accountability partner is my mum and she pushes me to achieve even dreams I had forgotten I had.

Watch the company you keep

You are the average of the five people you spend the most of your time with,why not choose people who are like you,have similar dreams to you and are working towards the same things.They will challenge you to be better and will help you along. Imagine having friends who are spenders and you are planning to save, your life will be really hard.I am not saying there is anything wrong with 'living the life', if your goal is to explore more,eat out more, wear designer clothes and make-up then by all  means have friends who do this as they will be great company.

Company extends to things you watch,listen to and read.Depending on what you want most, tailor a lot of the things you listen to,read and watch to be within this.

Celebrate small achievements.

What is life without a little fun, very drab trust me. I love cake and I love love make-up and my natural hair, each time I achieve something I buy myself a slice of cake,natural hair product that I wouldn't normally purchase or some make-up.Being the teacher at heart that I am, I set rewards for myself like: If I do a certain thing within a given time period, I will get something for myself. This always acts as an incentive to work hard and to say no to temptations


What do you do to avoid peer pressure, comment below and let me know.