From The Lens Of 2021

Clifford Frempong
4 min readDec 28, 2021

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Photo by Josh Calabrese on Unsplash

Boy o boy!, alot has happened this year. Lots of success and lots of failures. It hasn’t been easy but we pulled through and became stronger.

I had a personal year review and decided to talk about some of the things that came up.

Now let’s get started…

In order for us to become what we want to be, somethings have to change! We all know it and even though we think about it everyday, we make no progress. This is what Amanda Crowell calls “defensive failure”

On new year’s day, we create a giant list of things we want to do in the year and on 31st December that year, we realized we never accomplished anything.

Mysterious right?

mysterious meme

We then start asking ourselves “Why didn’t I achieve my goals? Why didn’t i do this? Why didn’t I do that?”

Almost all the time, the reason you are not doing what you want to do is in your mind. The problem might be that you think you can’t do it or maybe you are not cut for it. It could also be because you think you lack what it takes or you think others are talented and gifted or have a certain skill and you don’t. So what happens is the moment you make a mistake on your first try, you have all the proof you needed that you are a failure and you can’t do it, right?

All we have to do is change 1 thing and that is, the mindset. That way, we delevelop what Carol Dweck calls a growth mindset and the moment you do that, your failures lose their significance. The failures no longer become proof that you can’t do it or that you are a failure but rather, they become an opportunity for you to learn. It is effort that creates innovation so if you are able to change the mindset from “these guys are special guys and I am not so I can’t do it” into one where you realize that your mistakes are just steps to success, you will be able to fight this cycle of defense failure.

“Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.” ― Roy T. Bennett

“It won’t work!” Have you tried???

duhh meme

Just try! I have tried alot of things this year to experience more of what life has to offer and also to alleviate boredom. I tried writing, high rope course, learning a tech skill, cooking and many more. I would have regretted so much if i never tried all those things. It might not always go as planned but then now you know for sure that it’s not going to work that way. Then, you can try another.

Sometimes, you can try something and then you get defeated. Well I want you to know that

“Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure.” ― George E. Woodberry

Don’t wait till you get married or get your dream job or till you become this or that before you start trying new things. Enjoy the journey and start trying out new things now! Your brain will thank you for it

Just try!

just try it meme

Try new things today. It’s boring recycling the same things over and over again. Add some spice to your life and don’t stop trying. And yes i used the word so many times in this article :) because if there’s nothing you’ll remember, the main point will certainly not be missed. That’s what I would be doing more in the coming year…Trying new things. Remember that you can be whatever you want to be. The power is in your hands.

I hope you enjoyed this read. Thanks for your time.

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Clifford Frempong
Clifford Frempong

Written by Clifford Frempong

Human size teddy bear, Son, Data Scientist, Citizen.

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