I have achieved many goals I set for myself but I have failed at a whole lot too. This is in spite of what some of my people may think of me but yeah, na so life be. In this note, I share my experiences and the tensions associated with my quest to live purposefully whilst simultaneously attempting to live freely.
“Sometimes, we need to turn around in life to move forward. This doesn’t mean we don’t know where we are going; it just means we didn’t know what we know now.”
- Maya Angelou
I loved reading Hunter S. Thompson’s 1958 Letter on Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life where he tactfully touched on how humans are constantly faced with the conscious and unconscious choice of whether to float with the tide or to swim towards a goal. Hunter’s letter remains a profound reflection on personal fulfilment as he spoke about the need to live deliberately, embrace individuality and pursue a life that resonated deeply with one’s true self. In today’s super randomized world (let’s even leave AI out of the conversation for now), the question of whether one should swim or float remains a very tricky one. What should one work (hard) towards? What should one allow to be? What is the balance position? Personally, I have had to step on the brakes a few times this year to ponder on the contextually relevant answers to these questions. I still am drawing blanks!
The past couple of months had me swimming and floating randomly and I really feel I should start spending time to study and understand the patterns (like I did when I played competitive chess — I digress as usual). For example, in 2024, I really wanted to do more impactful and meaningful work, I wanted to spend more time with the kids, I wanted to travel and shutdown (or the other way around), I wanted to point at 100+ universities, I wanted to play better piano, improve my swimming (pun unintended), and even join the league of “plant mums” amongst other lofty aspirations — whilst also being a responsible and impactful member of the communities I live and work in. Did I achieve all these? Whossai! I have now spent a lot of weeks thinking through my apparent and not so apparent successes as well as my failures — mild and colossal, and I have come to realise that I need to be more deliberate (read systematic) in 2025 and beyond.
To help guide my understanding (and yours hopefully), I deconstructed the swimming versus floating matter with my experiences, thoughts and recommendations in the following segment.
Swimming: The Power of Deliberate Effort
“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”
- Bruce Lee
Reflecting on the deliberate actions of my 2024 (and indeed the year before), I found that I had spent numerous hours pursuing clarity, working on projects and trying to align my goals with my intentions. Swimming in this context involved me striving, leaning into discomfort (a.k.a. chopping insult sometimes), spending scarce resources in a sapa economy, pushing boundaries, and taking steps towards a defined professional or personal destination. It has been tough but not gloomy. Swimming pays — if I say so myself. I am still trying to figure out how to track or document how swimming pays because often, I experienced these payoffs in ways that felt unconnected at first glance. I would conclude that swimming is a necessary first step. A rite of passage I would say.
Floating: The Grace of Serendipity
“During the journey of life, find joy in the ordinary moments, for they are the threads that weave the extraordinary tapestry of your existence.”
- Brene Brown
And of course there is floating — the one that comes so easily to me. Lol. I have come to love floating. Floating, I believe, is the art of letting go and trusting that the universe has a way of filling in the gaps. In 2024, there were times when after hustling for weeks and months non-stop, a chance meeting, a serendipitous email, or a seemingly random (re)connection did more for my progress than all my meticulous plans combined. As I pondered on these occurrences, I came to a reinforced conclusion that floating doesn't mean doing nothing but it is about creating the conditions for serendipity by being open, receptive, and prepared. Showing up pretty much.
The Balance for 2025 and Beyond
Essentially, I have now come to learn that swimming and floating are not opposites but complements. Swimming gives purpose and direction, while floating allows space for grace and serendipity. Put together, they can create a rhythm. It is that rhythm that I aspire to embrace more fully in 2025 and beyond.
How do I intend to do this? Well, with my intention to stay true to self and be as authentic as possible, I am inviting you to join me in 2025 to:
- Swim with Intention: I will continue to work smart, plan, and strive for the goals that matter in my personal and professional life. It is important that I also learn from the past to recognize when the effort becomes counterproductive.
- Float with Faith: I will allow myself to release control and trust the process (Doing this guilt-free is a very un-Od-like behaviour but I shall try). I will create opportunities for serendipity by showing up as often as my resources can muster, being present and open to the unexpected.
- Appreciate the Interplay: I will acknowledge the moments where swimming sets the stage for floating and vice versa. I will set aside time (and small cash) to celebrate the surprises and the steady progress alike.
- Stay Grateful: Whether I am swimming or I am floating, I must remember gratitude. I am grateful for the seen and unseen hands of family, friends, and business associates that have propelled me to where I am today and I hope to always be.
I go into 2025, a 45 year old man (still feels so strange to think of myself as this), with a renewed appreciation for the balance between effort and surrender. This swimming and floating matter is no longer a choice of one or the other for me. I can see how it is a dynamic balance that shapes the unfolding story of my life.
May we all find our rhythm in this delicate balance and learn to thrive in both the striving and the serendipitous experiences.
Happy New Year.
Odiong