Making Each Day Count

Hi, ladies, it's Dr. Natalie Bitetore. And today I wanted to talk to you about who you are today. Because who you are today is a result of who you you were a year ago at best. When you think about the seeds that you plant and the time it takes for them to grow and for you to reap those benefits, it is a long time. So who you are today and what you're doing today is affecting who you're going to be. Who you are today is already the result of who you were, let's say a year ago. A year ago right now, we were all probably still in the middle of a lockdown. So there's many people still living through the results of that because it was a dramatic change in our lifestyles, in our work, in our exercise, our health, our mental health. There's so many things that affected us during then that people are still trying to get out of. And in Uganda, we're very lucky that at least life has become a bit more normal and things are open, so we are more able to get ourselves out of whatever holes we went into during lockdown and also reap whatever benefits we invested in during lockdown. Everyone has moved in different directions. So when I say think about what you were doing a year ago and then look at your life today, think about it. These are the results of what you did then. Last week I saw a post by Will Smith showing his body after lockdown and he said he has never been in this like this unhealthy in his whole life. But throughout lockdown he was eating badly and he wasn't exercising because he wasn't working. And it was a really inspiring post because he was very brave and vulnerable, but it really shows you the results. It's a year since we have all been through lockdown and he's still in that bad shape, but now he's using it as an inspirational moment and he's going to take us on the journey of how he gets fit again. So think about what you were doing this time last year and look at your life today. Isn't this the result? Were you investing in yourself or were you taking things a bit easy? Were things hard for you or did you have more time and see how that has affected your life right now? Because what you start doing now, that's what's going to affect you next year. Of course, you start to see benefits sooner than a year and sometimes it takes more than a year. But the sooner you start investing in yourself, the sooner you start to reap those benefits. And most People really underestimate this. It's like saying you want to go to the gym and you go for three days in a week, and then you're frustrated because you're like, I haven't lost weight, and you stop going. It takes time. Whether you're doing a course or a class, you're reading a book, you. You have a new mentor, you're going to the gym or you're changing your diet, it's going to take time to reap those benefits. So you need to be patient about it, and you need to be consistent. That's why it's a useful exercise to think about it at least one year before and one year in advance. So to get used to understanding time and how time affects you as a person, how much effort do you need to put into something and for how long before you see the benefits? A year ago, I was starting this Facebook group. I had no idea it would grow to this size or that this is how much we would be doing and talking about every day. And it's really exciting. But it's because I had the benefit of time to figure out, how do I want to structure this? How can I continue to make sure that her grows? And so now, when I look at it, all the things I've done over the last year, thinking about her is how her is what it is today, which is something I'm really proud of. And now I can take to people and get more partners and get more ideas, invite guests because of the effort I put in this time last year. So now I'm thinking I have to maintain this. I have to gain momentum now. I know this now. I need to add this. So a year from now is what I'm thinking about, not my results next month or in six months. A year from now, where do I want her to be? And that's what I have to focus on, and that's what has to drive my efforts today. So think about this in all the different aspects of your life, mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. And who do you want to be a year from now? That's who you have to start being today.