💤 The Art of Jealousy

...and a very clean December

not this kind lmaoooo (or it is not?)

No lmao not this kind.

Well unless it’s one of my brothers that got to the bread nylon before me. That should’ve been me.

I was listening to a podcast one time & the guest was narrating to the host how at a point in her friendship, she was feeling envious of her friend ‘cos she seemed to have things going well for her while she (the guest) was struggling to land a job after months of trying.

Then the host was trying to poke into her feelings asking her "why she felt jealous/envious”, telling her it was a negative feeling & asking her to find another “positive-ish” word to use.

And in my mind, I was like wait, no.

There’s no positive-ish word for jealousy. No matter how you try to sugarcoat it, the mind feels what it feels & at that point in time, it’s jealousy.

And personally, I don’t think jealousy is a bad thing.

I think when it festers is when it starts being bad.

And I think denying the fact that you feel jealous of a thing can cause more damage to the psyche than good. Cos you’re trying hard to push it back, not acknowledging the feeling & forcing your mind to not process it which just further causes a strain.

The art of jealousy is:

• being aware of its presence

• acknowledging the feeling

• trying to process the why either by journaling or talking about it

• being intentional about being happy for the other person

• noting that someone else’s blessing doesn’t take away anything from you

• gratitude

I’ve felt jealousy. I feel it from time to time. I used to think it made me a bad person/friend but I’ve learned it doesn’t.

I’m jealous of people who had a very detty December, I’m jealous of those traveling around the world with their baes, I’m jealous of people who get free books!, I’m jealous of people who know what they’re doing with their lives - ‘cos I don’t, I’m only trying my best.

But I rein this in with gratitude, feeling content with what I have.

Sometimes I process it with mental addition & subtraction (comparing what I have & what they don’t etc. allow, it’s how I cope), sometimes it’s by being extra kind & happy for the person because they don’t have 2 heads & they’re not the cause of my misery.

Anyway, I say all these to say, you can be jealous but don’t stay jealous.

Arise, o compatriot investor & move!

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❔❓ Question of the week

“What did 2024 teach you?”

This one is not an anonymous question, I picked it up from Twitter ‘cos that’s the trending question on everyone’s lips.

But I swear, I can’t think of anything useful haha. I see people dropping reasonable answers & I wonder how they’re able to remember because I cannot think of any lesson I learned this year.

So I’m just open to reading people’s responses to find ones I relate to.

The small ones I’m able to remember after days of thinking are:

1. Etisalat is irredeemable. If you’re still using them, be like me & change your number.

2. Being selfish is sweet. I recommend it once once. Especially with your time.

3. Podcasts are where it’s at! I’m such a podcast girlie now & I love it for myself ‘cos I learn a lot from them (I just don’t remember sigh).

Investor, what did 2024 teach you? Feel free to whisper it here…

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📅 A Clean December

My December was as clean as a blank Figma file.

I wasn’t kidding when I said I was jealous of people who had a very detty December ‘cos I had high expectations mehn. But I ended up staying in & reading.

Which actually, when I deep it, doesn’t sound terrible ‘cos all you detty December people surely spent a lot of money.

Money I would’ve spent too. Now, when you’re broke in January, it would be my time to shine.

📚 Books

One thing about 2024, I devoured A LOT of books. I read the most number this year than I ever have in the past.

I keep a list & it was 76 books total when I counted. Insane number, I’m proud.

Out of everything, here are my top 10 reads ⤵

I grade books based on how much emotion they make me feel.

And these made me FEEL something one way or the other. Feel free to add to your tbr, you’re welcome.

Also open to recommendations or seeing your pile, share away.

🎨 Dec. art

It’s the best one yet!

I was inspired by the book As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow & decided to find a muse that looked like one of the characters.

Anyway, it’s a top-quality book & when you read it, you’d recognize Lama.

2024 art Wrapped

We had a good run.

Thanks for being my accountability partner.

💤 Wrapping up

Tis the season when “thank yous” are dropping from everywhere.

Thank you for this, thank you for that, thank you for opening my emails, thank you for responding, thank you 💜

Who are you thankful for? drop them a cute note for new years.

May 2025 be kind to you & your loved ones 🥂

Again I ask, what lesson did 2024 teach you?